HOUSTON: The United States has become the world's largest oil exporter, upending a decades-old order long dominated by Saudi Arabia and Russia, a shift that tightens American companies' grip on energy markets as Washington's war with Iran reshapes global energy trade.America's ascendancy to the top spot marks a stunning reversal for a country that was dependent on West Asian oil for decades and suffered from an oil embargo imposed by some OPEC members in 1973 to retaliate against US support for Israel.US fortunes began to change after 2010, when oil and gas output from its shale formations soared, first making it the world's top gas and then the world's top oil producer.With the US-Iran war disrupting Saudi oil exports since February 2026 and Russian oil exports suffering from Ukrainian drone attacks and US sanctions on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine, the US has become the world's leading oil exporter.Trump cancels Iran strikes after high-level peace talks, blockade to continueUS exports of crude and fuel climbed to about 10.5 million barrels per day in May on the back of high output and the release of strategic reserves, data from ship tracking services Vortexa showed, making the US the top global exporter for the third month in a row. Russian exports stood at 7 million bpd in May, while Saudi Arabia's exports stood at 5.9 million bpd, according to Vortexa.In comparison, Saudi Arabia exported about 8.1 million bpd in 2025, while the United States shipped out 6.6 million bpd, and Russian exports stood at about 5.8 million bpd, according to Vortexa data."Washington has a new tool they didn't realize they had before the Iran war - energy exports," said Michelle Brouhard, head of policy at ship tracking firm Kpler.After House snub, Trump set to name Jay Clayton as spy chiefThe new U.S. dominance could weaken the pricing power that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies have historically held over oil markets.US President Donald Trump has long criticized OPEC for manipulating the markets.The group also suffered a blow in May when one of its biggest members, the United Arab Emirates, left the organisation after nearly 60 years.The biggest oil exporter spot will give Washington a powerful new lever in talks with allies and rivals in addition to its global military supremacy and its dominance of financial markets thanks to the US dollar's role as the world's reserve currency.