“Davidson” submits:

Fundamental trends change several years before they become headlines. Oil exports began with refined products in 2006 (US Oil Situation chart) and have continued to rise at ~13% annual pace since. We actually became a net exporter of Refined Products Sept 2011.

Markets are not geographically uniform. Some parts of the country are better for refineries which is where all exports arise while others like NYC, San Francisco are net importers of Refined Products because it is simply the lowest cost solution. No one spells this out. One has to look at data and look through to the sources and think carefully about what it means before jumping to conclusions.

The Oil Export Boom

Houston-Galveston exports exceed imports for the first time.