Thanks to lower net imports of crude oil and higher net exports of natural gas, the gross U.S. energy exports hit a record-high in 2019, exceeding gross energy imports for the first time since 1952, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Monday. Total gross energy exports from the United States hit an all-time high of 23.6 quadrillion British thermal units (quads) in 2019—a common unit of heat in which the EIA converts all different physical units of energy such as barrels and cubic feet. While gross energy exports hit a record high, the U.S. energy imports fell to their lowest level in nearly 25 years – to 22.8 quads in 2019, the lowest since 1995. Over the past decade and a half, net U.S. energy imports have fallen from a peak of 30 quads in 2005, and they have been down every year since 2016, EIA’s data shows. […]