Monday, 05 Dec 2011 10:33 AM

By Greg Brown

The United States has become a major exporter of, get this — gasoline.

We sent abroad more 430,000 more barrels of refined gas, the stuff you get at the pump, than we imported in September, according to government data. That is more than double what it was at the beginning of this year, reports CNN.

Several things have changed: Our demand has declined with the slowing economy, and our cars just use less than they once did. Plus, we burn more corn in the form of ethanol.

The United States, long a gasoline importer, now sends refined oil products to countries that are growing faster but don’t have the refinery capacity in place, such as Brazil and Mexico.

(Getty Images photo)

The country is on track to be a net exporter of refined oil products for the first time in 62 years, reports The Wall Street Journal.

"We've got plenty of excess refining capacity," Jonathan Cogan, a spokesman for EIA, told CNN. "It's a reminder that this is a global oil market, and it's reflected by the movements of products to where they will get the highest prices."

Expect the news to make waves in Congress. Americans are likely to look at rising prices at the pump — crude oil is back over $100 a barrel now — and question why we send so much gas abroad.

For now, however, gas prices are falling, relatively speaking. Nationally, prices now average $3.29 for a gallon of regular, according to the latest Lundberg Survey, down in the past six weeks by 18 cents.

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