Such jeremiads seemed sensible at the time. But the pessimism discounted four factors that have radically improved the U.S. energy picture and delivered the nation to the role of net oil exporter. That distinction may be more temporary than enduring; the U.S. is likely to be a minor net importer for some time. Yet the net export of 211,000 barrels a day of crude oil and refined products is a stark contrast to the reliance on other countries at the peak of U.S. dependency. That came in 2005, when this country imported a net 12 million barrels every day — 60 percent of the nation’s crude oil consumption.