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1. US dollars earned from export sales of petroleum products
   "Two secret agreements between the US and Saudi Arabia ensured Saudi support in OPEC for the pricing of all oil in dollars. As a consequence, US petrodollars became the de facto currency for global oil transactions, leaving all producers with their profit in dollars. These dollars are then recycled through OPEC back into the US through Treasury Bills or other dollar-dominated assets. This in turn creates capital-accounts surplus for the US economy which finances the US trade deficit"
    
2. Money earned from sales of petroleum exports

Derived forms: petrodollars

Encyclopedia: Petrodollar