This study investigates the macroeconomic determinants of external debt in oil & gas exporting and importing countries. The study uses panel data of 12 oil & gas exporting and 12 oil & gas importing countries covering the period 2004-2013. The study identifies eight macroeconomic factors that significantly affect the external debt of oil & gas exporting and importing countries. The major lesson learnt from this study is the importance of avoiding particular generalization for external debt accumulation factors for oil & gas exporting and importing countries. Furthermore, the effect of different macroeconomic factors can be different in these two groups of countries.