With the current primaries and upcoming presidential election, on top of rising oil prices, one favorite phrase of candidates and media outlets is energy dependence and energy independence. Yet, outside of buzz words, how dependent is the US on foreign producers? In fact, since energy independence is secret code for independent of the Middle East, just how much of the US’s oil imports come from that region?
Take 30 seconds and make a mental list of your guesses for the top 15 crude oil importers into the US.
According to the Department of Energy, your list is probably way off.
1. Canada
2. Saudi Arabia
3. Venezuela
4. Mexico
5. Nigeria
6. Angola
7. Iraq
8. Algeria
9. Ecuador
10. Brazil
11. Kuwait
12. Azerbaijan
13. Libya
14. Colombia
15. United Kingdom.
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COMMENTS / 5 COMMENTS
elambend added these pithy words on 10 Mar 08 at 11:01 pmIn certain respects it doesn’t matter where it comes from in terms of pricing, as oil is [mostly] fungible [glazing a little over long-term supply contracts]. The price will be affected by middle east crude no matter where we purchase it from. Of course producers could refuse to send it to us, but take out the biggest (or one of the biggest) customers in the market and the price will drop.
One crazy thing is the US/Venezuela symbiosis. Venezuela pumps out a really heavy crude that can only be refined into petrol at certain refineries, located in, you guessed it, the United States. So, when Hugo talks about not selling to us if we attack Iran, he’s full of it.
One potential problem, though; both Mexico and Venezuela, our #3 and #4 providers are state companies with bad histories of maintenance and falling production numbers. If they don’t shape up (not likely any time soon) we’ll have to ship it in from further away.
Alfred Russel Wallace added these pithy words on 11 Mar 08 at 3:03 amFascinating to see how important the importation of refined products has become… not a surprise from Canada, but imports from the Netherlands, mainly of gasoline, are probably quite a recent phenomenon….
Aceface added these pithy words on 11 Mar 08 at 2:18 pmTop 9 crude oil importers to Japan:
1.Saudi Arabia
2.United Arab Emirates
3.Iran
4.Qatar
5.Kuwait
6.Oman
7.Indonesia
8.Sudan
9.NigeriaApproximately 90% of oil comes from Middle East.
and yet people still ask why Japan is reluctant on “the war on terror”...
jon added these pithy words on 11 Mar 08 at 8:27 pmIsn’t much of this just a factor of distance from well-head to market. It wouldn’t make sense for an American company to ship oil from the Saudi Arabia if it can be found in Mexico.
With oil being a global commodity, the United States will never “get off of Mid-East” oil until it is no longer using any oil, or at least only using the same quantity as is produced domestically. Assuming an attempt at autarky.
Alfred Russel Wallace added these pithy words on 12 Mar 08 at 2:18 amJust to keep it in perspective…. (and remember a barrel is 42 gallons).
US production is about 5 million barrels per day
US imports are about 13 million barrels per day
of which 5 million come from OPEC
and 2 million from the Persian GulfAlso for perspective, the average age of crude oil is about 100 million years
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