Where Our Oil Imports Come From
by Raymond J. Keating
There's much talk about U.S. "energy independence" in political circles, particularly on the campaign trail.
This bit of political hyperbole seems focused on pandering to certain voters on such topics as trade, energy prices and, in particular, the war against terrorists (including in Iraq) and the general state of affairs in the Middle East. The underlying assumption seems to be that all of our oil comes from OPEC members in the Middle East.
Well, some basic data regarding crude oil is well worth highlighting. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported the following data regarding U.S. crude oil production and imports in 2006 (latest data):
• U.S. crude oil production registered 5.1 million barrels per day.
• U.S. imports came in at 10.1 million barrels of crude oil per day.
• The top countries from which the U.S. imported crude oil were:
1) Canada at 1.8 million barrels per day
2) Mexico at 1.6 million barrels per day,
3) Saudi Arabia at 1.4 million barrels per day,
4) Venezuela at 1.1 million barrels per day,
5) Nigeria at 1.0 million barrels per day.
Note that four of these top five nations are not Middle East OPEC members.
In fact, Middle East nations that are part of OPEC - Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - accounted for 2.2 million barrels of crude oil imports, or 21 percent of all U.S. imported crude oil. Iraq and Kuwait covered 34% of those imports.
Therefore, 79 percent of U.S. crude oil imports in 2006 came from nations that were not Middle East OPEC members.
True energy independence means two things on the policy front. First, remove governmental restrictions on domestic energy exploration, development and production. Second, allow for free trade so that U.S. consumers and businesses are able to meet their energy needs in the international marketplace.
sbecouncil.org |
