Oil, real numbers

[JohnBirchSociety]

The United States produces approximately 8.4Million Barrels of oil a day. We use nearly 21Million Barrels of oil a day.

We EXPORT (Yup, I said EXPORT) approximately 1.1Million Barrels of oil a day. That leaves approximately 7.3Million Barrels a day, of our own oil, to use. So we export 13% of our daily oil production, which equates to .5% of our total daily usage.

Our leading foreign source of oil is Canada (2.6Million Barrels a day), followed by Saudi Arabia (1.5Million Barrels a day), followed by Mexico (1.4Million Barrels a day), and so on. We import 13Million Barrels a day, of oil. That is about 62% of the oil we use each day.

Considering we EXPORT 1.1Million Barrels of oil a DAY, we could reduce our dependence on imports by nearly 8% a day, but just stopping our exports. That's right. We could reduce our reliance on foreign oil by nearly 10%, IMMEDIATELY, by stopping the export of US oil.

If we take Canada and Mexico out of the equation (they've been generally friendly allies), then we're left with 9Million Barrels a day of oil from nations that are historically unfriendly with America (except for wanting our money). Now, again, if we immediately stopped exporting our oil, we'd only need to import 7.9Million Barrels a day from our enemies (for lack of a better term). That would be a decrease in current importation of 12%, with no need to drill for more oil.

Simply put, our politicians / eco-extremists / alarmists are wrong.

From public figures, we can actually "drill ourselves" out of this mess. Here's how:

1) Stop exporting our oil (1.1Million Barrels a day)
2) Drill now for our 40Billion Barrels of known oil (Standard sources, not shale or coal oils which would put us ahead of most, if not all nations in the world for total oil reserves)

So, we can immediately reduce our reliance on our enemies for oil by over 10%. And, we CAN drill ourselves out of all reliance on foreign oil.

What do you think?

[FunkyTown]

I think it's a good idea.

Actually, given the amount of oil in Canada and the US, I'd like to see greater trade with the two and more development. Frankly, I think if the US acquiesced to allowing Canada the northwest passage, we'd be willing to become almost exclusive trading partners. Off the coast of Newfoundland is an oil reserve that's larger than all the oil reserves in the middle east combined. I also think more development in to green energies should be developed to reduce our dependency on a non-renewable resource.

PS: If you're interested in what's off the coast of Canada, check out this link:

Steel, Sweat, and Oil As Nova Scotia and Newfoundland tap their vast offshore oil and gas fields, Canada's hardscrabble Atlantic provinces are finally getting a chance to achieve a rugged, old-economy kind of prosperity. - October 2, 2000

If developed, it would be the great basin of oil and gas production for the world. CNN agrees.

[glennh]

Very insightful and thought provoking post JBS. I work in the Oil industry and I agree with what your saying. Now if we could just get the politicians to listen

[JohnBirchSociety]

Originally Posted by FunkyTown

I think it's a good idea.

Actually, given the amount of oil in Canada and the US, I'd like to see greater trade with the two and more development. Frankly, I think if the US acquiesced to allowing Canada the northwest passage, we'd be willing to become almost exclusive trading partners. Off the coast of Newfoundland is an oil reserve that's larger than all the oil reserves in the middle east combined. I also think more development in to green energies should be developed to reduce our dependency on a non-renewable resource.

PS: If you're interested in what's off the coast of Canada, check out this link:

Steel, Sweat, and Oil As Nova Scotia and Newfoundland tap their vast offshore oil and gas fields, Canada's hardscrabble Atlantic provinces are finally getting a chance to achieve a rugged, old-economy kind of prosperity. - October 2, 2000

If developed, it would be the great basin of oil and gas production for the world. CNN agrees.

I think increased trade with Canada is a win-win. They have a ton of oil that would be easy to get at. We have a lot of our own, but a bit more difficult to get to.

As for development of "green" sources of energy, I'll point to Commercial Nuclear Power as the solution for electrical generation in the United States. Nuclear Power has proven itself as the safest form of energy ever produced in the United States. No person has ever died as a result of a nuclear accident at a commercial nuclear power plant.

Thanks.

[JohnBirchSociety]

Originally Posted by glennh

Very insightful and thought provoking post JBS. I work in the Oil industry and I agree with what your saying. Now if we could just get the politicians to listen

You are right. It is just another prime example that politicians are alligned with our destruction as a nation.

We will become the only nation in history to fall while sitting on a nearly endless supply of natural resources.

Very Sad.

[DigitalShadow]

Who is exporting the oil and why? Without knowing that, I can't really say whether your plan is a good idea or bad idea. (I don't know the answer and am hoping that someone more well versed in economics could help me out here because I suspect it is somewhat complicated.)

[JohnBirchSociety]

Originally Posted by DigitalShadow

Who is exporting the oil and why? Without knowing that, I can't really say whether your plan is a good idea or bad idea. (I don't know the answer and am hoping that someone more well versed in economics could help me out here because I suspect it is somewhat complicated.)

Good questions. I don't know.

I only know that we do export oil (which would appear to be absurd, given the current climate in the US for oil).

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by DigitalShadow

Who is exporting the oil and why? Without knowing that, I can't really say whether your plan is a good idea or bad idea. (I don't know the answer and am hoping that someone more well versed in economics could help me out here because I suspect it is somewhat complicated.)

The oil that is exported is under the complete control of congress and trade agreements they ratify. Oil companies want to export as much oil as possible because it is more profitable to export than to keep our oil domestic.

We have another problem in that we do not have the refineries to process enough crude for domestic use and must rely on foreign refineries.

The Traveler

[JohnBirchSociety]

Originally Posted by Traveler

The oil that is exported is under the complete control of congress and trade agreements they ratify. Oil companies want to export as much oil as possible because it is more profitable to export than to keep our oil domestic.

We have another problem in that we do not have the refineries to process enough crude for domestic use and must rely on foreign refineries.

The Traveler

That is correct.

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by JohnBirchSociety

I think increased trade with Canada is a win-win. They have a ton of oil that would be easy to get at. We have a lot of our own, but a bit more difficult to get to.

As for development of "green" sources of energy, I'll point to Commercial Nuclear Power as the solution for electrical generation in the United States. Nuclear Power has proven itself as the safest form of energy ever produced in the United States. No person has ever died as a result of a nuclear accident at a commercial nuclear power plant.

Thanks.

I know you have a hard time with certain concepts but nuclear power is not cheap and the cost of keeping our nuclear fuels safe as well as disposing of spent fuel is escalating faster than medical costs. Coal fired power generation is much cheaper than nuclear. I guess the nuclear idea is okay if you are willing to pay for it. The cheapest form of power currently is hydro-electrical but that also has its down side.

In theory nuclear fusion has the greatest promise but in over 50 years of research we have never been close to making that even kind of safe.

The Traveler