Where US Oil comes from (Infographic)

http://www.ngoilgas.com/media/media-news/infographics/090911-OGUS-USOilImports.png

by cwan • 17 years ago

22 12 17 years ago

This is interesting as a curiosity. But the fact that oil is (generally) fungible means that the particular proportions are completely coincidental, based on relative pricing levels, probably largely dependent of transportation.

Did you know that America exports oil? See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sassoon/us-oil-exports-h... -- in 2008 we were shipping out 1.8 million barrels per day. It's all determined by how expensive it is including how far it must be transported.

Things shuffle all around, and a change at one point causes lots of lines in the graph to be pushed and tugged, until a new equilibrium is found. One can't just say that Canadian oil is twice as important to us as Saudi oil.

kevbin2• 17 years ago

One of the interesting bits to come-out of the alaska gas line debates is the apparent unwillingness of producers to develop fields even when they are economically feasible (whether on their face or through incentives). Leads me to believe that the oil companies—despite their reputations—have accounted for socio-political externalities, and see some wisdom in leaving oil & gas in the ground in relatively stable, free nations while producing the heck out of fields elsewhere. Whatever the combination of risk assessment and bird-in-handism, this seems like a pretty good strategy for the companies and their customers (i.e., us).

jrockway• 17 years ago

Good analysis.

Eventually we are going to start running out of oil, and this will be a good time for unstable nations to fuck up the economies of the stable ones. (Our fault for not investing in alternative energy systems, but I digress...) With a strategic reserve that we can tap into, though, these unstable countries are kept in check -- charge a fair price, or we don't buy at all.

It is sort of like "mutually assured destruction", but better... (The similarly is that the protection of each does not come from the actual use of the system, but rather from the fact that it exists.)

idm2• 17 years ago

Oh, so the US has 30.5 thousand million barrels of oil in reserve? Personally, I like to call that number 30,500 hundred ten-thousands.

cema• 17 years ago

Yes,I believe that's the traditional Chinese way.

sdp• 17 years ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billion

International news avoids the term "billion" because it can refer to 10^9 or 10^12.

In UK English, 10^9 is called a milliard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milliard

idm2• 17 years ago

Let's just call it 30.5 gigabarrels, and be through with it. :)

Still, thanks for pointing that out.

JeffL• 17 years ago

For anyone interested in the history of Oil, The Prize by Daniel Yergen is a really interesting book.

adg• 17 years ago

Original article (with content!): http://www.ngoilgas.com/news/us-foreign-oil/.

kevbin2• 17 years ago

The US needs to revitalize its M&A department, see if the (Western) Canadians and Mexicans would like to swing a deal: take care of energy independence and the immigration debate in one fell swoop.

ojbyrne• 17 years ago

I've always believed that the only reason they haven't brought this up with Canada is that it would result in 30 million left-of-center voters being added. Of course if when you say "western" you just mean Alberta that problem would be assuaged, perhaps. Though I think even the most strident right wing voters in Canada are still to Obama's left.

Anyway it would be Democratic governments as far as you care to extend the timeline.

There's oil in eastern Canada too, btw: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernia_%28oil_field%29

and in the north: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_petroleum_indust...

_ck_• 17 years ago

So when do we invade Canada and "liberate the people" ?

Seriously though, isn't Canada's oil in shale and I thought that was the most expensive to produce?

Where US Oil comes from (Infographic)

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