Our Foreign Oil Dependence
By R. Brown, Web Exclusive Posted Oct. 23, 2008
Not a single day goes by without a speech about our over dependence on foreign oil by the presidential candidates. For the most part, a majority of Americans agree that for the sake of our national security and economy, we must cut back on foreign oil imports and invest heavily in research efforts aimed at building a solid energy foundation using domestic resources. But what do the numbers say? How dependent are we on foreign oil? Well, let’s see.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a division of the Department of Energy (DOE), in 2007, a net of 58% of our petroleum product needs was imported. This number is even direr when total imports and not net imports is considered. According to the EIA, the U.S. total petroleum imports in 2007 was 65%; indicating we have a long way to go in order to achieve the long term goal of energy independence.
On the bright side, only 16% of our total imports come from the Persian Gulf, which include countries such as Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. Surprisingly, a huge proportion, 49%, of our petroleum imports come from Western Hemisphere countries (North, South, and Central America and the Caribbean). This may seem acceptable at face value, but consider this: Venezuela, a growing foe to the U.S., is the fourth largest exporter of crude oil to the U.S.; contributing 10.1% of our total imports.
Another bit of information not known by the “average Joe” is that the U.S. not only imports but exports petroleum products as well. According to the EIA, the U.S. exported 10% of the world’s petroleum and used 24% in 2007.
For more information, visit the Energy Information Administration website: http://www.eia.doe.gov/. View U.S. energy use projections to 2030.