Foreign Oil Dependence by Choice?
Big Oil executives have been called to testify on Capitol Hill several times during this four-year run-up in energy prices, but there was a marked change in rhetoric for this week's appearance.
There was this from Peter Robertson, vice chairman of Chevron:
"We've chosen by our policy to be dependent on oil from overseas. That's our choice. We chose not to develop our own resources in this country. That was our choice."
And this, from John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil:
"U.S. oil and gas production has fallen steadily for the last 35 years. Why? Because government policies place domestic oil and gas resources off limits. The U.S. government restricts supply to U.S. consumers."
New message: We're dependent on foreign oil because we don't develop the oil on the outer continental shelf or in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
Old message: It's a hard truth that as long as we're dependent on oil, the U.S. will always be dependent on other parts of the globe—not by choice—but because they have more oil than we do.
Here are the relevant figures, the most recent estimates from Oil and Gas Journal, as compiled by the Energy Information Administration.
Proved reserves, in billion barrels:
| Top countries | Reserves | Share |
| Saudi Arabia | 266.8 | 20 percent of the world total |
| Canada | 178.6 | 13 percent |
| Iran | 138.4 | 10 percent |
| Iraq | 115.0 | 8.6 percent |
| Kuwait | 104.0 | 7.8 percent |
| United Arab Emirates | 97.8 | 7.3 percent |
| Venezuela | 87.0 | 6.5 percent |
| Russia | 60.0 | 4.5 percent |
| Libya | 41.5 | 3.1 percent |
| Nigeria | 36.2 | 2.7 percent |
| Kazakhstan | 30.0 | 2.3 percent |
| United States | 21.0 | 1.6 percent |
| China | 16.0 | 1.2 percent |
| World total | 1,331.7 |
We'll set aside, for the time being, the fact that many people believe these numbers are overstated and the entire world (particularly Saudi Arabia) has much less in reserves than we think.
The oil executives are now implying that the U.S. reserves could be much greater, and our foreign dependence on oil could be much less, if Congress would only allow them to drill off both the East and West coasts of the United States and in ANWR.
But let's take the oil industry's own analysis, released last July, in the National Petroleum Council's report "Facing Hard Truths About Energy." Yes, the NPC urged that the government expand access to areas that are now viewed as protected, and as a result, the group estimated, "Material increases to current reserves within five to 10 years from currently inaccessible areas could approach 40 billion barrels of oil." That would put us right around Russia (as currently estimated anyway), with still less than 5 percent of the world's oil.
Of course, for a lot of folks, it's more comforting to believe that we have a Saudi Arabia lurking beneath the tundra that we just haven't taken advantage of, than to think that we truly are in an energy mess.
Tags: global economy | oil
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Yes Hybrid
My husband and I bought a Toyota Prius a few months ago. Best decision we ever made. I used to pay around $250.00/month for gas driving 40 miles to/from work in a small truck. It would have been cheaper to get a monthly bus pass for $45 each of us but we needed less restrictive transportation. I now pay less than $100/month on gas because we know how to maximize the hybrid energy. Now I laugh at how long the Hummer owners will take to succumb to the soaring gas prices. Status symbol vehicles are such a waste.
Hybrids
The laughs (and pain) will be on you and all when everyone buys one of these dumb cars and the electricity needed to charge them negates any savings you may have now. But, thanks for saving more gas for me.
Better Solution.
Just in case no one knew, Henry Ford and Rudolph Diesel intended their engines to be powered by what we now call biofuels. But, they didn't use food...they used HEMP.
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Plug-in Cars
I built a Plug-in Hybrid using a Prius, a second larger battery pack, and a charger. I buy wind energy and my car uses about 4kwh each night to fill the second battery. So each day I travel from Katy to Downtown Houston about 60 miles round trip on about (Right now at today’s rate of 3.25per gallon) 6/10th of a gallon or $1.95 for gas + 60 cents for wind power, for a total of $2.55 per day. I have been driving my Plug-in Hybrid for about a year now.
These cars are real and on the road now. Plug-in cars can be built to be any Size, Speed, or Power. Here is some proof.
100mpg car
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7801167825618010038
150mpg SUV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v09_uTp08zg
0-60 in less then three second and a 100mpg range
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qDZOBQs60w
All electric truck.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-385933681432451369
Need a bigger Plug-in vehicle?
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2434382302275071656
Look I never gave up my Yukon XL, I just did the math and I save about $400.00 per month in fuel cost. That pays for my new car, as in “You’ve just won a brand new car!”
We all have to make choices what we spend our own money on. No one should buy a hybrid car until they make one you want to buy. For me, they made one I wanted to buy the day I saw how much cash I could save.
It kind of gives a whole new meaning to being “Green” doesn’t it.
Funny how all the above cars are already on the road isn’t it? --- No, it is not funny, is it.
It is time to start asking questions!!! Why is our government not asking our own auto industry to make more of these cars that shade tree mechanics are making all over the world, with technology already on the market?
Plug-in cars leave more money in your pocket to spend in your local community, improving your local tax base more then gas taxes ever could, or for spending on churches, and charities.
Hi, I’m here to change the world.
Apr 03, 2008 15:32:33 PM [permalink] [report comment]