US crude oil imports

The level of disconnect between reality and political discourse in this country is always dismaying, sometimes shocking, and in the right circumstances downright embarrassing.  Case in point: the popular perception of where the US gets its oil.  The Department of Energy publishes a regular list of the largest providers of US crude oil imports; here are the top 5 as of June 2008 (in thousands of barrels per day):

1. Canada (1,883)
2. Saudi Arabia (1,479)
3. Mexico (1,124)
4. Venezuela (1,085)
5. Nigeria (946)

Try asking people to name these countries and I guarantee you they'll get one right.  But then tell them that Saudi Arabia is actually second on the list, and ask them which country is first, and you'll be lucky to find even one person who knows; in fact you'll probably find more than a few who won't believe you even if you tell them.  And of the countries on the list besides Saudi Arabia, the only one I'd suspect any significant number of people might be able to name is Venezuela—and that only thanks to the relentless anti-Venezuela propaganda campaign that's been waged in the US media for the past few years.

There are many different measures of how broken the media system is in this country (in terms of its perceived purpose, that is, not its actual purpose).  But I can't think of a much better illustration than that in a nation obsessed with record gasoline prices—where there's an endless stream of news stories about despoiling oceans and arctic forests in order to drill for scarcely-reachable reserves, in order to free ourselves from the clutches of oil-rich Ayrabs—most of us don't even know where the oil we use comes from.

Take a look at the full list, along with the list of the top overall US petroleum suppliers.  If there aren't a few surprises in there for you, you're either 1) shockingly well-informed or 2) a major-league bastard*.

* (seeing as you're an oil company executive)

UPDATE: There's more good oil import data here, with easy access to historical data by country as well.

Comments

[Nell]

I had no idea we were buying so much from Iraq. Unless their production has increased (and it's pretty hard to rely on anyone's figures, unless the metering has improved), it appears that a fifth to a quarter of their output is going to the U.S.

[John Caruso]

There's more data on US oil imports from Iraq here. The current rate looks pretty typical, other than a spike to nearly twice this year's rate in 2001. Ironically, the rate now is basically the same as the rate just before the 2003 invasion.

The big surprise for me was seeing the Virgin Islands at number 10 on the list of top petroleum sources.

[angryman@24:10]

RE: Yes, I knew about Canada being number one, but allow me to share a recent email I got from a friend (bless his heart) as a counterexample.

Ever heard of the Bakken Oil Formation?

I did a search on Bakken starting with Wikipedia and apparently the info below is true. How it has remained silent during this period of oil costing up to $150 a barrel is puzzling unless it's true about the Democrats stonewalling.

You don't even have to check with Scopes to see if this is true...Just put in 'Bakken Formation' on GOOGLE and stand by for the load of info that will descend on you! Snopes is somewhat evasive in a response.

1. Ever heard of the Bakken Formation?

The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April ('08) that only scientists and oilmen/women knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised report (hadn't been updated since '95) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota; western South Dakota; and extreme eastern Montana ... check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska's Prudhoe Bay, and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable... at $107 a barrel, we're looking at a resource base worth more than $5.3 trillion.

'When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea.' says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature's financial analyst.

'This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years,' reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette. It's a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly referred to as the 'Bakken.' And it stretches from Northern Montana, through North Dakota and into Canada . For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the 'Big Oil' companies gave up searching for m ajor oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken's massive reserves... and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That's enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 41 years straight.

2. [And if THAT didn't throw you on the floor, then this next one should - because it's from TWO YEARS AGO, people!]

U. S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World! Stansberry Report Online - 4 /20/2006 Hidden 1,000 feet beneath the surface of the Rocky Mountains lies the largest untapped oil reserve in the world is more than 2 TRILLION barrels. On August 8, 2005 President Bush mandated its extraction.

They reported this stunning news: We have more oil inside our borders, than all the other proven reserves on earth. Here are the official estimates:

-8-times as much oil as Saudi Arabia
-18-times as much oil as Iraq
-21-times as much oil as Kuwait
-22-times as much oil as Iran
-500-times as much oil as Yemen - and it's all right here in the Western United States.

HOW can this BE!? HOW can we NOT BE extracting this!? Because the democrats and leftwing republicans have blocked all efforts to help America become independent of foreign oil.

James Bartis, lead researcher with the study says we've got more oil in this very compact area than the entire Middle East -more than 2 TRILLION barrels. Untapped. That's more than all the proven oil reserves of crude oil in the world today, reports The Denver Post

Don't think 'OPEC' will drop its price - even with this find? Think again! It's all about the competitive marketplace, - it has to.
----
Got your attention/ire up yet? Hope so! Now, while you're thinking about it ... and hopefully P.O'd, do this:

3. Take 10 minutes and compose an e-mail; fax or good old-fashioned letter to all your friends and associates. Alert them to the fact that democrats and 'liberal' republicans have been and will continue to obstruct all plans to make America independent of foreign oil. The only solution is to vote all democrats and Marxist oriented republicans out of office.

If you don't take a little time to do this, then you should stifle yourself the next time you want to complain about gas prices .. because by doing NOTHING, you've forfeited your right to complain.

Those freaking Marxist oriented republicans! Out! Out with them!!!

I'm just saying.

[drilling rig]

i did not know that canada was top on the list. This is so suprising to me.

[Shabba Labba Ding Dong]

Is Iraq not one of the top five? This surprises me.

[John Caruso]

Iraq is number 6 as of the latest EIA report (April 30th, 2009).