

US Oil Boom: Soon to Be Top Producer? - xhrpost
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2012/10/us-oil-boom-soon-to-be-top-producer/

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taumeson
Something for everybody to keep in mind: The US is a huge IMPORTER of crude
oil, but a net EXPORTER of refined petroleum products! The amount of crude we
make will have an impact on petroleum prices, but not as large as one would
think.

Oil's a bit like diamonds. It's artificial scarcity in the US to keep the
price high.

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tocomment
I wonder if we'll end up joining OPEC? Could there actually be advantages in
that?

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simulate
OPEC is a cartel intended to maintain a high price for oil.

The US has been the second or third largest oil producer for decades, well
ahead of all other OPEC countries except Saudi Arabia. See:
<http://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=oil_where>

In addition to being one of the largest oil producers for decades, it has also
been the largest oil consumer. Therefore it has not been in the US's interest
to join OPEC. The US would prefer lower oil prices. There's no reason to
expect this will change if the US moves from number 2 or 3 producer to number
1.

