

Where US Oil comes from (Infographic) - cwan
http://www.ngoilgas.com/media/media-news/infographics/090911-OGUS-USOilImports.png

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CWuestefeld
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...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sassoon/us-oil-exports-hit-
record_b_120058.html) \-- 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.

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kevbin
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).

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jrockway
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.)

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

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kevbin
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.

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ojbyrne
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...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_petroleum_industry_in_Canada_%28frontier_exploration_and_development%29#Mackenzie_delta_and_the_Beaufort_Sea)

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idm
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.

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sdp
<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>

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

Still, thanks for pointing that out.

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

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_ck_
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?

