The myth of US self-sufficiency in crude oil | Energy Matters

The myth of US self-sufficiency in crude oil | Energy Matters

Guest post by Matt Mushalik who runs the Australian Crude Oil Peak web site whereThe myth of US self-sufficiency in crude oil was first published. There is a wealth of information and brilliant charts below the fold.

Google for “US energy independence” and you will get 134k results, “US self sufficiency” yields 10k results. Here are some examples of what the media reports:

In Aljazeera’s Inside Story, 10/1/2016, titled “How much support will Saudi Arabia win against Iran?” the delicate relationship between the US, Saudi Arabia and Iran is discussed with 3 panellists. The moderator wanted answers in the context of “the US is almost at a tipping point, is almost energy independent..”
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2016/01/saudi-arabia-iran-160110170443000.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xvjeUKpkP8 (18:45)

In the State of the Union Address 2014 Obama proudly announced: “Today, America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades”. In the latest SOUA on 12th January 2016, we hear: “Meanwhile, we’ve cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly sixty percent”

On 16/1/2016, the 7pm news of Australia’s public broadcaster ABC TV had this snippet:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-16/benefits-of-falling-oil-prices-not-fully-passed-on-to-motorists/7091862?section=business

Let’s look at the data:

Cont......