Analysis of the increasing U.S. dependence on imported oil

The United States now harbors 5% of the world’s population, but consumes 26% of the world’s petroleum. The reasons why it consumes so much are straightforward. First, petroleum products are less expensive in the U.S. than elsewhere. Second, U.S. per-capita income is the highest in the world – about five times the world average. With current technology, a wealthy nation requires a great deal of petroleum for manufacturing, for producing electricity and, particularly, for transportation. Since 1975, the U.S. has consumed far more petroleum than it produced. The gap between domestic consumption and production must, of course, be filled by imports. Crude oil accounts for about 80% of all imported petroleum. The remaining 20% comprises distillate fuel oil, jet fuel, liquefied petroleum gases, gasoline and gasoline blending compounds, residual fuel oil and other products.