Two years ago, America was importing about two thirds of its oil. Today, according to the Energy Information Administration, it imports less than half. And by 2017, investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts the US could be poised to pass Saudi Arabia and overtake Russia as the world's largest oil producer. ...
Amy Myers Jaffe of Rice University says in the next decade, new oil in the US, Canada and South America could change the center of gravity of the entire global energy supply.
"Some are now saying, in five or 10 years' time, we're a major oil-producing region, where our production is going up," she says.
The US, Jaffe says, could have 2 trillion barrels of oil waiting to be drilled. South America could hold another 2 trillion. And Canada? 2.4 trillion. That's compared to just 1.2 trillion in the Middle East and north Africa. ...
Russia is already feeling the growth of American energy, Jaffe says. As the U.S. produces more of its own natural gas, Europe is free to purchase liquefied natural gas the US is no longer buying.
"They're buying less natural gas from Russia," Jaffe says. "So Russia would only supply 10 percent of European natural gas demand by 2030. That means the Russians are no longer powerful."
From 2/3 imported to less than half? Good grief! I know our economy has been sluggish in that time, but still.
I've also read that Poland could be a significant source of natural gas for Western Europe (and Ukraine) with fracking methods used.
So we could reduce the world's dependence on Middle Eastern oil and reduce Western Europe's reliance on Russian natural gas. The advantages of nearby and cheaper energy for our economy, diplomacy, and security should be obvious, even if it undercuts the rationale for Greens to run our lives as enlightened eco-nannies rationing scarce energy resources.
And it isn't just us who will benefit. Can you imagine the impact on poor oil-importing countries if their energy bills can be slashed? I think too many people think of high oil prices as a way of transferring wealth from the rich "North" to the poor "South" without remembering that most of the poor South imports fossil fuels, too.
And if the jihadis are hopping mad that we "steal" their oil and "exploit" them, will they be happy when we stop buying it--at least at prices that OPEC sets?
Not all black swan events are bad, it seems. Well, from the perspective of anyone but the eco-nannies and oil-fueled despots.
