Oil watch
U.S. Oil Imports
The U.S. with 4.5% of the world's
population, uses 26% of the world's oil.
In 2001, the U.S imported 54%
of the oil it needed, importing 11-12 million barrels a day and
producing about 8-9 million a day to provide the 20 million barrels
a day the U.S. consumes daily.
Of those imports, 48% came from
the Western Hemisphere and 30% came from the Persian Gulf region,
with the rest coming from Africa and Europe.
[Source: Energy Information Administration
- 5/02]
Although the U.S. imports only
11.4 % of its oil from the Persian Gulf region, that area contains
590 billion barrels of known reserves. Add Iran, Libya and Algeria
and you have another 130 billion barrels. The enormous pool of
oil stretching form Algeria to Iran is estimated at 720 billion
barrels. The reserves expected from the Caspain Sea in Central
Asia will be added to this total in a few years.
[Source - American Petroleum Institute,
2003]
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Articles
"Whereas international
conflict was until recently governed by political and ideological
considerations, the wars of the future will largely be fought
over the possession and control of vital economic goods-especially
resources needed for the functioning of modern industrial societies.
Michael Klare
Transnational Corporations & the Third World
Globalization watch
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