The top export of the United States of America is now gas and other fuel. Source: EIA
Yes, it is true. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the top export of the United States of America is now gas and other fuels. (Aircraft, motor vehicles, vacuum tubes and telecom equipment were next on the list of top exports.)
f this is the case, why are the prices of gas and other fuels so high? A decade ago, fuel was not among America’s top 25 exports. How did this country become the leading exporter of fuels?
First we need to understand that the United States has no national oil company. The largest three U.S.-based international oil companies (ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips) are accountable to their shareholders, not the United States government. These major players supply the world oil market. Governments of oil-rich countries have a major influence on the world supply of oil through ownership of national oil companies and, for some governments and OPEC members.
According to EIA, “The United States consumed 19.1 million barrels per day of petroleum products during 2010, making us the world's largest petroleum consumer. The United States was also third in crude oil production at 5.5. But crude oil alone does not constitute all U.S. petroleum supplies.”
In the first ten months of 2011, the U.S. exported and imported early the same amount of fuels, making it a net exporter of fuels. It will is the first year in more than 60 years that America has been a net exporter of these fuels. The last time the U.S. was a net exporter of fuels was in 1949, when Harry Truman was president.
Experts say America’s fuels export has surged for two reasons:
Crude oil, the raw material from which gasoline and other refined products are made, is a lot more expensive. Oil prices averaged $95 a barrel in 2011, while gasoline averaged $3.52 a gallon — a record. A decade ago oil averaged $26 a barrel, while gasoline averaged $1.44 a gallon.
The volume of fuel exports is rising. The U.S. is using less fuel because of a weak economy and more efficient cars and trucks. That allows refiners to sell more fuel to rapidly growing economies in Latin America, for example. In 2011, U.S. refiners exported 117 million gallons per day of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and other petroleum products, up from 40 million gallons per day a decade earlier.
If fuel is America leading export, why are motorists paying more for gasoline? Simply put, the value of U.S. fuel exports has grown steadily over the past decade, coinciding with rising oil prices and increased demand around the globe. Experts say the more fuel that’s sent overseas, the less of a supply cushion there is at home. They also say that gasoline supplies are being exported to the highest bidder; after all, it’s a world market. Developing countries in Latin America and Asia have been burning more gasoline and diesel as their people buy more cars and build more roads and factories. Europe also has been buying more U.S. fuel to make up for its lack of refineries.
Refining companies are not disclosing how much they make by selling fuels overseas. One does not have to be a rocket scientist to suspect that sales are likely generating higher profits per gallon than they would have generated in the U.S.
The top five sources of US crude oil imports for 2011 are Canada (2,324 thousand barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1,465 thousand barrels per day), Mexico (1,099 thousand barrels per day), Venezuela (759 thousand barrels per day) and Nigeria (529 thousand barrels per day). The rest of the top ten sources, in order, were Colombia (510 thousand barrels per day), Iraq (403 thousand barrels per day), Ecuador (299 thousand barrels per day), Angola (283 thousand barrels per day) and Russia (275 thousand barrels per day). Total crude oil imports averaged 9,006 thousand barrels per day in September, which is a decrease of (16) thousand barrels per day from August 2011.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
ChocolateCity.cc Facebook Comments: