Backstop Resources - Historical Examples

Historical Examples

Cuba during its Special Period following the collapse of the Soviet Union, increased sugar cane ethanol production to offset lost crude oil imports from the Soviet Union.

Canada is the largest single source of oil imports for the United States. As oil prices spiked following the 1979 energy crisis, Canada began significant production of oil derived from tar sands, also known as bitumen. The U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) states that historic Canadian Tar Sand production rose from 200,000 barrels per day (32,000 m3/d) in 1980 to 1,100,000 barrels per day (170,000 m3/d) in 2004. EIA's 2007 International Energy Outlook estimates that tar sand production will climb to 2,300,000 bbl/d (370,000 m3/d) in 2015 and 3.6 million barrels per day (570×10^3 m3/d) in 2030.

South Africa responded to anti-apartheid embargoes by switching from imported crude oil to coal liquefaction producing gasoline and diesel profitably from coal and natural gas using Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. The EIA estimates global coal-to-liquids production will climb to 600,000 bbl/d (95,000 m3/d) in 2015 and 2,400,000 bbl/d (380,000 m3/d) in 2030.