Energy in The United States - Oil Consumption

Oil Consumption

For most of the twentieth century and the early part of the twenty first century, the majority of energy consumed has been from oil - fossil fuel provided 81% of the world's energy in 2009, with oil the largest contribution. In 1956 a Shell engineer, M. K. Hubbert, recognized that at some point this would end, publishing the theory of peak oil. In early 2012 it was estimated that the world was at or past peak production of oil, and that out of the estimated 2 trillion barrels available, about half had been consumed. However, there is a long history of such forecasts seriously underestimating future discoveries of oil. It is now estimated that the United States alone now has more than 2 trillion barrels of shale oil, recoverable with current (late 2012) technology.

During the first half of the 20th century, the United States produced a majority of oil consumed domestically, but U.S. production temporarily peaked in the late 1970s, and during the 1990s, the United States imported over 40% of its oil, peaking at over 60% in 2005. Recently, oil prices have risen, briefly, to as high as $145/barrel, leading to a search for alternate sources, and by 2012, less than half of US oil consumption was imported. The dominant consumption of oil is due to its being cheap and convenient. When both of these are removed, owing to lack of supply and concern for global warming, oil becomes unimportant. However, it is not possible to predict the time span to transition to renewable energy from oil. As supplies dwindle, it will be impossible to maintain production at the same level "until the well runs dry", and then abruptly stop. Hubbert envisioned a bell shaped curve. When we reach the other side of the peak, we can anticipate production, and therefore consumption to reduce each year, and be replaced by renewable energy. In opposition to this, United States Department of Energy policy has been to continue to seek alternatives, regardless of the price - worldwide it is estimated this will add $8 trillion to the cost of oil from 2010 to 2035. As prices are set by supply and demand, if we decrease the consumption of oil faster than production decreases, the price at the pump will decrease. If we decrease consumption slower, the price will increase. U.S. gasoline prices jumped from $1.37 to $2.37/gallon in 2005, most likely due to a temporary peak in the supply of oil - the inability of production (supply) to meet consumption (demand). Worldwide production temporarily peaked in 2005.

In 2010 70.5% of petroleum consumption in the U.S. was for transportation. Approximately 2/3 of transportation consumption was gasoline.

During the Carter administration, in response to an energy crisis and hostile Iranian and Soviet Union relations, President Jimmy Carter announced the Carter Doctrine which declared that any interference with U. S. interests in the Persian Gulf would be considered an attack on U.S. vital interests. This doctrine was expanded by Ronald Reagan.

In the movie, Blood and Oil, Nation magazine correspondent Michael T. Klare says that the George W. Bush Administration extended the Carter Doctrine even further to the reaches of Africa through the creation of the United States African Command. He says this command is just there to protect African oil, and that there is a race for scarce oil resources as China and Russia follow the path of the United States's policy in the past by wanting oil for their developing economies.