Oil Consumption, Policy and Subsidies

And What McCain and Obama Say About Energy

The United States consumes more oil than any other nation in the world, and about 60 percent of it is imported. Record-high oil prices and growing frustrations over U.S. foreign policy’s being driven by oil interests have reignited a years-old debate over whether the United States should be relying on foreign oil. Meanwhile, 2008 presidential candidates, left and right, promise voters “energy independence.”

The United States consumes 21 million barrels of oil per day, more than any other nation — this amounts to about 25 percent of the world’s total consumption. Yet the United States has only 3 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves. That 3 percent yields about 5 million barrels per day, and if production were to remain at the same level, the reserves would last 11 or 12 years.