Grumpy Editor finds that the North African nation is only a very minor player
With the price of oil reaching $106 a barrel yesterday, most media and the White House point the finger at Libya as the culprit in sending the price of gasoline to $4 a gallon and beyond, but Grumpy Editor finds that the North African nation is only a very minor player in contributing to the U.S. crude oil supply --- information that is rarely inserted in current stories relating to oil and gasoline.
Gasoline prices are up a hefty 34 cents a gallon, on average, in just 13 days, reports AAA.Among nations receiving Libya’s crude exports, the U.S. gets a minuscule 0.5 percent (that’s half of one percent for those confused by decimal points). That puts the U.S. at the bottom of the list of key nations on the receiving end of Libyan oil.
Put another way, the U.S. receives only 51,000 barrels a day via Libya.That compares to Ireland, topping the list in importing 23 percent of its crude from Libya. It is followed by Italy with 22 percent and Austria with 21 percent.
Europe receives more than 85 percent of Libya’s oil.Of course, U.S. dependency on foreign oil imports can be reduced greatly by more domestic production.But despite the steady upward climb of oil prices --- contributing to inflation on many fronts --- barriers remain for more domestic production that would result in less dependency on foreign imports.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar last Friday told CNSNews: “We don’t believe that you need to drill everywhere and we don’t believe that the ‘drill, baby, drill’ program is the way that’s going to get us to the energy independence that we need for America.”
(One has to re-read that quote to understand Washington thinking.)Salazar said the president and the Interior Department point to the need for an energy program that includes a number of different sources, especially citing renewable energy.Also on Friday, a Rasmussen Reports survey finds 55 percent of likely U.S. voters (up from 48 percent three months ago) now oppose President Barack Obama’s seven-year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling in part of the Gulf of Mexico and along the East Coast.
