US Reliance on Foreign Oil
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the United States spends about $475,000 a minute on foreign oil – a staggering number when you stop to think about it. The annual total spent on crude oil imports is approximately $250 billion. The U.S. uses approximately 20 million barrels of oil a day (that’s about 3 gallons a day for every person in the country), more than half of which is imported. By 2025, demand is expected to rise to 26 million barrels a day – about 60 percent of which will be imported.
Consider This: In addition, China’s rising oil demand and imports have made it a significant factor in world oil markets. China is second only to the U.S. in consumption, surpassing Japan for the first time in 2003. Transportation sector ranks first in consumption. Roughly 67 percent of all U.S. oil consumption is in the transportation sector.
About 37 billion gallons of on-road diesel are used each year in the U.S. According to the EIA, reducing demand for oil in the transportation sector will have to be the central component in any serious effort to reduce the overall demand for oil.
Given these facts, and the growing uncertainty surrounding U.S. oil imports, biodiesel and other American-made fuels have an important role to play in strengthening our nation’s energy security. They can help stretch existing petroleum supplies; they can help free the U.S. from the hold of imported oil. Undoubtedly, there is a high demand for quality biodiesel, which is now considered an established fuel type.
