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The United States has largest energy reserves on Earth, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.
As shown in the charts below, the U.S. has 1,321 billion barrels of oil (or barrels of oil equivalent for other sources of energy) when combining its recoverable natural gas, oil and coal reserves.
While Russia is a close second with 1,248 billion barrels, other energy producing nations are far behind. No. 3 is Saudi Arabia (543 billion barrels), followed by China (494 billion barrels), Iran (426 billion barrels) and Canada (221 billion barrels.)
Coal is one of the true measures of the energy strength of the United States. One quarter of the world’s coal reserves are found within the United States, and the energy content of the nation’s coal resources exceeds that of all the world’s known recoverable oil. Coal is also the workhorse of the nation’s electric power industry, supplying more than half the electricity consumed by Americans.
* According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), federal lands, including those on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), hold an estimated 116 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 650 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas — enough to fuel over 65 million cars for 60 years and meet the natural gas needs of 60 million households for 160 years.
* However, there could be much more oil and natural gas than has been estimated in areas where industry has not been permitted to explore, and where new technologies allow enhanced recovery of energy resources while protecting the environment.
Now...give or take 50 years for increased consumption or new resources, and we could just say 130-230 years of barrels of oil we have.
Do you know why we set up the strategic oil reserve? When we use up all of the oil from every other country we can, the US will be the major supplier of oil for the world.
The United States started the petroleum reserve in 1975 after oil supplies were cut off during the 1973-74 oil embargo, to mitigate future temporary supply disruptions for example fallout with Relations dealing in oil or World War. According to the World Factbook[7], the United States imports a net 12 million barrels (1,900,000 m3) of oil a day (MMbd), so the SPR holds about a 58-day supply. However, the maximum total withdrawal capability from the SPR is only 4.4 million barrels (700,000 m3) per day, making it a 160 + day supply.
Under the radar: Some trends are obvious enough and visible to all investors. Others are more-subtle, but are just as potent, and these often slip 'under the radar.'
Case in point: Saudi Arabia's oil exports to the United States have fallen to a 22-year low, at 745,000 barrels per day (bpd) in August, the latest month for which data is available, from 1.14 million bpd in July, according to data compiled by the U.S. Energy Information Agency. August's 745,000 bpd total is the lowest since December 1987. On a year-over-year basis (August 2008-August 2009), those exports are down about 50%.
It's become conventional wisdom that the U.S. needs to reduce how much oil it imports from Saudi Arabia, in order to both improve our energy independence and to stop sending billions of dollars to the country that spawned Osama Bin Laden and almost all of the 9/11 hijackers.
That demand became a bipartisan campaign refrain in both the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections and has been repeated by countless columnists such as the New York Times's Thomas Friedman.
So, the recent announcement that oil imports from Saudi Arabia had dropped dramatically to its lowest point in 22 years and that the country had fallen from second to fifth (behind Nigeria) on the list of the biggest foreign suppliers of oil to the U.S. in August would seem to represent a fulfillment of that wish.
Read more at: www.huffingtonpost.com...&cp
Originally posted by Dermo
So can any of you explain this to me properly? How can the US have a proven equal amount of fossil fuel reserves as almost all of Eurasia and five times more than the expanse of Canada? Im not looking for an explanation as to how fossil fuels are created, just how these figures have been fathomed. Thanks.
Just wondering how it is known that the US has all these reserves? It just seems like another one of these "USA is the greatest" points of view.
Saudi Arabia is trying to enlist other oil-producing countries to support a provocative idea: if wealthy countries reduce their oil consumption to combat global warming, they should pay compensation to oil producers.
The oil-rich kingdom has pushed this position for years in earlier climate-treaty negotiations. While it has not succeeded, its efforts have sometimes delayed or disrupted discussions. The kingdom is once again gearing up to take a hard line on the issue at international negotiations scheduled for Copenhagen in December.
Originally posted by SLAYER69
Here you go. The US Dept of Energy
Fossil Fuels
Overview of Fossil Fuel Energy Resources
[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/da62870e9d58.gif[/atsimg]
Originally posted by plumranch
Same situation with the Oil Shale Reserves of Colorado/Dakotas. There is more oil there that there ever was in Saudi Arabia and you could probably throw in Iraq and Kuwait. Problem is it is rather diffuse and hard to extract! But it is sure nice to know that it is out there!
Originally posted by SLAYER69
reply to post by plumranch
Saudis Seek Payments for Any Drop in Oil Revenues
Saudi Arabia is trying to enlist other oil-producing countries to support a provocative idea: if wealthy countries reduce their oil consumption to combat global warming, they should pay compensation to oil producers.