Why would oil companies want to increase output and push down prices at this point?
Did Americans stop buying gas when it hit 4 bucks?
You could open every square inch of the US for oil drilling and what will the drillers do? They'll find the oil, drill it, cap it, and sit on it. They'll dole it out just enough to meet demand without driving down prices as long as people are buying.
That's an interesting point. Most states are losing money these days because of more efficient vehicles.
Our collective oil consumption is lower today than it was 40 years ago. But we're less than 10% of world demand.
wtf??
Oil Consumption in the United States, 1950-2010
Year Consumption*
Million Barrels per Day
1950 6.46
1951 7.02
1952 7.27
1953 7.60
1954 7.76
1955 8.46
1956 8.78
1957 8.81
1958 9.12
1959 9.53
1960 9.80
1961 9.98
1962 10.40
1963 10.74
1964 11.02
1965 11.51
1966 12.08
1967 12.56
1968 13.39
1969 14.14
1970 14.70
1971 15.21
1972 16.37
1973 17.31
1974 16.65
1975 16.32
1976 17.46
1977 18.43
1978 18.85
1979 18.51
1980 17.06
1981 16.06
1982 15.30
1983 15.23
1984 15.73
1985 15.73
1986 16.28
1987 16.67
1988 17.28
1989 17.33
1990 16.99
1991 16.71
1992 17.03
1993 17.24
1994 17.72
1995 17.72
1996 18.31
1997 18.62
1998 18.92
1999 19.52
2000 19.70
2001 19.65
2002 19.76
2003 20.03
2004 20.73
2005 20.80
2006 20.69
2007 20.68
2008 19.50
2009 18.77
2010 ** 18.93
* Includes ethanol, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, petrochemical feedstocks, asphalt, and other petroleum products. For the full list of included items, see U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Information Administration (EIA), "Petroleum Navigator: Definitions, Sources and Explanatory Notes," at
Table Definitions, Sources, and Explanatory Notes.
** Consumption for 2010 is a projection.
Source: 1950-2005 from "Petroleum Products Supplied by Type, 1949-2008," Table 5.11 in DOE, EIA, "Annual Energy Review: Petroleum," at
Total Energy - Data - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), updated 26 June 2009; 2006-2010 from DOE, EIA, "Short Term Energy Outlook," at
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), updated 8 September 2010.
This is part of a supporting dataset for Lester R. Brown, World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011). For more information and a free download of the book, see Earth Policy Institute on-line at
Earth Policy Institute ? Building a Sustainable Future | Home.
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