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We are not the largest (https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=oil_where https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=oil_where): > About 100

We are not the largest (https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=oil_where https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.php?page=oil_where): > About 100 countries produce crude oil. In 2017, 48% of the world's total crude oil production came from five countries: > Russia — 13% > Saudi Arabia — 13% > United States — 12% > Iraq — 6% > Iran — 5% Clearly a major producer, but not nearly enough to set the market price. And that's the key thing: it's a global market. Even if we set internal US policy to only consume US produced oil, we would still be affected by production of other country's because it's the global oil supply that affects the price of that oil.

at-fates-hands 8y ago
Since September of this year we are: For the first time since 1973, the United States is the world's largest producer of crude oil, according to preliminary estimates published on Wednesday by the Energy Department. Texas is the epicenter of the shale boom. Production in the Permian Basin of West Texas has grown so much that in February the United States vaulted above Saudi Arabia for the first time in more than two decades, according to the US Energy Information Administration. US output kept climbing in June and August, reaching nearly 11 million barrels per day. That nudged the United States ahead of Russia for the first time since February 1999, the EIA estimates. The United States isn't expected to cede its crown any time soon. The EIA expects US oil production to stay ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia through 2019. https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/12/investing/us-oil-production-russia-saudi-arabia/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/12/investing/us-oil-production...
- scott_s 8y ago
  Which is fine, as it does not disagree with my main point: we are not a large enough producer to set the market price.
  - yayana 8y ago
    The US produces ~13% and consumes ~20%. Given that marginal amounts change pricing drastically, there's really no one who could change the market against the wishes of the US. The wishes of the US are to kill us all with this cheap crude.
hollerith 8y ago
>not nearly enough to set the market price No one in this thread has claimed that the US is trying to set the market price of oil. Can you cite any author besides yourself who claims that the US foreign policy at any point in the last 15 years has been driven by a desire to keep oil cheap? What grandparent probably meant was that for the first time in decades the US is on the verge of being able to produce all the oil it needs: today the combination of the US and Canada can produce all the oil the combination needs, and US production is increasing rapidly with the result that in a year or 2 US production by itself will suffice to meet all of the US's consumption needs.
- scott_s 8y ago
  The point is that being self-reliant on oil does not insulate you from the geopolitics of oil. Even if the US is self-reliant regarding oil, it still has national interest in what goes on in other oil-producing countries.

at-fates-hands 8y ago

Since September of this year we are: For the first time since 1973, the United States is the world's largest producer of crude oil, according to preliminary estimates published on Wednesday by the Energy Department. Texas is the epicenter of the shale boom. Production in the Permian Basin of West Texas has grown so much that in February the United States vaulted above Saudi Arabia for the first time in more than two decades, according to the US Energy Information Administration. US output kept climbing in June and August, reaching nearly 11 million barrels per day. That nudged the United States ahead of Russia for the first time since February 1999, the EIA estimates. The United States isn't expected to cede its crown any time soon. The EIA expects US oil production to stay ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia through 2019. https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/12/investing/us-oil-production-russia-saudi-arabia/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/12/investing/us-oil-production...

scott_s 8y ago
Which is fine, as it does not disagree with my main point: we are not a large enough producer to set the market price.
- yayana 8y ago
  The US produces ~13% and consumes ~20%. Given that marginal amounts change pricing drastically, there's really no one who could change the market against the wishes of the US. The wishes of the US are to kill us all with this cheap crude.

hollerith 8y ago

>not nearly enough to set the market price No one in this thread has claimed that the US is trying to set the market price of oil. Can you cite any author besides yourself who claims that the US foreign policy at any point in the last 15 years has been driven by a desire to keep oil cheap? What grandparent probably meant was that for the first time in decades the US is on the verge of being able to produce all the oil it needs: today the combination of the US and Canada can produce all the oil the combination needs, and US production is increasing rapidly with the result that in a year or 2 US production by itself will suffice to meet all of the US's consumption needs.

scott_s 8y ago
The point is that being self-reliant on oil does not insulate you from the geopolitics of oil. Even if the US is self-reliant regarding oil, it still has national interest in what goes on in other oil-producing countries.