Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by takyon on Sunday December 09 2018, @09:35PM   Printer-friendly
from the pump-and-dump dept.

The U.S. Just Became a Net Oil Exporter for the First Time in 75 Years:

America turned into a net oil exporter last week, breaking almost 75 years of continued dependence on foreign oil and marking a pivotal -- even if likely brief -- moment toward what U.S. President Donald Trump has branded as "energy independence."

The shift to net exports is the dramatic result of an unprecedented boom in American oil production, with thousands of wells pumping from the Permian region of Texas and New Mexico to the Bakken in North Dakota to the Marcellus in Pennsylvania.

While the country has been heading in that direction for years, this week's dramatic shift came as data showed a sharp drop in imports and a jump in exports to a record high. Given the volatility in weekly data, the U.S. will likely remain a small net importer most of the time.

"We are becoming the dominant energy power in the world," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research. "But, because the change is gradual over time, I don't think it's going to cause a huge revolution, but you do have to think that OPEC is going to have to take that into account when they think about cutting."

The shale revolution has transformed oil wildcatters into billionaires and the U.S. into the world's largest petroleum producer, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia. The power of OPEC has been diminished, undercutting one of the major geopolitical forces of the last half century.

I can see short-term benefits (avoiding another 1973 Oil Crisis), but am concerned about the long-term strategy. Given a fixed supply of oil, isn't the US just racing to deplete its resources and therefore setting itself up for a later "oil crisis"? The only hope I see is a huge and continued emphasis in transitioning to alternative energy sources (be it solar, wind, and/or nuclear) and thus ween itself from dependence on foreign supplies.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @12:23AM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @12:23AM (#772148)

    Western civilization existed for hundreds of years with the death penalty, with psychopathic leaders, with kids dying by the thousands through parental choices and long before Darwin existed.

  • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @02:37AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @02:37AM (#772207)

    Good argument. People also lived for without a Constitution just fine for thousands of years. Time to scrap that garbage.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @06:17AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 10 2018, @06:17AM (#772249)

      The US already did. It's just a piece of paper.
      Western civilization has been around hundreds of years before the US existed.