U.S. Oil Production Levels Not as Bad as Believed
Contrary to the conventional wisdom espoused by the Cheney oil group, there is new evidence that the U.S. is not in as dire straights as they would have you believe.
New information from the Energy Information Administration is now supporting views expressed by Oil Trends Blog in earlier publications. EIA is predicting U.S. crude oil production will increase 8 percent from 2008 to 2009. The following graph illustrates this fact:
Two thirds of the overall U.S. increase in production in 2009 will come from the Gulf of Mexico. Some of this increase reflects recovery from this year’s hurricanes, but over half arises from new production. Overall, crude oil production from the Gulf of Mexico is projected to be 11 percent higher than in 2007. See the graph below:
Additionally, U.S. crude oil stocks continue to track well within the historic average range indicating an adequate supply to meet current needs. See below:
As we have stated before, we are not suggesting that one day the world will not reach a point where crude oil demand exceeds supply. However, projections of when that will occur are highly speculative. In the near term it will behoove the incoming presidential administration to not be stampeded by special interest groups concerning oil shortages. Developing an open and qualified staff of oil experts will go a long way to overcoming the misinformation spewed out by the likes of Cheney or Palin. A planned and well thought out energy policy is what is needed and there is plenty of time to cautiously address the issues.