The United States consumes eleven percent of world oil production and imports 60% of this oil from foreign sources. Consumption continues to grow and is projected to increase by 44 percent by 2025. Domestic production is expected to meet only 30 percent of the need in 2025. If these projections pan out this means that we will be importing 10 percent more oil in 2025 than now. It’s frightening to think what the price of gasoline will be in 2025 if these projections become a reality. Hopefully, by then we will have alternates sources of energy to meet a large part of our needs.

Consumption of oil by developing nations is expected to double over the next 20 years leading to increased competition for oil exports. China’s oil consumption is increasing at record paces every year.

These developing nations will represent 62 percent of the growth in worldwide petroleum consumption. Petroleum consumption in the developing countries was just over one-half of the total consumption of the industrialized countries in 1997. It is projected to reach 90 percent of the total consumption of the industrialized countries by 2020. This means developing countries will be competing at almost the same level with industrialized countries for a scarce resource. The projected world demand of 118 million barrels a day in 2025 would require global oil output to expand by more than fifty percent.

According to these projections the U.S. will need 44% more oil by 2025, 10% more from foreign sources and will have twice as much competition from developing countries in acquiring the oil. At the same time, proven reserves of conventional oil are projected to peak over the next 10 to 20 years.

Various alternative sources of energy are being pursued by oil companies, like Western Pipeline Corporation, to address the issue. Further development of existing, producing domestic oil reserves, exploration and extraction of heavy oil and natural bitumen which holds enormous promise, solar, wind, hydrogen and natural gas power are all being developed.

Current energy policy is targeting eight nations as alternative oil suppliers for increased government investment and closer political alliances: Angola, Azerbaijan, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia and Venezuela. The hope is that these alliances will help counter the risk of over 25 percent of U.S. oil coming from Arab OPEC states. By 2025, OPEC is expected to be producing 46 percent of the world’s oil.

Bob Jent is the CEO of Western Pipeline Corporation. Western Pipeline Corp specializes in identifying, acquiring and developing existing, producing reserves on behalf of its individual clients.




Tags: price of gasoline, sources of energy, oil reserves, industrialized countries, developing nations, oil consumption, alternative sources of energy