The Unexpected Gold Rush of Oil in the U.S.

begin quote from page 25 of the august 12th 2013 Time Magazine:
"---The U.S. has always been a major oil producer but output had been declining steadily for decades. Production peaked in 1970 and fell to a 62 year low of 5 million barrels a day in 2008 But that decline curve has reversed. Seemingly overnight, production rebounded to nearly 7 million barrels a day and is projected to rec the astonishing level of 9 million to 10 million by 2020.

The natural gas story is equally dramatic. Traditional gas fields were in long term decline, and production had fallen to 38 billion cubic feet per day in 2006. Last year, the U.S. procured 65 billion cubic feet per day. Even more important, the U.S. is now believed to possess a 100 year supply of natural gas, and prices have fallen sharply, from $13 per million BTUs in 2008 to less than $4 now.

What explains this phenomenon? The answer is uniquely American technology--a breakthrough in horizontal drilling combined with advanced forms of hydraulic fracturing and seismic exploration. "

end quote from page 25 in the August 12, 2013 Time Magazine.

Though output has increased of both oil and natural gas, less and less of it tends to be used in the U.S. so it is being exported more and more. The prices of gas this summer were some of the highest at the pump that I have ever seen since March. For the first time where I live I have been able to buy Regular Gas at around $3.73 cents a gallon since about I believe march as the prices have been generally higher than that (up to about $4 to 4.15 a gallon since March in California for regular gas.)

Because of the really high gas prices people tend to be generally driving less. However, that is sort of a relative term because more drove than likely have driven this summer since about 2007 because the economy is better now than it was from 2007 until now. I think the U.S. now is likely is presently one of the highest exporters of oil on earth when we used to be the biggest consumer of foreign oil before 2007.

Here is a list of oil exporting nations as of 2009. However, this doesn't actually display what I wanted to because of various factors up to the present. But it is better than nothing:

Begin quote from Wikipedia:

List of countries by oil exports

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This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2013)

A world map of countries by oil exportation, 2006.

This is a list of oil-producing countries by oil exports based on The World Factbook [1]. Note that many countries also import oil, and some import more oil than they export. Non-sovereign entities are listed in italics.

Countries

Rank	Country/Region	Oil - exports (bbl/day)	Date of information
1	Saudi Arabia	7,635,000	2009 est.
2	Russia	5,010,000	2010 est.
3	Iran	2,523,000	2009 est.
4	United Arab Emirates	2,395,000	2009 est.
5	European Union	2,196,000	2009 est.
6	Norway	2,184,000	2009 est.
7	Iraq	2,170,000	2011 est.
8	Kuwait	2,127,000	2009 est.
9	Nigeria	2,102,000	2009 est.
10	Canada	1,929,000	2009 est.
11	United States	1,920,000	2009 est.
12	Netherlands	1,871,000	2009 est.
13	Venezuela	1,871,000	2009 est.
14	Angola	1,851,000	2009 est.
15	Algeria	1,694,000	2009 est.
16	Libya	1,580,000	2010 est.
17	Mexico	1,511,000	2009 est.
18	Kazakhstan	1,390,000	2011 est.
19	Singapore	1,374,000	2009 est.
20	United Kingdom	1,311,000	2009 est.
21	South Korea	1,100,000	2011 est.
22	Qatar	1,038,000	2009 est.
23	India	825,600	2009 est.
24	Brazil	801,200	December 2011 est.
25	Azerbaijan	651,700	2009 est.
26	Malaysia	644,900	2009 est.
27	Oman	592,300	2009 est.
28	Italy	529,100	2009 est.
29	China	506,500	2011 est.
30	France	487,200	2009 est.
31	Germany	470,200	2009 est.
32	Indonesia	404,100	2009 est.
33	Colombia	400,700	2009 est.
34	Equatorial Guinea	395,000	2009 est.
35	Sudan	383,900	2009 est.
36	U.S. Virgin Islands	380,800	2009 est.
37	Japan	366,800	2009 est.
38	Belgium	353,000	2009 est.
39	Ecuador	333,400	2011 est.
40	Australia	312,600	2009 est.
41	Belarus	310,500	2009 est.
42	Taiwan	303,000	2010 est.
43	Thailand	269,100	2009 est.
44	Syria	263,000	2009 est.
45	Denmark	249,600	2010 est.
46	Sweden	243,200	2009 est.
47	Trinidad and Tobago	242,600	2009 est.
48	Spain	240,700	2009 est.
49	Bahrain	239,900	2009 est.
50	Argentina	238,100	2009 est.
51	Gabon	213,500	2009 est.
52	Republic of the Congo	211,800	2009 est.
53	Vietnam	210,500	2011 est.
54	Yemen	207,700	2009 est.
55	Aruba	206,400	2009 est.
56	Greece	181,600	2009 est.
57	Egypt	163,000	2009 est.
58	Brunei	153,000	2009 est.
59	Finland	133,600	2009 est.
60	Chad	115,000	2009 est.
61	Ukraine	114,000	2009 est.
62	Cameroon	101,300	2009 est.
63	Turkmenistan	97,430	2009 est.
64	Tunisia	91,200	2009 est.
65	Israel	86,010	2009 est.
66	Timor-Leste	86,000	2009 est.
67	Slovakia	78,940	2009 est.
68	Lithuania	76,510	2009 est.
69	Bulgaria	75,840	2009 est.
70	Romania	74,080	2010 est.
71	Peru	73,280	2009 est.
72	Cote d'Ivoire	70,800	2009 est.
73	Turkey	68,450	2009 est.
74	Philippines	60,460	2009 est.
75	South Africa	54,930	2009 est.
76	Chile	52,390	2009 est.
77	Poland	50,400	2009 est.
78	Portugal	49,650	2009 est.
79	New Zealand	47,200	2009 est.
80	Austria	46,020	2009 est.
81	The Bahamas	41,610	2009 est.
82	Croatia	36,080	2010 est.
83	Pakistan	29,840	2009 est.
84	Czech Republic	25,480	2009 est.
85	Morocco	25,090	2009 est.
86	Ireland	21,590	2010 est.
87	Puerto Rico	19,230	2009 est.
88	Hong Kong	18,750	2011 est.
89	Guatemala	15,300	2009 est.
90	Democratic Republic of the Congo	11,090	2009 est.
91	Serbia	11,000	2011 est.
92	Benin	10,840	2009 est.
93	Mauritania	10,000	2009 est.
94	Switzerland	9,851	2009 est.
95	Slovenia	8,958	2009 est.
96	Macedonia	8,594	2010
97	Kenya	8,610	2009 est.
98	Papua New Guinea	8,290	2009 est.
99	Cuba	6,882	2009 est.
100	Mongolia	5,834	2010 est.
101	Ghana	5,752	2009 est.
102	Bolivia	5,621	2010 est.
103	Latvia	5,160	2010 est.
104	Honduras	5,114	2009 est.
105	Senegal	4,550	2009 est.
106	Suriname	3,058	2009 est.
107	Bangladesh	2,770	2009 est.
108	El Salvador	2,315	2010 est.
109	Costa Rica	2,087	2009 est.
110	Uzbekistan	2,078	2009 est.
111	Kyrgyzstan	2,042	2009 est.
112	Fiji	1,857	2009 est.
113	Uruguay	1,395	2011 est.
114	Iceland	1,209	2009 est.
115	Somalia	1,109	2009 est.
116	Greenland	1,050	2009 est.
117	Georgia	1,008	2011 est.
118	Albania	1,004	2009 est.
119	Nicaragua	742	2009 est.
120	Moldova	741	2009 est.
121	Luxembourg	686	2009 est.
122	New Caledonia	648	2009 est.
123	Sierra Leone	500	2009 est.
124	Tajikistan	405	2009 est.
125	Zambia	360	2009 est.
126	Bosnia and Herzegovina	96	2009 est.
127	The Gambia	42	2009 est.
128	Liberia	23	2009 est.
129	Djibouti	19	2009 est.

end quote from Wikipedia under the heading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_exports

 

Also, I was amazed it cost 99 dollars to go from Victoria, B.C.,Canada to Port Angeles Washington for my Toyota Tundra Truck and just my wife and I. Oil prices on the ocean going Ferry must really be affecting prices. Also, likely this is affecting a lot of businesses that cater to the public on Vancouver Island since you can only reach there either by boat or plane from either Vancouver, Canada on the mainland or from Anacortes, Seattle, the San Juan islands or Port Angeles on the Main land U.S. there in Washington state. Also, it is possible to get there by Sea plane direct into Victoria harbor from places like Vancouver, Canada. I think Harbour air lines is one of the companies that does this. 

Here is an article about U.S. exports in 2012:

U.S. Was Net Oil-Product Exporter for First Time Since 1949

By Barbara Powell - Feb 29, 2012 2:52 PM PT

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Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

A crude oil well site outside South Heart, North Dakota, on Feb. 10, 2012.

The U.S. exported more gasoline, diesel and other fuels than it imported in 2011 for the first time since 1949, the Energy Department said.

Enlarge image

Crude oil removed from a Fidelity Exploration & Production Co. well outside South Heart, North Dakota, on Feb. 10, 2012. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

2:49

Feb. 29 (Bloomberg) -- Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of Chrysler Group LLC, Nansen Saleri, CEO of Quantum Reservoir Impact LLC, and Edward Morse, head of commodities research at Citigroup Global Markets Inc., offer their views on the rise in oil prices. This report also contains comments from Scott Clemons, chief investment strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.; Robert Hagstrom, a portfolio manager at Legg Mason Capital Management Inc., and Kevin Book, managing director at ClearView Energy Partners LLC. (Source: Bloomberg)

Shipments abroad of petroleum products exceeded imports by 439,000 barrels a day, the department said today in the Petroleum Supply Monthly report. In 2010, daily net imports averaged 269,000 barrels. U.S. refiners exported record amounts of gasoline, heating oil and diesel to meet higher global fuel demand while U.S. fuel consumption sank.
Oil demand in Latin America will climb 2.5 percent to 6.64 million barrels a day this year, while contracting 2.4 percent in Europe and 0.5 percent in North America, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said Feb. 10. Mexico’s use of U.S.- made gasoline was 44 percent higher last year than in 2010, Energy Department data show.
“There’s stronger global demand for clean fuels and stronger demand for fuel, outpacing production in places like South America,” said Sander Cohan, a global transportation fuels analyst and principal with Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
Gasoline futures for March delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled at $3.0423 a gallon today, up 11 percent in the past year. Heating oil was up 9 percent during that period to $3.188 a gallon.

Distillate Exports

Distillate shipments rose 30 percent from a year earlier to a record 854,000 barrels a day, and daily exports of finished gasoline and blending components jumped 57 percent to 526,000 barrels in 2011.
Refiners are expanding on the Gulf Coast and in the Midwest, even as unprofitable plants along the East Coast were shut. Operable capacity in the U.S. climbed 0.8 percent to 17.7 million barrels a day in December from a year earlier.
U.S. refineries in the Gulf Coast, where about half of U.S. capacity is located, operated at 88.8 percent last year, up from 88.6 percent in 2010.
“It helps keep refinery utilization rates up in this country,” Bill Day, a spokesman for Valero Energy Corp. (VLO) in San Antonio, said in a telephone interview. “Otherwise we would see what we’re seeing on the East Coast, where refineries are shutting.”
In the fourth quarter, Valero, the largest U.S. independent refiner with 14 North American plants, exported about 5 percent of its gasoline output and 17 percent of its heating oil and diesel production, Day said.

Export Forecast

The U.S. will ship abroad 350,000 barrels a day more petroleum products that it imports in 2012 and 320,000 barrels daily in 2013, according to the department’s Short-Term Energy Outlook report released on Feb. 7.
Gasoline demand in the U.S. sank 2.9 percent to 8.736 million barrels a day last year as pump prices averaged $3.521 a gallon, the highest in records dating back to 1919.
Total U.S. oil product demand fell 9.5 percent to 18.8 million barrels a day last year from 20.8 million in 2005, department data show.
“The reason we can export so much is demand in the U.S. is weak,” Cohan said. Since 2005, the U.S. has lost nearly 2 million barrels a day of total product consumption, he said.

Diesel Demand

Global demand for diesel is rising faster than for gasoline, prompting refiners to increase yields of distillate fuels. A barrel of crude refined in the U.S. yielded 31.2 percent distillate fuel in December, the most ever. Distillate exports reached 1.13 million barrels a day during the month as cold weather in Europe boosted demand. Shipments to the Netherlands doubled, the data show.
“This year was one of the most mild winters on record in the U.S. at a time when the winter weather in Europe was just atrocious,” said James Cordier, portfolio manager at OptionSellers.com in Tampa, Florida.
Total net crude and product imports fell 11 percent from a year earlier to 8.436 million barrels a day, the lowest level since 1995, department data showed. Domestic oil output rose 3.6 percent to 5.673 million barrels a day, an eight-year high.
To contact the reporter on this story: Barbara J Powell in Dallas at bpowell4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net

end quote from:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-29/u-s-was-net-oil-product-exporter-in-2011.html

If the U.S. exceeded oil imports with exports by 439,000 barrels a day this would mean we exported that year at least 439,000 times 365 = 160,235,000 barrels of oil we exported more than we imported that year.

However, the problem I might have with this might be that if we kept more oil here the cost of gasoline here might be lower than at the high level it presently is. Something to think about if I'm right about that. Since our country (and all countries) rise or fall on the cost of gasoline and diesel this is something to think about for everyone.