The Need Is Real
America’s demand for petroleum-based fuels is not decreasing. The United States is severely lacking in modern refining capacity for the heavier petroleum crudes which will dominate the world’s future petroleum supplies. Reliance on offshore outsourcing of our ability to produce oil, jobs and refining capacity is not strategically or environmentally responsible for the United States. Every barrel of petroleum produced in North America should stay in North America. Every barrel that leaves our continent will have to be replaced with imports from other parts of the world.
Canada is, and will likely continue to be, the largest crude oil exporter to the U.S. Western Canadian crude oil production (mostly heavy crude) is expected to more than double from 2.2 million to over 4.5 million barrels per day in the next decade. Unfortunately, the U.S. currently does not have the refining capacity to process the heavy Canadian crudes that are projected to come on the market.
America needs a domestic source for clean, secure, and reliable energy. U.S. petroleum consumption has increased by over 30% in the past 20 years, while our domestic crude oil production has dropped by almost 45%. As a result, crude oil imports have more than doubled over the past two decades.
Insufficient Refining Capabilities
In addition to the United States' lack of domestic crude oil, the US does not have the domestic refining capacity to keep up with current demand. The last refinery built in the United States was completed in 1976 and on average today's operating refineries were sited and constructed over 70 years ago. As a result the US has recently imported over 160 million gallons (4+ million barrels) of refined product a day to meet demand.
Asian Competition for Canadian Crude
State oil companies of Asia are focused on increasing their own security of petroleum supply and are seeking to import Canadian crude to feed their ever expanding growth for refined product. Barrels lost to Asia in Canada will have to be replaced with additional crude from politically unstable and potentially unfriendly countries that have oil resources.