It may be surprising to many people that the United States gets the majority of its crude oil and petroleum from countries other than those in the Middle East. New data released in June 2011 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration show that only about 18 percent of crude and petroleum came from the Middle Eastern countries of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in 2010. The majority of the crude and petroleum imported to the U.S. came from the Western Hemisphere, with approximately 49 percent coming from North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean, including U.S. territories.
The U.S. consumed 19.1 million barrels per day (MMbd) in 2010 of petroleum products, and dependence on foreign oil has declined since 2005, and several factors come into play as to why. The economic situation has played a role, but there are also factors like increased efficiency and changes in consumer patterns. Domestic biofuels production has helped the U.S. to decrease foreign oil reliance as well, but there have also been changes such as domestic production of crude increasing along with increased natural gas use.
