How much oil does the US export?
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, is demanding that the Commerce Department release detailed reports on which companies are exporting U.S. oil, how much and where it went. Last year the nation exported 268 million barrels of oil. Shockingly, according to Dept. of Energy figures, that’s about equal to the amount of oil we imported from Iraq in 2001, the year before our latest war with that country began. It’s also about equal to the most optimistic guesses about production volume from ANWR, if drilling is allowed there. In other words, if we simply held onto our own oil, the United States would have no oil interest in Iraq at all. And it would also negate any perceived need to disturb an irreplaceable wildlife refuge in the search for oil. But the Commerce Department refused to provide the detail Wyden wants, saying it could only be released to a Congressional committee, not an individual representative. The agency also claims federal law forbids disclosure unless a finding is made that withhol
