IRAQ AND ROLL

SOS California was recently asked to testify at a hearing for the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee.  The title of the hearing was “Energy Independence:  Domestic Opportunities to Reverse California’s Growing Dependence on Foreign Oil.” In the hearing announcement, the Subcommittee stated, “Today, California gets 50 percent of its oil from foreign sources and half of those imports come from the Middle East through the Strait of Hormuz.”

According to the most recent data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), 18.5 percent of California’s oil imports are from Iraq.  

You’ve been listening to the news this week.  You must be asking yourself this:

WHEN IRAQ ROCKS, HOW CAN OUR CARS STILL ROLL? 

If that vision isn’t graphic enough, look at the pie chart below.

 

The Energy Almanac website also shows a table that is equally shocking - Iraq is number 3 in our top favorites in dependence on foreign crude oil sources.
http://energyalmanac.ca.gov/petroleum/statistics/2013_foreign_crude_sources.html

Fears surrounding the impact of the conflict on oil supply and prices are already appearing in the national and international press:

·         The Australian: Escalating violence in Iraq has sent crude oil prices to a nine-month high amid fears supplies could be disrupted. Sunni-led militants are tightening their grip on towns in the north and east of Iraq, sparking concerns that their advance south could put the output of the region's second-biggest oil producer at risk.

·         The New York Times: The oil markets are likely to remain on edge, as escalating tensions in Iraq prompt concerns over supplies in the major oil-producing country. Although a sharp spike in prices looks unlikely at this point, the fighting in Iraq and turmoil in other major oil producers are expected to keep prices relatively high, a situation that could put pressure on gasoline prices during the summer driving season.

·         NPR: When Sunni militants began seizing broad swathes of territory across northern Iraq last week, global oil markets shrugged it off. After all, instability in Iraq is nothing new. But that all changed on Wednesday, when the insurgents swept into the oil refinery town of Baiji, says Robert McNally, president of the Rapidan Group, an energy consulting firm. The price of oil climbed nearly 4 percent in just a few short days.

Why are we still depending on Iraqi oil when extracting oil from formations off Santa Barbara would clean our beaches, air and water? Isn’t it time to ROLL out a new energy strategy???