SUN DAY Campaign

6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite #340; Takoma Park, MD 20912

301-270-6477 x.23

sun-day-campaign@hotmail.com

 

 

Media Advisory

 

OCTOBER 17  IS  35^TH  ANNIVERSARY  OF  1973  ARAB  OIL  EMBARGO

 

U.S. USES 15% MORE OIL TODAY AS NET IMPORTS RISE FROM 35% TO 57%;

NOW IMPORTS THREE TIMES AS MUCH OIL FROM PERSIAN GULF NATIONS

 

OIL IMPORTS ACCOUNT FOR ALMOST HALF OF U.S. TRADE DEFICIT IN 2008

 

 

For Immediate Release:  October 15, 2008

 

Contact:  Ken Bossong 301-270-6477 x.23

 

Washington DC – Friday, October 17 marks the 35^th anniversary of the beginning of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo.  On that date,  members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC, consisting of the Arab members of OPEC plus Egypt and Syria) announced an oil embargo and suspended shipping oil to the United States, its allies in Western Europe, and Japan.  Those nations had supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War with Syria, Egypt, and Iraq. [1]

 

At that time, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the United States was consuming 17,308 thousand barrels per day (b/d) of petroleum.  Net imports of petroleum accounted for 34.8% of U.S. oil use (6,025 thousand b/d); 13.6% (848 thousand b/d) of total imports were from Persian Gulf countries and 47.8% (2,993 thousand b/d) were from OPEC. [2]

 

By 2008, the U.S. oil use had risen by 15% to 19,886 thousand b/d (an amount less than the average rate of 20,586 thousand b/d reported for the previous five years).  Of the 2008 total, 11,262 thousand b/d - 56.6% - constitutes net imports.  Approximately 2,444 thousand b/d, or 18.8% of total oil imports, are coming from Persian Gulf nations.  That is an amount roughly 2.9 times greater than the daily average imported from those same countries in 1973.  Approximately 6,078 thousand b/d, or 46.6% of U.S. oil imports, are coming from OPEC nations. [3]

 

Oil imports now constitute the largest single component in the nation’s annual trade deficit.  According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, for the first eight months of 2008, net petroleum imports totaled $281.14 billion dollars (or $421.71 billion/year if that level is maintained over a 12-month period).  This is equal to almost one-half (49.1%) of the U.S. trade deficit for January - August 2008. [4]

 

[1] see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Oil_Embargo

[2] EIA “Monthly Energy Review” (September 2008); Tables 3.1 & 3.3a

[3] Ibid

[4] U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services” (October 10, 2008); Exhibits 9 & 17

 

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The SUN DAY Campaign is a non-profit research and educational organization founded in 1993 to promote sustainable energy technologies as cost-effective alternatives to nuclear power and fossil fuels.