The Energy Blog

US Energy consumption.

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I was trying to follow a lecture about energy needs the other day, and make sense of the speaker's numbers. I know most energy statistics, but his numbers were not adding up. I started wishing I had an energy "crib sheet" with simply the big numbers to help me understand. So, I made one. Here it is. This is the amount of energy the US used in October of 2009. I did not make any correlations between units or types, these are the raw figures. Here is this country's overall energy use:

U.S. Energy use for the month of October 2009.

Type of energy	Trillions of BTU's	Millions of Megawatt Hours	Amount
Electricity	1,200	351	Not Applicable
Natural Gas	1,800	527	1.8 Trillion Cubic Feet
Gasoline	1,364	399	11 Billion Gallons
Diesel Fuel	700	205	6.2 Billion Gallons
Totals	5,064	1,482

 (The amount column is the amount of the fossil fuel we used. Electricity is generated by various means. It is an energy carrier, not a fuel.)

Those are BIG numbers. To clarify the units, the totals equal:

5,064,000,000,000,000 BTUs. and 1,482,000,000,000 Kilowatt hours.

If that were YOUR electric bill for October, at ten cents per kWh, the amount due would be: $148,200,000,000.00! That is 148 Billion dollars. Your electric rate may vary.

According to the EIA, on a BTU Basis, the US uses 21% of the worlds energy. So, multiply those numbers by five and you know (roughly) how much the world uses.

One final note on electrical generation.

This country has slightly more than 1,000,000 megawatts (1,000 GigaWatts) of nameplate generation capacity installed. Of that total, about 550,000 megawatts is available at any one time. The rest is down for maintenance, repairs or other factors. There are 720 hours in a month. So we can actually generate about 396 Million Megawatt Hours each month.

Making oil out of a Sow's rear - converting pig manure to oil.

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I just read an enlightening article about a new source of potential energy,  It seems that scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a process for converting raw pig manure into crude oil.  They go on to say that with further development, the process may even yield biodiesel. Now the actual research was published in 2006. It apparently has taken this long for someone to put this newfound technology to use – making roads.

Now, in case you don’t know, let me bring you up to speed on the US pig industry

According to the US Department of Agriculture in 2007 there were 67.8 Million pigs in the United States. On average, those pigs take up space at the rate of about 8.7 per acre. And those pigs produce about 8 pounds of waste a day. That is a lot of pig poop - two and a half tons a year!

This procedure promises to make a half a barrel of oil substitute (21 gallons) per year out of that 8 pounds of daily pig manure using a thermochemical conversion (TCC) process. How much water or energy is involved in the process (and there is some of both) is unclear.

Now, one of the original sub-licensees of the process, Innoventor Inc., a design and engineering company, is going to use the process to make asphalt pavement for a road leading to Six Flags St. Louis.

This is great news. Any waste that can be successfully re-purposed is not only good for recycling, but good for conserving energy. Not a whole bunch, but, hey, it all counts.

According to the researchers, each pig can produce one half a barrel of oil substitute (21 gallons) per year. With 67 Million pigs contributing, that would be 33 Million barrels per year. –  About three days worth of US Oil imports. OK, it won’t wean us from oil. That would, however, keep us in asphalt for about 100 days. And it would eliminate a big problem for pig farmers, as well as put a few more dollars in their pockets.

And it could be a win-win for the country. We all love Bacon, hate pig poop, and need oil.

Here is the article that spawned this one.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/8BD4ECDDEBD84EC686257706000C0410?OpenDocument

Here is a recent article from Water & Wastewater about the process.
http://www.waterandwastewater.com/www_services/news_center/publish/article_002060.shtml

Here is an article from National Geographic about the process.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/07/0701_040702_pigoil.html

And, here is the original research report news item.

http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/news/stories/news3557.html

And finally, here is a place you can read the original research paper OnLine!

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/20627967/THERMOCHEMICAL-CONVERSION-OF-SWINE-MANURE-AN-ALTERNATIVE-PROCESS-FOR

Well, that'll be a "wrap" with bacon and ham.

Ten steps to a better energy future.

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Last year this country used 4,110,259,000 Megawatt-hours of electricity.  23.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and  7,117.5 Million Barrels of oil. All of this went to supply our never ending thirst for energy. We are an energy happy society. Seventy percent of that electricity was generated by fossil fuels – Coal and Natural Gas. Seventy Eight percent of the Oil we used went to move us, and our stuff, around – transportation. In fact, over 85 percent of ALL our energy came from non-renewable, finite, fossil fuels. Only 7% came from renewable or replaceable sources. The rest came from nuclear generated electrical power.

It is simple common sense that we cannot go on like this, even without the average annual 3.4% growth in energy consumption. Fossil fuels were created millions of years ago, after mass extinctions of animals and plants. Over those years, sediment built up over the dead matter, which rotted, and then, under mounting pressure from the built up layers of sediment, became the Oil & Gas we use today. So far, in just the last 100 years we have consumed well over half of the known or suspected Oil on this planet. We have consumed well over 1/3 of the known Natural Gas and Coal.  Much of what is left of all of these resources has to be recovered by ever more complex, challenging, expensive, and time-consuming methods than were used previously. At this rate we will be completely out of obtainable fossil fuels well within the next 100 years. And, to get any more, the earth will have to go through a mass extinction of life, and still wait a million or so years for it to “cook”.

Of course, eventually, we hope science will find a way to generate unlimited amounts of power. Eventually, someone will develop warp drive, and the associated matter-antimatter power plant. Shortly after that, we will meet Vulcans for the first time. Yet, in the lore of science fiction, even that  happens well past when we run out of our current fossil fuels. So, until that day, we need to make the best of what we have, and find other ways to power our society. The clock is ticking. Time is running out.

To be sure, I like my technology. And technology takes energy. I am not one who advocates we should do without. I believe that with reasonable conservation, new sources of energy, and a firm, unwavering commitment to putting those sources in place, we can continue to enjoy today’s technology, and whatever tomorrow will bring. Along the way, we will be saving those finite fossil resources to be used in ways that cannot be replaced – such as that ’66 GTO for Sunday drives.

So, Presented here is my roadmap to energy wealth. With 10 points, this is the path I believe we have to set upon to feed our need for energy, allow us to enjoy our technology, show respect for our planet and it’s environment, and provide for our future needs. In the vernacular,  to have our cake, and eat it too.


1 - We need to encourage green building practices and conservation where appropriate and effective.

We are not going to stop driving our cars. We are not going to stop running our Air Conditioners, furnaces, microwaves and lawn & garden equipment. Where we CAN make a difference is in places like making our homes more passively efficient. Installing insulation, plugging air leaks, putting in weather stripping. Building green. We can take advantage, where appropriate and economically sound, of newer appliances and lighting methods. Government can require increasing, but readily achievable, efficiency standards for our gadgets, toys, and tools. We can try to turn our lights off when not in use, without running around in the dark.

2 - We need to start integrating Plug-In Hybrids and Electric vehicles into our transportation system.

Electricity is the most efficient, widely available, and most useable means we have to transport energy. It is also highly amenable to powering our vehicles. With the sole exception of batteries, electric vehicles are mature technology, easily manufactured, and work, drive, and perform virtually the same as current vehicles.

Electricity, from an engineering standpoint, is actually a simpler, more desirable and more flexible drive system than current internal combustion drivetrains. Except for those darn batteries. But, as a couple of manufacturers are already proving, the battery technology is already there to support a large part of our short trip, and commuting driving. The only difference to the owner is plugging it in at night – verses stopping at the gas station.

While we currently generate most of our electricity with fossil fuels, large electrical generating plants are far more efficient at using resources than a conventional internal combustion vehicle. While those plants produce pollutants and greenhouse gasses, it is much easier to control those at a relatively small amount of places, as opposed to a couple hundred million point sources. Electricity can be distributed with relatively little loss, and electric vehicles themselves are quite efficient at making use of the electricity. With all things considered, electric vehicles are still several times more efficient at using our fossil fuels than gasoline powered ones. Electric vehicles also remove the source of emissions away from crowded inner cities, contributing to a cleaner local environment in our cities.

But, more important, most alternative energy sources – wind, solar, hydro, wave & tidal, Biogas fuel cells, produce electricity as their end product. That makes them a natural for integrating into our larger electric grid. As all these distributed sources feed their, maybe small, portion of power to the grid, electric vehicles can use the amalgamated sum of their energy.  Eventually these alternative sources will start displacing our fossil power plants, moving us closer to the goal of total renewable energy, and less fossil fuels. Every time we convert energy to another form, we lose some of it, It is much more efficient to use the energy in the form it is created – electricity.

Of course, many people do not have one car for commuting, and another one for longer trips. Most vehicles have to support many uses, For that reason, Plug-In hybrids are a sound alternative.  With a plug-in, short trip driving is accomplished with electricity from our grid. When there is a need to drive further, old, reliable gasoline is still  there to provide the range. A win for practicality, energy, and the environment.

3 –  We need to encourage the conversion of fleet vehicles and long haul trucks to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

There are some places where electric vehicles or plug ins do not make sense right now, either for technical, or economic, reasons. Fleet vehicles – Busses, city trucks, taxi cabs, the list is long. These vehicles have to make many short stops, often with longer distances mixed in. These are conditions that will deplete a battery rapidly. However, these vehicles are normally fueled at centralized locations, where infrastructure can be put in place readily. These vehicles should be encouraged to use CNG – Compressed Natural Gas. Simularly, long haul and inter-city trucks make long trips, and need significant levels of power. This is also well outside the capacity of current battery technology. But, the fueling points for these are also contained to a relatively small number of places that could also easily support CNG refueling infrastructure. The technology for CNG fueled vehicles and trucks currently exists and is readily obtainable.

CNG is also a highly suitable bridge fuel for our other vehicles. Currently CNG is much cheaper than gasoline per Gallon Gasoline Equivalent (GGE), and it creates less pollution and greenhouse gasses than gasoline.  There are many CNG vehicles available already, and many more on the way. Fueling with CNG is also getting easier. There are currently as many CNG fueling stations in the US as there are E89 stations, and more are being put in every week. Unfortunately they are most concentrated in certain areas, but that will change as the market expands. You can also purchase a compressor station for your home, and use your own natural gas supply to refuel. There are currently some subsidies and tax credits in place for purchasing both the vehicle, and the fueling station. The conversion is a simple one for a manufacturer, and dual fuel vehicles are becoming common. CNG tanks do take up room in the vehicle, and their range is normally shorter than a comparable gasoline or diesel one. However, these are things that are easy to live with. Finally, a plug-in hybrid using CNG for it’s internal combustion engine would be the best of both worlds.

We must keep in mind though,  CNG is only a bridge to eventual electric when the battery technology is there or replaced by something else. Our current natural gas supply is getting smaller, and new supplies are more expensive to recover. This, along with increased demand, will certainly drive prices much higher. And, remember, it is still a finite, fossil fuel.

4 - We need to strengthen, expand, and upgrade our electric distribution infrastructure.

Of course, to power all these new electric vehicles, and in order to power our existing homes, buildings and industry, we need to get the electricity from all these generation sources to the end user. We also need to be able to combine the outputs of the many smaller distributed generators. That is the job of our electric grid.

Currently our nation's electric grid is frail, outdated, and in many places, overburdened. It also does not have the control capacity currently to accept large amounts of power from wind farms or other power producers, nor can it presently take advantage of a large amount of distributed generation. We need to expand, enlarge, and update the grid. Larger, more efficient conductors, better, more flexible switch and distribution yards, and many more ways to allow power to be fed into the grid from many more, smaller, sources of electricity. Supply and demand of the electric grid has to be managed in real time. The grid cannot store electricity – yet – we must make exactly as much electricity as we use, no more, no less. So, achieving the goal of distributed generation requires better and more flexible control systems.

This is the purpose behind Smart Grid. Putting in place more flexible and robust control mechanisms to allow this management. At the user end, Smart Metering will allow, not only better monitoring, but the ability to control individual distributed generation at our homes and offices (such as Solar PV), and allow for the accounting and  measuring of the energy produced or consumed. Smart metering will enable the economic benefits of distributed generation.

5 - We need to find ways to incentify large scale wind power projects, and make it easier for them to supply power to our national grid.

Wind power scales up nicely. Large wind turbines are very efficient, and can be sited where many of the objections to them - noise and aesthetics are two - are not as relevant. However they are an expensive initial investment, they require much maintenance, and the electric infrastructure has to be in place to deliver the power they produce. There are also many ecological concerns - bird strikes, and even concerns by Air Traffic Control with radar interference. While wind has the potential to be a formidable source of our electrical needs, we need to aggressively identify and resolve the issues facing it's adoption. This is a place where government, in the arenas of regulation, rights, licensing, and subsidies or tax abatements, can have a significant positive impact.


6 - We need to encourage and promote residential solar Photovoltaic power, and distributed generation.

Solar Photvoltaics, unlike wind, scale DOWN very well. A large solar installation is very expensive, uses a lot of land, and is complex. A small installation however, which can supply a significant percentage of a homes electrical needs is simple, reliable, and becoming much more cost effective every day. This kind of distributed generation removes much of the burden from our electrical grid, brings our homes closer to energy self-sufficiency, and is the ultimate in environmentally friendly. Again, government, via subsidies to homeowners, and regulatory oversight, can do much to get this technology in place.


7 - We need to rebuild our Railroads, and encourage more use.

Railroads are the second most energy efficient way we have to move goods - after Ships. They are four times more efficient than trucks for moving large amounts of material long distances. Although I truly do lament the effect it would have on our trucking industry, we need to move more of our long distance shipping to this old, stable, and efficient method.

8 –  Biogas

While Biogas is not sufficient in quantity to power our vehicles, it is already proven as an effective source for small, distributed, electrical generation. It also can serve well in third world countries for cooking, refrigeration, and some space heating. In combination with Large Scale Wind, and small-scale Solar PV, biogas from landfills or agricultural and livestock waste, can make a significant contribution to our overall supply of electricity.

9 – Small-scale electric generation – distributed generation.

From small hydro, to tidal currents, there are many ways to generate electricity from natural phenomena. By promoting, and encouraging these small-scale systems, and not trying to make them the be all – end all of power, they can also make a significant contribution to our overall electricity supply. We need to encourage small scale innovation, and make it easier and economically possible for small companies, with a good idea, to put their creations in place, and connect them to our infrastructure. With appropriate modernization, our electric grid is an enormous resource. It has the potential of allowing the interconnection of a multitude of small scale power producers, all contributing their share to the national need for energy. Not only will this reduce our need for fossil fuel generation, but it can be the incubator for the creation, and proliferation of profitable and innovative small business. Combining residential and small commercial solar photo-voltaics, with the outputs of thousands of producers like “Bob’s tidal power”, we can switch this country from centralized fossil fuels to decentralized, reliable, and environmentally sound distributed power sources.



10 – Industry and manufacturing.

While there is much basic research into alternative energy going on in this country, the sad fact is much of the applied research, design, and especially manufacturing of alternative power systems is happening in other parts of the world. We need to find ways to bring both the technology, and the industry back home. This is again a place where local, state and federal government can rightfully encourage progress. By encouraging technology transfer from basic research to private industry. By providing financial backing to those industries to support and develop innovation. By economic and political incentives to re-purpose idled production assets, factories, and facilities into the production of the physical hardware we need to accomplish our energy goals. By making it easier and less expensive for companies to acquire and retain skilled workers, engineers and managers. By a vigorous, directed, and unrelenting push to rehabilitate our basic educational systems. By a purposeful, and high profile campaign to enhance science, technology, engineering and math education and interest in our schools. By encouraging Americans to once again embrace science and technology.



Finally, incorporating all ten of these steps, I would propose a project, and an investment, by this country and it’s citizens. A project on the scale of, and in the spirit of, Apollo and the moon landing in the sixties. We need to set forth an agenda, a time-line, and a goal. We need not have all the answers, we need not specify how we will accomplish it, but only what it is we will accomplish. We need to make it not only a national priority, but a national agenda, and a national passion. We have spent many billions propping up our financial systems. Whether that was necessary is not the subject of this dialog. However, moving forward, we need to dedicate the same level of resources, financially, politically, and spiritually, to achieving not only energy independence, but responsible, renewable, abundant energy. We CAN do it. We have the technology - now. We have the need – now. We only need the intestinal fortitude from our politicians, our government, our leaders, our industry, and our citizens, to make the commitment, and follow through.

So, there it is. My Ten steps to a better, cleaner, more vibrant and sustainable energy future. I am available for consulting work if the fee is right. Drop me a line!

No, really, I want your thoughts. Please comment!

The history of US Oil consumption.

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US Oil Consumption through history.

 

In a fit of nostalgia this morning, I thought it might be interesting to look at the history of energy consumption in the US. Despite conservation, we are using more and more energy every year. This is not entirely a bad thing. That energy is powering an ever expanding array of technology that is making our lives easier, more enjoyable, and more productive. While we certainly need to reduce our use of oil, and convert to alternative and renewable sources of energy across the board, Let us not condemn our lifestyle or our technology We should rather find a better way to power it. When we discover Warp Drive, or transporters, or even the Holo-deck, they are going to require vastly more amounts of energy!

Please note. These numbers are for comparison purposes. We not only import Crude oil, but also products such as gasoline, and additives used in refining. This often amounts to 6-8% of the actual crude we import. Trying to seperate these numbers would overly complicate this page. So...

• Total input to refineries is how much Crude oil (only) was used. It Does not include imported gasoline or additives. It can, however, include crude oil input from storage stockpiles, so it may be larger than imports & domestic production.
  
• Total Imported Crude and products is the total amount of crude & products imported where available
  Actual Crude oil imports will be 6-8% less than this.
  
• Total imported Crude is imported crude oil only from all sources.
• Total domestic production is the amount of crude oil the US produced that month.
• I have also included daily average gasoline and diesel consumption during that month.

Below is a sampling of how much Oil this country used during various times in it’s history. I gathered this information from a wide variety of sources, including my own personal collection of old books and encyclopedias. These are averages, and reported in Barrels per day. I will start at the present, and work our ways back, because that is how I want to do it.

 

September 2009 – Current (US Population 307,006,550)

Total input to refineries	14,600,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude and products	11,721,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude	9,223,000	Barrels per day
Total Domestic Oil Production	5,444,000	Barrels per day
Gasoline Consumed	8,779,000	Barrels per day
Diesel Fuel Consumed	4,099,000	Barrels per day

 

September 2004 - 5 years ago (US Population 293,045,739)

Registered vehicles:   243,010,539   Passenger Cars:  136,430,651   Comm Aircraft: 8,186  

Total input to refineries	15,254,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude and products	13,438,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude	9,697,000	Barrels per day
Total Domestic Oil Production	5,062,000	Barrels per day
Gasoline Consumed	7,993,000	Barrels per day
Diesel Fuel Consumed	3,625,000	Barrels per day

 

September 1994 – 15 years ago (US Population 260,289,237)

Registered vehicles:   201,801,921   Passenger Cars:  127,883,469   Comm Aircraft: 7,370  

Total input to refineries	14,506,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude and products	9,693,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude	7,868,000	Barrels per day
Total Domestic Oil Production	6,609,000	Barrels per day
Gasoline Consumed	7,246,000	Barrels per day
Diesel Fuel Consumed	3,285,000	Barrels per day

 

September 1984 – 25 years ago (US Population 235,824,902)

(1985) - Registered vehicles:   177,133,282   Passenger Cars:  127,885,193  Comm Aircraft: 4,678

Total input to refineries	12,565,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude and products	5,252,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude	3,342,000	Barrels per day
Total Domestic Oil Production	8,993,000	Barrels per day
Gasoline Consumed	6,516,000	Barrels per day
Diesel Fuel Consumed	2,707,000	Barrels per day

 

September 1974 – 35 years ago (US Population 213,853,928)

(1975) - Registered vehicles:   137,912,779   Passenger Cars:  106,705,934  Comm Aircraft: 2,495

Total input to refineries	12,270,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude and products	6,052,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude	3,797,000	Barrels per day
Total Domestic Oil Production	8,443,000	Barrels per day
Gasoline Consumed	6,453,000	Barrels per day
Diesel Fuel Consumed	2,552,000	Barrels per day

 

Note: Numbers for some of the older data have been estimated as concise data does not appear to exist.
Where denoted as actual, they are derived from 'hard' data.

September 1959 – 50 years ago (US Population 177,829,628)

(1960) - Registered vehicles:   74,431,800   Passenger Cars:  61,671,390  Comm Aircraft: 2,135

Total input to refineries (Estimated)	7,750,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude and products	Not Available	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude (actual)	983,000	Barrels per day
Total Domestic Oil Production (Actual)	6,857,000	Barrels per day
Gasoline Consumed	4,072,000	Barrels per day
Diesel Fuel Consumed	1,745,000	Barrels per day

 

September 1934 – 75 years ago (US Population 126,373,773)

(1934) - Registered vehicles:   25,261,710  Passenger Cars:  21,544,727  Comm Aircraft: No Data 

Total input to refineries (Estimated)	2,700,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude and products	Not Available	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude (actual)	98,000	Barrels per day
Total Domestic Oil Production (actual)	2,525,000	Barrels per day
Gasoline Consumed (See Notes)	1,043,000	Barrels per day
Diesel Fuel Consumed	Not Available	Barrels per day

 

Note: The amount of oil used, and the fact we imported a portion from Mexico surprised me. This data was based on an old newspaper article I found. Seen notes below for the link.

September 1920 – 89 years ago (US Population 106,461,000)

(1919) - Registered vehicles:   7,558,848   Passenger Cars:  No Data  Comm Aircraft: No Data 

Total Oil Consumption (Estimated)	1,200,000	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude and products	Not Applicable	Barrels per day
Total Imported Crude (Mexico)	167,000	Barrels per day
Total Domestic Oil Production	1,211, 000	Barrels per day
Gasoline Consumed	36,548	Barrels per day
Diesel Fuel Consumed	Not Applicable	Barrels per day

Notes:

• Figures for 1920 are primarily taken from a March 13, 1921 article on Oil in the New York Times.
  http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9B01E7DA113FE432A25750C1A9659C946095D6CF
• Gasoline consumption for 1934 was estimated from a letter to the Editor of Time Magazine Jun 10, 1935.
  http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,883441-4,00.html
• Comm Aircraft is Commercial pasenger aircraft (air carrier) It does not include General Aviation.
• Numbers of vehicles newer than 1935 are from the BTS. SUV's and pickup trucks are NOT included in the passenger car count. This would explain some of the significant increased difference between that and total vehicles through the 90's & 2000's. http://www.bts.gov/publications/national_transportation_statistics/html/table_01_11.html
• I got the vehicle figures for 1920 from this article: http://www.railsandtrails.com/AutoFacts/1920p20-100-8.jpg
• Here is another source of Vehicle registration data from DOT: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/Summary95/mv200.pdf

Where our oil goes

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Where does all our oil go?

When we mention Oil, most people think "gasoline". While it is true that about half of the crude oil we use every day gets refined into gasoline, that is only half of what we use. What does the other half do ?

The purpose of this exercise is to figure out where all that oil goes, and what it is used for. All crude oil has to be refined before it is used, so we will look at what came out of our refineries. We will use October of 2009 as an example.

US refineries supplied 543,158,000 barrels of products in October 2009. That is about 17,521,000 Barrels per day . We're gonna see what those products were, but first, a short word from the bean counter (me).

Tracking every single barrel of oil through the complex network of imports, exports, in and outs, processes and transportation is a daunting task. Even for one as smart as me. Every effort was made to make sure all of the figures here, and throughout this blog, add up. And, they come awful close. But they are not quite perfect. There are losses, leaks, and slight inconsistencies in all of the numbers, facts and data used. What follows is certainly close enough for all but an IRS Tax assessor. Most of my data is from the EIA (Energy Information Agency)

One other note. A refinery experiences something called refinery gain. Due to various things such as additives, the output of a refinery is approximately 5-8% more than the crude oil inputs. This is why, while refineries used 504,607,000 barrels of crude (16,277,000 bbl per day), they produced 543,158,000 (17,521,000 Barrels per day) of product in October 2009.

So, lets now take a look at what came out of those US refineries in October of 2009.
These numbers are the total for the month of October 2009.

• Finished Motor Fuel (Gasoline): 271,299,000 bbl
• Distillate Fuel Oil (mostly No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 diesel fuel ): 123,509,000 bbl
• Residual Fuel Oil (No. 5 and No. 6 fuel oils, includes Bunker C fuel oil): 20,851,000 bbl
• Jet Fuel (Kerosene): 40,036,000 bbl
• Petroleum Coke (Similar to Coal): 23,823,000 bbl
• Still Gas (Gaseous byproducts of refining): 19,096,000 bbl
• Propane/Propylene: 16,392,000 bbl
• Liquefied Petroleum Gases (LPG): 15,074,000 bbl
• Asphalt: 9,043,000 bbl
• Lubricants: 5,536,000 bbl
• Aviation (non jet) Gasoline: 494,000 bbl
• Kerosene: 587,000 bbl
• Many, Many other things: 22,418,000 bbl
• Refinery losses: -30,000,000 bbl (That's a minus, stuff that didn't turn out quite right).

A couple notes.

Petroleum coke is almost pure carbon. It is used to manufacture things like anodes for batteries, and furnaces, or as a fuel to heat things like forges. It is not an ingredient in soft drinks. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum_coke)

Still gas is NOT used to power a moonshine factory. It is gas that is emitted from the refining process. Since refineries use heat for many of their operations, in a move of thoughtful conservation, most of this is used to provide heat for the process.

OK. Ignoring those minor refinery losses, lets do the statistical thing, and create some quotable figures.

• 49% of our crude oil went into our gas tanks as gasoline.
• 22% of it went into trucks, farm and construction equipment, etc - Diesels.
• 7% went into our fleet of airplanes.

Seventy Eight percent of the oil we used in October 2009 was used for transportation.

But, 22% of the oil we used in October went to non transportation use. In industry, making plastics, pharmaceuticals, lubricants, roads, and a thousand other products.

Some of it went to our propane gas grills, and that is good.

Where our oil comes from

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Occasionally, I get the impression there is some confusion about where our oil actually comes from. Many people seem to think we have a pipeline to the Persian Gulf (The "Middle East") and that we get all of our oil from there. It might surprise these folks to learn that the "Middle East" supplies us with less than 10 percent of our oil. Rather than discuss random numbers, I decided to look at the actual figures for one month - October 2009. A companion piece to this will take numbers from the same month to show where it all went. All of the figures are from the EIA (Energy Information Agency).

It is important to remember we import not only Crude Oil, but other petroleum products. The numbers here for imports do not separate the two.

In October of 2009 the Total US Domestic Petroleum usage (Crude oil, products, and going to stockpiles) was 504,607,000 barrels.

That works out to 16,277,000 barrels per day. Each Barrel is 42 gallons. Of course we don't actually USE barrels to ship oil, but the nomenclature remains.

Of that amount, 44% of it came from our own country. Note that while Alaska used to supply a lot of our domestic oil, the amount has been getting less each year. It now amounts to a small fraction. Most of our domestic oil comes from hundreds of small producers around the country. The US is unique in allowing private persons to own Oil rights. In most countries, oil belongs to the Government! See the bottom of this post for further info on that.

One thing to note is the production from Alaska. While Texas has historically been the largest US producer of oil, through the 1980's Alaska rivaled them. The Alaskan North Slope fields, beginning in 1977, had a peak production during the 80's of nearly 2 million barrels of oil a day. In 1980, that was a major portion of our production and consumption. Since that time, however, the production has fallen rapidly as the Alaskan Slope oil fields are depleted. Today, they are producing about 600,000 barrels a day, 12% of our domestic production.

There is also some confusion about OPEC. Many people equate OPEC with "Middle East" or Persian Gulf. In fact, while most Persian Gulf countries are members of OPEC, there are many OPEC members who are NOT in the Middle East. Two of our largest suppliers - Venezuela and Nigeria, are members of OPEC, but they are not in the Persian Gulf Area.

OK, I will stop talking. Here are the numbers……(These are for the ENTIRE month of October!) These number include both Crude Oil, and a smaller amount of petroleum products imported.

Total domestic production for Oct 2009: 168,069,000 barrels

• Alaskan Oil: 20,401,000 bbl
• Lower 48: 147,668,000 bbl

Total Crude oil and PRODUCT imports for Oct 2009: 336,538,000 barrels

• OPEC: 142,017,000 bbl
• NON-OPEC: 194,521,000 bbl

Total Persian Gulf Imports: 47,905,000 barrels

• Saudi Arabia: 29,233,000 bbl
• Iraq: 15,458,000 bbl
• Other small Persian Gulf Countries: 3,214,000 bbl

OK. We find that 66% of our oil and products in that month came from imports.

• 9.4% of the total oil we used came from the Persian Gulf - 14% of our total imports.
• 90.6% of the oil we used came from places NOT in the Persian Gulf - 86% of our total imports.
• 28% of our total oil came from OPEC countries - 42% of our total imports.
• 72% of our total oil came from NON-OPEC sources (including the US) - 58% of our total imports.

Of course we import oil from dozens of countries. Many supply only a small fraction of our use. We saw the numbers for the Persian Gulf above. Below are listed some select suppliers from other parts of the world.

Other selected Countries amounts for Oct 2009

• Canada: 73,162,000 bbl
• Mexico: 35,211,000 bbl
• Venezuela: 29,619,000 bbl
• Nigeria: 26,927,000 bbl
• Russia: 11,945,000 bbl
• Columbia: 9,065,000 bbl
• Brazil: 5,395,000 bbl

I think the most significant thing to note from this list is the amount of oil we get from Canada and Mexico - 108,373,000 bbls. Our neighbors supply us with 32% (1/3) of all our imports. The other thing to note is Venezuela. That country, who is not real friendly with us (but who likes to sell oil) supplies us with just as much of our oil as Saudi Arabia. Interesting tidbit. CITGO is Venezuela-owned and US Incorporated. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citgo).

Now, that note about US ownership of Oil Rights.

In most major oil producing countries, the government owns the rights to Oil resources. The US is nearly unique in allowing private ownership of resource rights. Private landowners contract with producing companies, and the entire deal is between the landowner, and the producer. Most producing companies compensate the landowner with royalties on each barrel of oil produced. The only place the government gets involved at all is restrictions for well spacing, and environmental standards.

This situation gives rise to thousands of independent producers, as well as the existence of "Stripper wells" which produce less than 10 barrels a day. According to EIA, these stripper wells account for nearly 75% of all wells in the US. They currently produce about 900,000 barrels a day, or 27,000,000 per month. This is about 16% of total US oil production. You may know someone with one of these wells on their property.

Finally, Because the United States is the world's largest importer, it is far too easy to forget that the US:

• is the oldest major global oil producer - and the first.
• is formerly the Number 1 global oil producer;
• is currently the Number 2 global oil producer;
• has produced more oil, cumulatively, than any other country (180 billion barrels from 1918 to 1999);
• has produced more oil, cumulatively, than the current reserves of any country but Saudi Arabia.

The below data is taken directly from EIA (Energy Information Agency) reports. It is the AVERAGE number of barrels (in thousands per day) imported from the top 10 sources. This list accounts for 85% of all crude oil imported to the US.

The full import table is here: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_impcus_a2_nus_ep00_im0_mbbl_m.htm