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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Could America achieve energy independence by extracting more oil?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
NO

Experts debate whether American energy independence is possible. At the least, it would require more than just upping the quantity of oil extracted domestically.

Each type of crude oil has a particular way it's processed. Newer oil reserves, made accessible by horizontal drilling, typically contain light sweet crude. However, the adjacent refineries are built to handle heavy sour crude. New pipelines and refineries would have to be built to transport and process the oil before it could supply domestic energy needs.

Moreover, because oil is a global commodity, the oil market abroad would continue to affect oil prices in the U.S., even if America produced enough refined oil to supply all of its domestic energy needs.

In 2020, America's oil production exceeded consumption, yet it imported 44% of the oil it consumed and exported 46% of the oil it produced.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Council on Foreign Relations Is US Energy Independence Possible?
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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