The Truth About Oil and Gasoline: An API Primer

To keep consumers and the economy supplied with the fuel they require, the nation needs energy policies that encourage efficiency, investment in long-term initiatives and advanced technologies, and the elimination of barriers to domestic oil and natural gas supplies.

“Our industry believes that the best way to deal with price volatility is to allow markets to function and follow well-reasoned, workable energy policies that enable oil and natural gas companies to attract the investment they need to meet U.S. energy needs,” said API President and CEO Red Cavaney.

To foster an informed public policy debate, API has produced The Truth about Oil and Gasoline: An API Primer. From the primer, consumers and policymakers can learn how a combination of factors has driven crude prices to record highs. See the primer here: The Truth About Oil and Gasoline: An API Primer.

Some of the factors shaping today’s crude oil and gasoline markets discussed in the API Primer include:

• Global demand, which is forecast to continue to grow in the decades ahead. The International Energy Agency estimates that sustaining an annual 3.6 percent rate of global economic growth to 2030 will require another 33 million barrels per day in oil supplies. Even with significant growth in renewables and improved efficiency, more than half the world’s primary energy demand in 2030 will be met by oil and natural gas.
  



• The depreciation of the U.S. dollar, which has helped push up prices for all commodities, including petroleum.
  



• The lack of access to potential supplies due to a shift in ownership structure abroad, causing about 80 percent of all reserves to be held by state-owned oil companies, and an inability to explore and develop potentially vital resources in the United States.

Source: API