We Need New Energy Sources…FAST!

According to a new analysis issues by Citigroup, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer and exporter may have to cease exporting oil and begin importing it as early as 2030.

In sum, Saudi Arabia’s domestic oil demand is growing by about 8% a year. If this trend holds for the next 18 years, which is never a certainty when dealing with long term projections, Saudi Arabia will have to utilize all of its extracted oil just to meet peak demand domestically. Why does this matter to us? Saudi Arabia’s exports to the United States are second only to Canada – nearly 1.1 million barrels per day or about 6% of our daily oil consumption. While the significant increase in domestic production over the last four years makes this a less significant potential blow to energy costs than it would have a few years ago, this projection comes along side speculation that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which claims to hold 83% of known oil and gas reserves in the world, may be significantly overestimating their reserves. If true, this could mean there is significantly less oil in the world, but still more than we want to see burned for energy production.

This news comes just in time for a comprehensive assessment on wind energy that lays out the potential for wind energy to provide half of the world’s electrical power needs. Projections like this and economic reports showing the growth in the job markets for alternative energies despite the worst economic recession since the Great Depression gives one more reason for us to fight for an expansion of alternative energy technologies in our electric grid and the preservation of initiatives like the Wind Energy Tax Credit.

 Image Courtesy of finfacts.