Bloomberg has put together an impressive interactive data visualization on America’s weakening oil addition.
America Is Shaking Off Its Addiction to Oil
Bloomberg has created an impressive graphical presentation on how America’s oil addiction is waning. Click here to view it in a new window.
Gasoline, at an average cost of $2.67 per gallon, is now the cheapest it has been in the United States since 2010. This comes in tandem with a tumbling oil price, which has left oil exporting countries such as Russia in a tough situation.
However, due to America’s current shale revolution, production has even surpassed 1985 levels of production to above 9 million bpd. Usually this increase in supply would lead to an increase in consumption, but so far it is not the case.
GDP and oil production no longer move in tandem as they have through the history of the United States. In addition, gasoline consumption is predicted to be flat in 2015. Bloomberg points to a few reason for this new disconnect. First, cars are becoming more fuel efficient, and baby boomers are driving less as they retire. In addition, young people are also moving to cities where more efficient forms of transport such as public transit or ridesharing rule the day.
Bloomberg also shows that America is becoming more energy independent. It has produced 89% of the energy it has consumed this year, and imports from countries such as Russia, Venezuela, Nigeria, and other OPEC countries have decreased substantially.
