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Title: U.S. oil dependence 2014: Is energy independence in sight?

Journal Article · · Energy Policy
 [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Howard H. Baker, Jr. Center for Public Policy
  2. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Knoxville, TN (United States). National Transportation Research Center

The importance of reducing U.S. oil dependence may have changed in light of developments in the world oil market over the past two decades. Since 2005, increased domestic production and decreased oil use have cut U.S. import dependence in half. The direct costs of oil dependence to the U.S. economy are estimated under four U.S. Energy Information Administration Scenarios to 2040. The key premises of the analysis are that the primary oil market failure is the use of market power by OPEC and that U.S. economic vulnerability is a result of the quantity of oil consumed, the lack of readily available, economical substitutes and the quantity of oil imported. Monte Carlo simulations of future oil market conditions indicate that the costs of U.S. oil dependence are likely to increase in constant dollars but decrease relative to U.S. gross domestic product unless oil resources are larger than estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In conclusion, reducing oil dependence therefore remains a valuable goal for U.S. energy policy and an important co-benefit of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725; Grant number DE-AC05-000R22725
OSTI ID:
1287021
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1247777
Journal Information:
Energy Policy, Vol. 85, Issue C; ISSN 0301-4215
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 12 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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The Renewable Fuel Standard in Competitive Equilibrium: Market and Welfare Effects journal September 2017
Energy security role of biofuels in evolving liquid fuel markets: Energy Security Role of Biofuels in Evolving Liquid Fuel Markets journal May 2018