The Energy Debate Heats Up in Washington
U.S. Sent $13 Billion Overseas and Imported 339 Million Barrels of Oil in February 2009
Santa Barbara, CA – March 5, 2009 – Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s ECOnomics conference, today energy expert T. Boone Pickens provided his third consecutive monthly update on the level of United States’ imports of foreign oil, at the same time that President Obama and Congress begin to forge a national energy policy.
Pickens said that based on the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. imported 62 percent of its oil, or 339 million barrels in February 2009, sending approximately $13 billion, or $328,709 per minute, overseas to foreign governments.
“The stimulus package, the President’s new budget, and the national energy debate are underway across the country, and for the first time in 40 years, there is a serious discussion about how we get this country more energy independent,” said Pickens. “Last month alone, we imported nearly 339 million barrels of oil at a cost of $13 billion, streaming revenue overseas and in many cases, filling the national treasuries of dictators and governments whose interests are not aligned with the United States’. At the same time, our own economy is in crisis. For America to recover from this recession, to save existing jobs and to create new jobs that will keep up with advancing technologies, we must harness our domestic energy resources and get off of foreign oil. The Pickens Plan is the way there.”
Key elements of the Pickens Plan that called for expanded use of renewable energy and the development of a new national power grid were included in the recent stimulus legislation proposed by President Obama and passed by Congress. The second phase of the plan, expanding the use of domestic fuels such as natural gas, to replace foreign oil/diesel/gasoline, is expected to be a key focus of an energy plan.
In January, the U.S. imported 67.4 percent of its oil, up from 66.5 percent in December 2008. In total, the U.S. spent approximately $475 billion on imported oil in 2008.
Pickens continued, “The good news is that we have a President who has repeatedly said that he is committed to substantially decreasing foreign oil imports during his term. I believe that he wants to do this. I will continue to publish the monthly import numbers to track our progress and hope that soon we will start to see a reduction in how much foreign oil we import.”