This post is fascinating. I had no idea we were scaling back our futures and contracts with Saudi oil producers. This has all been done very quietly and it started in 1991. The trend continued unabated during both of Clinton's terms and, I suspect, will continue even further now that Iraq is producing oil for US consumption. The author does not point to any other market forces that may account for the decrease in US consumption of oil. I know China has been consuming massive amounts of oil (along with everything else) for the past 5 years. A trend that will doubtless continue for the forseeable future. What I don't know is where they get most of their oil. I imagine most of it is from the Former Soviet Union. They are also ramping up production of pebble bed reactors in hopes of reducing oil consumption in favor of domestic energy production. If they do, it's a boon for the US because the world price will drop accordingly. If, however, pebble bed reactors do prove to be the small, stable, safe powerplants they are hyped to be, it may well be the next step forward for energy and a great leap away from fossil fuels.

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