Here are some facts about oil around the world:
-They say
that the US will become the world's #1 oil producer by next year
2015. The reason is fracking, a technology that makes it possible to
split open underground rock layers to get to pockets of oil and natural gas
(which usually are found together).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-12/u-s-nears-energy-independence-by-2035-on-shale-boom-iea-says.html
-There
are some staggering gas prices in the world today -- both
staggeringly high and also low.
http://www.chron.com/news/gallery/Ranking-gasoline-prices-around-the-world-65026/photo-4822724.php
Norway
is the only major oil producer with extremely expensive gas--$9.97 a
gallon (they get oil from under the sea). For this reason and also because they
do not pay import taxes, Norway leads the world in purchasing electric
cars.
Also in northern Europe, the Netherlands has the 2nd highest gas
prices $8.85/gallon and also has the world's highest levels of bike
use.
Video: Groningen the World's Cycling City
Meanwhile the US is only $3.52 a gallon.
On the low
end:
-UAE $1.77/gallon (a super-rich country)
-Saudi Arabia
$0.45/gallon
-Venezuela 4 cents a gallon!
"The cost of filling up the
39-gallon tank of a Chevrolet Suburban in Venezuela is $1.56, compared with
$137.28 in the United States."
Stats like these give me visions of cruising at 100 mph through the Arabian Desert or the nomadic regions of the Kara-Kum desert of Turkmenistan for weeks at a time.
Key point: these countries have cheap gas because the government subsidizes it. In countries where the government has announced it would end these subsidies, major riots have occurred as in Nigeria.
Under Pressure, Nigerian Leader Relents on Gas Price
NY Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/world/africa/nigerian-president-rolls-back-price-of-gasoline.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Almost-Free Gas Comes at a High Cost
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324000704578386771059515346
Ranking Gas Prices Around the
World
Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/news/gallery/Ranking-gasoline-prices-around-the-world-65026/photo-4822724.php
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