Oil Imports Highest Since 1979

U.S. oil imports last year jumped to the highest level since 1979 as consumption rose and domestic production hit a 12-year low, an industry trade group said today.

The American Petroleum Institute, representing the major oil producers and refiners, said U.S. oil production fell to 8.1 million barrels a day, a nearly 3% drop from 1987.

The rate was the lowest since 1976, the year before production began at the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field on the North Slope of Alaska.

Oil production in the 48 contiguous states last year was the lowest since 1950, the group said.

Imports of oil surged to a rate of 7.2 million barrels a day, a nearly 9% increase over 1987. The record peak for oil imports was 8.8 million barrels a day in 1977, two years before the Iranian revolution sparked the second oil crisis of the decade.