U.S. Importing Nearly Half Its Oil, Industry Group Warns

The United States for the first time is importing virtually half its oil, the American Petroleum Institute said Wednesday in what it called a sign of a “potentially ominous” growing reliance on overseas producers.

“Our energy future is largely in OPEC’s hands,” said API economist Edward Murphy, referring to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The API, the U.S. oil industry’s main trade group, said imports accounted for a record 49.9% of demand in the first half of 1990. The previous peak was 48.8% set in the first six months of 1977.

Unless Washington changes its policies and allows oil companies to drill for oil in promising offshore areas that are now shielded from development, Murphy said the trends are unlikely to change.

Alaskan oil production, accounting for about 25% of domestic output, reached a peak in 1988 and is declining at a yearly rate of about 100,000 barrels a day. Each barrel has 42 gallons.