Oil supply as usual

U.S. oil imports from OPEC general decline in volume, from Algeria, Angola and Nigeria, the volume of oil imports also greatly reduced. However, imports from the Middle East remained stable at around 2007 levels. Many industry insiders believe that 2007 is the unofficial start of shale oil renaissance, and this revival is affected by hydraulic fracturing  and horizontal drilling and other technological advances driving brings. This means that even if there is production from the North Dakota Bakken shale and huge Texas Eagle Ford shale oil production in the United States from the Middle East OPEC's oil imports also remained stable. U.S. Energy Information Administration report shows that in 2007 the U.S. oil imports from Saudi Arabia 140 million barrels / day. Recent trends show that this year, U.S. oil imports from Saudi Arabia will not exceed 2007 levels.

U.S. oil imports from Iraq remained fairly stable from 2007 to 48.4 mb / d in 2012 to 47.4 million barrels / day.Proppant Since 2007, U.S. crude oil imports from Kuwait increased by 75%.

U.S. Energy Information Administration said that this is mainly because of the U.S. shale oil is an alternative light sweet crude oil from Africa, rather than the U.S. refineries like heavy sour crude. But the data also show that, at least so far, even if Canada extracted from oil sands, heavy crude oil, there is no substitute in the Middle East oil supplies to the United States. 2007 to 2012, the U.S. daily imports from Canada increased by 50 million barrels of oil mass. This seems to be the United States imports from the Middle East's largest exporter of heavy oil imports did not have much impact. And KeystoneXL pipeline will change this situation, remains to be seen.

University of Texas at Austin, deputy director of the Energy Research Institute, Michael Weber believes that even if the current U.S. shale oil prices has yet to have an impact, but the impact is happening. "Although the United States did not make the oil shale oil pointer moves too much,frac sand but pricing has produced a somewhat non-linear effects; although prices are still high, but OPEC's pricing power has been weakened." Weber believes that the U.S. are in accordance with international geopolitical situation to exploit shale oil brings maneuver. As U.S. shale oil production growth, the oil embargo against Iran has not led to soaring oil prices. North American shale oil and may even make the situation for Syria intervention fewer scruples. "The U.S. shale oil prices eased some of the pressure."