Aknauta
01-19-2003, 07:18 PM
pressdemocrat.com
Iraq now a key supplier of oil to California
As foreign oil imports increase, state finds it has much at stake in Mideast
January 19, 2003
By GUY KOVNER
Huge tankers slip under the Golden Gate Bridge almost daily, a sign of the growing supply of oil that comes from foreign nations -- led by Iraq -- to meet California's prodigious thirst for gasoline.
Nearly one-third of the crude oil processed in California now comes from abroad, placing North Coast gas stations at the end of a global pipeline.
Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which 20 years ago sent no oil to the West Coast, jointly supplied nearly half of California's imported oil in 2001, according to the most recent yearly statistics.
California's foreign dependence was minimal until the mid-1990s, when decreasing shipments from Alaska and increasing consumption forced the state to tap global oil supplies. As foreign imports have increased, debate has intensified over a possible war with Iraq, terrorism, the environment and America's love for gas-slurping SUVs.
The oil industry wants to drill for more oil; critics say fuel efficiency and new technology are the solutions (http://www.pressdemocrat.co m/local/news/19oil_a1empirea.html )
Iraq now a key supplier of oil to California
As foreign oil imports increase, state finds it has much at stake in Mideast
January 19, 2003
By GUY KOVNER
Huge tankers slip under the Golden Gate Bridge almost daily, a sign of the growing supply of oil that comes from foreign nations -- led by Iraq -- to meet California's prodigious thirst for gasoline.
Nearly one-third of the crude oil processed in California now comes from abroad, placing North Coast gas stations at the end of a global pipeline.
Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which 20 years ago sent no oil to the West Coast, jointly supplied nearly half of California's imported oil in 2001, according to the most recent yearly statistics.
California's foreign dependence was minimal until the mid-1990s, when decreasing shipments from Alaska and increasing consumption forced the state to tap global oil supplies. As foreign imports have increased, debate has intensified over a possible war with Iraq, terrorism, the environment and America's love for gas-slurping SUVs.
The oil industry wants to drill for more oil; critics say fuel efficiency and new technology are the solutions (http://www.pressdemocrat.co m/local/news/19oil_a1empirea.html )