The Wonk Room

Palin’s Bad Oil Math

In tonight’s debate, Palin suggested that the “$700 billion” the U.S. spends a year on imported oil (the figure is actually closer to $536 billion) could be replaced by domestic sources. She further claimed that Alaska’s “energy” supply (by which she means only oil) is helping America on the path to energy independence.

But the Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler points out that “various government agencies” have concluded that “crude oil production could be increased at most between 1 and 3 million barrels per day, on top of the 5 million barrels a year already produced domestically. The United States currently consumes about 20 million barrels annually, so an expansion of domestic drilling would make barely a dent in that amount unless consumption also is reduced.”

2 Responses to “Palin’s Bad Oil Math”

1. mattjm Says:

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   Wait, that doesn’t make sense. I think you got the quote wrong. It should be “crude oil production could be increased at most between 1 and 3 million barrels per year, on top of the 5 million barrels a day already produced domestically.” and “The United States currently consumes about 20 million barrels a day“

   October 3rd, 2008 at 1:11 am

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2. mattjm Says:

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   Although, the more I read, the more confused I am. If this is the CNN article to which Glenn Kessler was referring, it seems it might be possible to add 2 million barrels of oil a day. Was Glenn in error also?

   October 3rd, 2008 at 1:34 am

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