ANWR is not the be all end all that drillers tout. There are between 6-16 billion recoverable barrels (from pro-drilling site). Right now, refineries use about 15 million barrels of oil per day (from the EIA -- scroll to bottom).
That's making the consumption issue look better than it really is. That's just how much oil we refine. As our consumption has increased over the years, refinery capacity has not, meaning we import more refined products than we used to. What we actually use is closer to 21 million barrels a day.
But lets face it. 5.4 billion barrels? You said it yourself, thats enough to supply 3 years of oil to the US if we use nothing else. But if you are only using it as 1 million barrels a day, instead of 15 or 21, you are looking at significant additions to your supply over 40 years, not 3. Worldwide, there are only a handful of oil fields that reach the 15 billion barrel mark. That's big.
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That's making the consumption issue look better than it really is. That's just how much oil we refine. As our consumption has increased over the years, refinery capacity has not, meaning we import more refined products than we used to. What we actually use is closer to 21 million barrels a day.
But lets face it. 5.4 billion barrels? You said it yourself, thats enough to supply 3 years of oil to the US if we use nothing else. But if you are only using it as 1 million barrels a day, instead of 15 or 21, you are looking at significant additions to your supply over 40 years, not 3. Worldwide, there are only a handful of oil fields that reach the 15 billion barrel mark. That's big.