About 40% of US oil comes from domestic oil fields in states like Texas, Alaska, and California. Some of this oil is sold to other countries, such as Japan. The remaining 60% of the United States’ oil supply comes from foreign sources. Contrary to popular belief, however, the United States has widely diverse oil interests around the world and receives oil and oil products from nearly every continent on Earth. This diversity within the petroleum supply allows for the manufacture of a wide range of petroleum products, using crude oil of various chemical compositions.
Canada, Saudi Arabia, Colombia, Nigeria, Angola, and Iraq all contribute to US oil supplies. America also imports oil from Kuwait, Norway, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, and Algeria. Many other countries ship refined petroleum products to the United States to supplement the production of American refineries. The diversity of the oil supply makes it difficult to completely cut off the country’s oil supply, although irregularities in the supply chain can be problematic.
Much of the United States’ oil supply comes from member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). OPEC member countries are supposed to work together to ensure stable oil prices while preserving oil reserves and ensuring that countries around the world have access to oil when they need it. The United States’ oil supply is not limited to OPEC sources, however, and the country regularly imports oil from non-member countries, such as Canada, at varying prices.
While the sources of American oil are countless, many of the countries that contribute the bulk of the United States’ oil supply are economically and politically unstable. This has raised concerns about the security of the United States’ oil supply, as a major political disruption could be devastating. For this reason, the United States also maintains a reserve of oil for emergencies and devotes funds to the development of energy alternatives.
