Battleangel

Just something worth making a note of.

The main factor in price disparities between countries is government policy, according to AirInc, a company that tracks the cost of living in various places around the world. Many European nations tax gasoline heavily, with taxes making up as much as 75 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline.

In a few Latin America and Middle-East nations, such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, oil is produced by a government-owned company and local gasoline prices are kept low as a benefit to the nation’s citizens, he said.

Source: CNN

It’s also interesting to look at the top 20 consuming countries (rough estimate and old data of course). Since 2001, China has overtaken Japan and become the second largest consumer but other than that the data is at least proportionally accurate.

And for something a bit more up to date.

World consumption last year stood at nearly 80 million barrels a day. In 2003 North America, the world’s largest guzzler, consumed 24,083,000 barrels (over 25% of the total) each day. Almost half of it went into the continents cars, light trucks and SUV’s. Ninety percent of North America’s transportation sector depends on an affordable and steady supply of oil.

Source: CBC

How much oil is left in reserves?

Worldwide oil reserves at year-end 2002 stand at 1050 billion barrels, of which 65% (or 686 billion barrels) is in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia being the principal player.

Source: SAUDI-US RELATIONS INFORMATION SERVICE

Another bombshell was dropped in November 2004 by BP exploration consultant Francis Harper, who estimated the amount of total usable oil reserves in the world at 2.4 trillion barrels, considerably less than the 3 trillion assumed by bullish commentators such as the US government’s geological survey. He said production would peak between 2010 and 2020; and demand will outstrip supply much earlier than other forecasts by ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) or Royal Dutch/Shell Group (RD SC).

Source: ISIS

In 2003 there were about 570 million private vehicles in the world. 204 million of those in the US. Today, this can be estimated to be almost exactly one third.

So to bottom line this for the US: Little or no tax is being applied. Theoretically, taxes can be an incentive (to avoid them), to always think in terms of fuel economy. And tax revenues could be used by the government to fund research and development of better ways of transportation. Not to mention rethinking and rebuilding suburbia.

In addition, the US has got 1/3 of the total number of private vehicles, consume 25% of the world’s oil supply and stand for 43% of the world’s total gasoline consumption.
On top of that the US Geological Survey is more or less oblivious to peak oil and generally presents far too optimistic forecasts on total oil reserves. The denial seems to permeate much of society.