Energy Independence is a Hoax Everyone wants to talk about shale, about U.S. energy independence, about oil exports… But there’s a problem: We don’t have as much oil as everyone thinks. In fact, we’re actually closer to an energy crisis than we are to energy independence. Don’t get me wrong — we have oil. It’s just too expensive for us to extract. Think about it. Two decades ago, oil cost just $20 per barrel. Now it costs nearly $100 per barrel. Well, if we have more oil than ever before, how can that be? It’s because the oil we have is too costly to produce. Here’s what I mean… The Cost of “Energy Independence” According to Bernstein Research, it now costs $104.5 per barrel to produce non-OPEC crude. Furthermore, there was an “unprecedented” jump in the cost of oil from U.S. fields, which rose from $89 a barrel in 2011 to $114 […]