The White House has promised 180mn barrels from emergency oil stockpiles to address a global energy supply crisis. As for reducing consumption, American drivers have not gotten the memo.
US oil use this year has averaged almost 21mn barrels a day over the past month, according to preliminary government statistics, up 8 percent from a year ago and back to pre-pandemic levels. Sales of petrol, diesel and especially jet fuel are all up — and likely to go higher as the summer holidays approach.
The strong demand in the world’s largest oil consumer is an unheralded factor in the increasingly tight world petroleum market, helping to drive the price of crude above $100 a barrel.
Even with record petrol prices around the US, fuel consumers are not yet backing down.
“Yeah, it definitely is costing a heck of a lot more to drive, but you deal with it,” said Larry Williams, a motorist, as he filled the tank of his Infiniti sport-utility vehicle at a petrol station in Katy, Texas this week. He paid $3.89 a gallon, bringing the total cost to $87.02, but said he had not cut back on driving.
The International Energy Agency, a watchdog for rich countries, has urged conservation in the face of what it calls an emerging global energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Its 10-point plan would include lower speed limits, working from home and more carpooling, adding up to a potential 2.7mn b/d cut in world oil demand.
By contrast, legislatures in US states from Florida to Maryland have temporarily suspended petrol taxes, subsidizing driving. In California,
Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed an $11bn relief package that would include a $400 tax rebate per car owner along with more incentives for electric vehicles.
US motorists are buying larger vehicles that burn more fuel. Trucks and SUVs accounted for 73 percent of US light vehicle sales in 2021, up from 41 per cent in 2009, according to Edmunds, the automotive research group.
Chris Poulos, who oversees three car dealerships in the Houston area, said he was not seeing customers shift to electric vehicles, hybrids or smaller cars.