9. North America, the new Middle East?

This was the somewhat provocative title of an article by Edward Morse , an acknowledged specialist in the oil industry, and in particular the US oil industry. In fact, the combined production of the United States and Canada exceeds 23 Mbj for a consumption of 22 Mbj.

The stagnation of demand is due to several factors:

• rising fuel prices: a gallon of gasoline is approaching $4, compared with $1 20 years ago;

• stricter CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) consumption standards, which increase the number of miles a vehicle must travel for every gallon consumed;

...