There is talk of exporting oil, which we already do some some degree, right? ...to whom?
And I think you told me once that American refineries can only handle light oil, not heavy oil? ...thus the imports?
It's all confusing, how much and what type oil the US produces.
Record low fuel prices.
Yet, we still are importing and exporting oil?
I saw $1.71 this weekend on the SW side.
There is talk of exporting oil, which we already do some some degree, right? ...to whom?
Most of the oil we export now is to Canada. I think that is more a case of moving to the closest refinery, regardless of the border.
Crude Oil Exports by Destination
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_expc_a_EPC0_EEX_mbblpd_m.htm
And I think you told me once that American refineries can only handle light oil, not heavy oil?
The Gulf Coast Refineries tend to be optimized for heavy sour oil, which is cheaper and contains more BTU's per barrel.
...thus the imports?
Thus the desire for exports. The Gulf Coast is "flooded" with Light Sweet crude oil. We should be exporting this expensive oil and importing cheaper oil our refineries are already designed to use.
We import ~7 million barrels per day because we refine far more oil than we produce domestically.
It's all confusing, how much and what type oil the US produces.
The US produces a lot of different grades, as do other regions. But we are maxing out our ability to use more light sweet, and the US shale fields mostly produce light sweet.
Yet, we still are importing and exporting oil?
We import ~16 times as much crude oil as we export. Location and qualities drive those differences.