Challenge of Identifying Sources of Gasoline:
What Companies Buy / Don't Buy from Middle East ?

The DoE tracks oil imports by company each month, and although the raw data are complex to follow (fortunately, the DoE also provides an explanation of their symbols).  The information is there, but digesting it into a useful form requires nearly a full-time job. 

It is well known that heavy importers of Middle East oil are those companies that are the largest gasoline / petroleum suppliers, such as Shell, Chevron/Texaco, Exxon/Mobil, and Marthon Oil.

Does this mean that smaller gasoline companies will not use Middle East oil?  Well, yes and no. Even though some companies do not extensively use Middle East oil, they tend to get a good portion of their either oil directly (or indirectly from third party nations and suppliers) from the Middle East.  This is not to say that the Middle East is the only supplier of oil.  However, it is not as simple as just going to one versus another gasoline supplier to avoid using Middle East oil.  For example, Russia has long been a source of (1) oil, and (2) oil from Iraq to as a "pass through" to US oil companies.

For some of the smaller gasoline companies, in February 2002 the totals were as follows:

·       CITGO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national oil company of Venezuela, so naturally most of its crude oil comes from there. However, in February 2002 CITGO also imported from Middle Eastern countries in the following quantities:

·       Conoco imports primarily from Mexico, Venezuela, and Canada, and not from Middle Eastern countries. However, they are planning to merge with Phillips, which does import from Middle Eastern countries (see below).

·       BP imports from a variety of oil-producing countries, but in February 2002 BP North America also imported from Middle Eastern countries in the following quantities:

·       Phillips also imports from a variety of oil-producing countries, but in February 2002 Phillips imported from Middle Eastern countries in the following quantities:

·       Sinclair imports from Canada, not the Middle East.

·      Sunoco imports primarily from Canada, Angola, and Nigeria, not Middle Eastern countries.

So, "doing the math" and multiplying these monthly figures by $30/barrel and projecting them over the course of a year, supporting only the companies listed above would still be putting $3.76 billion dollars per year in the coffers of Middle Eastern countries.

Statistics aside, the glaring fallacy here is the suggestion that we could possibly buy our gasoline only from these selected companies. This notion is like claiming that we could put the big grocery chains out of business if we all bought our food only from small mom & pop stores, but ignoring the fact that these small shops couldn't possibly come close to supplying all our grocery needs. The oil companies named above are relatively small (which is a large part of the reason why they don't necessarily import from the Middle East) and could not satisfy the demand that would be created if a significant portion of the USA's consumer base were to shun all the largest oil companies, unless they bought up the output of the companies we were supposed to be avoiding in the first place (or, alternatively, unless they raised their prices sky-high).

Moreover, the idea that oil companies sell gasoline only through their branded service stations -- and therefore if you don't buy gasoline from Shell-branded gas stations you're not sending money to Shell (or, by extension, the Middle East) -- is wrong. Oil companies sell their output through a variety of outlets other than their branded stations; as well, by the time crude oil gets from the ground into our gasoline tanks, there's no telling exactly where it came from. (A good deal of the crude oil purchased from Russia, for example, is oil from Iraqi fields sold through Russian middlemen.)