Help me with crude oil, gasoline consumption statistics......

First of all, let's look at your basic numbers. They look pretty good to me. USA we use about 19 millions barrel per day of crude oil to make about 9 million barrels per day of gasoline. Overall volume yield is approx. 100% so that tells the other products are diesel, lubes, jet fuel, chemicals etc.

Now lets look at your proposals. Your proposals are aggressive and bold. You are directionally correct it would reduce crude oil needs significantly. But they are very long term plans, major changes like these cannot be done overnight, decades would be required. And that assumes national concensus on energy policy, which we do not have concensus on anything right now.

 

No but it would make a good start. There are many industrial uses, along with heating oil for homes and busineses. Trucking/aviation/rail also take some of the transport sector along with personal cars and trucks. Transport is about 2/3 of oil consumption.
U.S. Oil Demand by End-Use Sector

Doubling mpg for all cars and trucks would get rid of about 30% of oil demand. Keystone pipeline would accelerate use of North american non-opec oil. That would probably get opec oil down to less than 10%. To squeeze the rest, a oil tax as well as better natural gas distribution and infrastructure would squeeze some of the heating and industrial use to get opec oil to 0.

It doesn't sound easy at all. There are big lobbies against the changes needed to make it happen.

 

U.S. Petroleum Consumption
19,148,000 barrels/day
U.S. Motor Gasoline Consumption
9,034,000 barrels/day (378 million gallons/day)
Share of U.S. Oil Consumption for Transportation
72% (2009)
U.S. Total Petroleum Exports
2,024,000 barrels/day


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I am not sure what to do with the export figure, since it reflects sale of refined products. Did the US "consume" the oil it refined but did not then use ?

I also do not know the difference between petroleum and oil.

The notion of OPEC vs non OPEC oil is artificial, since oil is one big combined market. You can say though that reducing demand will likely decrease the $/barrel dramatically, and the oil income our OPEC friends (as well as the domestic producers) receive yearly will plummet.

addendum: Google says

By the way -- well within my personal memory (and Prius lifetime) was the day that US fleet replacement to double efficiency transport would have reduced to zero the need to import oil.

 

This is old, but numbers for percentages are still in range.

NRDC: Reducing America's Energy Dependence

Since then the Bush and Obama administration as well as industry have taken on many of the policies proposed, except urban sprawl. But the colapse of the auto market has the average consumer vehicle 10.8 years old. That makes it take a long time of changes to make it through the system. The Obama full cafe standards when it comes to light trucks (pickups, SUVs, CUVs) won't really seriously affect the fleet until 2020.

As for the idea that it doesn't matter weather america buys opec oil or not, nothing could be farther from the truth. American consumption does affect global consumption and prices no matter where our oil comes from, but.... OPEC has twice used oil black mail against the United States, not using it reduces shortages and price spikes. Use of OPEC oil has encouraged US politicians to spend a great deal of military might and strategic contingencies in the Persian gulf. Getting rid of this tie would reduce this constraint in foreign policy. Money going to canadian, mexican, or us oil producers keeps more of our money in north america with friendly governments instead of sending it to our enemies.

 

^^also I feel the USA energy picture is changing so rapdily, perhaps getting ahead of attitudes and politics. All of a sudden USA is looking like the next major exporter of energy. We already export coal, nat gas exports starting soon, oil production is picking up especially if we consider Canada our best friends; I certainly do.

So the OPEC argument is a potential red herring, always was for some. The only reason I mention it the OP assumed OPEC avoidance should be the central organizing princilple in US energy policy. I wanted to give a flavor that may not be the central organizing principle.

 

Even if the US exports coal, that does not stop the problem with importing oil. Although many see reducing oil consumption as its own reward, many voters don't really care. Reducing the ability for countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia to use oil as a weapon against us is a fairly unifying idea across the political spectrum.

 

....yes I know even T Boone Pickens has that as his plan justification.