Natural Gas Is AMERICAN

Natural gas vehicles (NVG) can reduce America’s foreign oil dependency. NGVs, using America’s vast abundance of domestic natural gas, are our best answer for reducing foreign oil dependence and increasing energy and national security.

About 98% of the natural gas we use comes from right here in North America. Conversely, 70% of the oil we use is imported.

We export about $1.7 billion a day to pay for foreign oil, adding to our trade deficit and weakening the dollar. By using domestic natural gas, we strengthen both our nation’s economy and energy security — keeping jobs and revenues at home.

The simple truth about America’s foreign oil.

• America imports nearly 70% of the petroleum it uses.¹
• The 14.3 million barrels per day of oil utilized by the U.S. transportation sector exceeds the total oil consumption of any other single country in the world.²
• State-controlled national oil companies (NOCs) hold most of the world’s oil and gas reserves. The six largest NOCs have 10 times the reserves of the top six privately owned companies, at least 75%. And by some estimates as much as 90% of all oil and natural gas reserves are held by national oil companies that are either partially or fully controlled by sovereign governments – which often do not have the same incentives as profit-maximizing firms to supply oil to the market.³
• Replacing 3.5 million heavy-duty vehicles with natural gas vehicles by 2035 would save more than 1.2 million barrels of oil per day, which is more than we imported from either Venezuela or Saudi Arabia in 2009.⁴
• With a transportation system fueled by diverse and secure energy supplies, the United States can fundamentally reduce its dangerous dependence on a global oil market that is shaped by cartel economics and foreign political agendas.⁵

American energy dollars better spent

In February 2010, the U.S. spent $24.6 billion on imported oil.⁶ If not burdened by this addiction, what could our country have done?

• We could have hired over 364,000 new teachers.
• We could have funded highway repairs for nearly 7 years.
• We could have built 32,407 new elementary schools.

¹Pickens Plan
²Energy Security Leadership Council
³Energy Security Leadership Council
⁴Center for American Progress
⁵Energy Security Leadership Council
⁶Pickens Plan