Turmoil and instability in the world makes the case for domestic energy production

Fuel Fix:

Oil production around the globe is a canary in the coal mine, with major disruptions providing a strategic warning about growing instability and persistent violence around the world, according to a new report.

While oil supply interruptions can be traced to natural disasters, production problems and other relatively benign causes, in many cases they “reflect growing or at least ongoing turmoil,” says the paper, issued by Republicans on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“Losses in oil production often reflect instability,” said the panel’s top Republican member, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. “Energy reporting clearly pointed to Iraq’s deteriorating security years before the current collapse and provides us strategic warning of violence in other countries and regions.”

In releasing the report Monday, Murkowski suggested that the analysis shows supply disruptions are not only a warning of deeper political instability but also a reminder of the tenuous nature of international oil supplies — and the importance of domestic crude production as a hedge against them.

“Sustained levels of such outages in other countries may constitute a degree of strategic warning to policymakers that attention is required,” she said, “and ultimately are a reminder that record-breaking increases in North American oil production can enhance national security and stabilize global markets.”

The report documents the rise in unplanned outages in OPEC nations, those that are members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The amount of oil offline peaked early this year and has slightly fallen since then, with about 2 million barrels per day of production disrupted now.
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This should be a major issue in the election this year and more so in 2016 when we need to select a new President who can stand up to the anti energy left and their failed policy of artificial scarcity.   Increased domestic production is a strategic asset that has been squandered by Democrats in their vain pursuit of alternative energy.