US oil imports drop to a 30 year low

Fuel Fix:
Oil imports to the U.S. Gulf Coast have reached the lowest level in more than three decades, as production out of shale fields like the Permian Basin continues to rise.

In March imports to the Gulf Coast averaged 1.8 million barrels a day, a more than 70 percent decline since 2007, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. That has resulted in the Gulf Coast effectively operating as a net exporter for the past five months.

EIA attributed the shift to declining production in Venezuela due to political turmoil and the decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut exports in a bid to raise global oil prices.
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The imported oil is being replaced by domestic crude.  That is something that probably would not have happened if Obama had gotten his way on energy.   Because the US has become a net exporter of oil, it seems clear that the US could replace all imported oil, if refiners were not wedded to the use of heavy crude.  I think the money wasted on ethanol should have been used to convert the refineries to using the light crude produced from the shale wells.

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