The Financial Times recently published an article addressing the current decline of oil imports from Saudi Arabia to the U.S. While this news appears to reflect a step towards lessening our dependence on OPEC oil, the cause of this decline is not entirely due to a decline in foreign oil imports. Instead, this is the result of booming economic development of the far east, and a shift of demand from the west.

John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi in Riyadh, quoted in the article, explained why this shift in oil sales is occurring. “China offers demand security, something that for a long time the oil producing countries including Saudi Arabia have called for. As global demand has been picking up in the east, Saudi Arabia has been looking east.”

Because of the nature of crude oil as a commodity, there are endless scenarios that have the potential to put the U.S. in troublesome situation… Remember the gas lines of the 1970s? America’s continued and growing reliance on foreign oil means that any negative effect to supply in the Middle East could send shock waves throughout our entire economy.

There has never been a better time to lessen our dependence on foreign oil and utilize our own domestic and abundant natural gas. We continue to import 65%-70% of the oil we use, relying on other nations to address our energy needs.