The United States currently imports oil from Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Columbia, Ecuador, Iraq and Brazil just to name a few.  St. Cloud State Economist and Dean, School of Public Affairs King Banaian joined me on WJON today.  He says the United States produces enough oil that we wouldn't need to import oil but he's not sure for how long.  Banaian says there is enough supply in the United States if we chose not to export.  He says the United States is probably not the most important exporter for any particular country but the U.S. exports to many countries.

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Banaian says oil comes in lots of different grades with different contents in it.  Some oil is sweet and some is sour meaning that some has more sulfur content in it than others.  He says the U.S. has to have access to those.  Banaian says we have areas here we can use for some areas of production but would not be able to use it in other areas of production.  He says Russian oil and Venezuelan oil have the same qualities and the U.S. chose not to import oil from Venezuela and instead imported Russia up until recently.  Banaian says some countries can use are oil but some cannot.

Electric vehicles are available in the market but King Banaian says there are some questions in regards to those that need to be answered.  He says battery storage and charging stations are those concerns.  Banaian says some electric vehicles can go 250 miles before being charged.  The other concern is where can charging stations be found.  The price and convenience of electric cars continue to be a barrier for some in moving to electric cars.

If you'd like to listen to my full conversation with King Banaian it is available below.

 

 

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