When I was reading a discussion about the new commercials accusing SUV’s of terrorism, some person claimed British Petroleum gasoline wasn’t affiliated with any middle east coutries, and that the oil came from Europe. Is this true? I really doubt it so I figure I’ll check here. Do all fuel companies get their oil from the same places? If not, is there any way one could find out which places they get the crude oil from?
It’s supposed to be Hess that doesn’t use Middle Eastern oil. The UL part of it is that it’s because it is owned by a Jewish family. That same Snopes page lists Sinclair and Sunoco as other gasoline companies that don’t use Middle Eastern oil.
Regarding BP, it seems like they have no problems with the Middle East, as you can see on this FAQ page. The Middle East has some issues with them though, with the whole colonization thing not being forgotten quite yet.
Considering U.S. sources, Mexico, Russia, Venezuela (well, give it a couple more weeks), it’s possible to claim that my SUV only consumes non-Arab oil – leaving the leftover Arab stuff for all you little Cavalier drivers.
(really, I don’t have an SUV, but I’m proud to say that I use my own money to fill my 8-cylinder car that gets only 22MPG and until I use your money shut the hell up).
Oh, and I don’t mean that parenthetical as Pit material, hence a parenthetical. The whole point is that a substantial portion of oil comes from other sources. See: http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/data/summary2002.html.
This indicates that 425,545 out of 1,350,055 units – 32% of our oil – was imported from the Middle East.
22 mpg is excellent gas mileage compared to many SUVs.
Part of the point of the ads is to mock our government for linking drugs and terrorism yet supporting governments that support terrorism because they serve our oil interests.
Even though not all (or even most) of our oil comes from the Middle East, virtually every company that sells gasoline also operates in the Middle East.
Finally, there are plenty of other countries in which oil companies operate (ie, much of Africa) that commit forms of what I would consider terrorism against their own people.
Not that the above means I think the ads are a great idea. There are much better ways to explain the links between gasoline use and national security than a 30 second spot that insults people without really explaining anything.