The role of transnational companies in oil imports in the United States: Reviewing after the fracking boom

Oil production in the United States increased in 2009 for the first time since the oil peak due to fracking. This and the slight decrease in oil consumption, resulted in a significant fall in U.S. oil imports. This major change inspired this paper, in which we analyse potential changes in self-supply (the extent to which the international oil production of transnational companies meets the oil requirements of the United States). The period between 2009 and 2013 was studied, and compared with that of 2005 to 2008, by estimating and evaluating a set of indicators related to the degree of self-supply of these transnational companies. The relevance of this work is twofold: on the one hand, because of the economic and geopolitical implications of this self-supply and on the other hand, because of the contribution of the research to energy economics. The research suggests a continuation of a low degree of self-supply but for other reasons than those formulated in the hypothesis which are based on the consequences of fracking.