Here is a snapshot of the US oil market, according to data from the Department of Energy:

-- The United States is the world's top oil consumer. Consumption of petroleum products hit 20.7 million barrels a day (bpd) in 2007.

-- That is up from 16.7 million bpd two decades ago, in 1987. The 20 million bpd-mark was broken for the first time in 2003.

-- All of Europe consumed 16.4 million bpd in 2007, and China 7.2 million in 2006, up from 2.1 million 20 years earlier. Worldwide consumption was estimated by the DoE at 82.6 million bpd in 2006.

-- The United States produced 5.1 million bpd of crude oil in 2007.

-- US production has been decreasing since the 1970s: after a high in 1970 of 9.6 million bpd, it dropped off to 8.6 million in 1980, 7.3 million in 1990 and 5.8 million in 2000.

-- The International Energy Agency estimates current global output at 87 million bpd.

-- Countries' crude oil reserves also have slid, from 39 billion barrels in 1970 to 20.9 billion in 2006.

-- Refining capacity, at 1.23 million bpd in 2007, has been stagnant since the 1980s.

-- Production of bioethanol has surged from 6.2 billion liters in 2000 to 24.6 billion in 2007 according to the Renewable Fuels Association. The government has set a production target of 136 billion liters for 2022.