April 10, 2011

Import Brazil's Oil Policy, Not Brazil's Oil

By Bill Costello
In 1980, Brazil imported 77 percent of its oil. Now it imports 0.0 percent. During that same time period, America increased its oil imports from roughly 30 percent to 70 percent. If Brazil can become completely self-sufficient in oil, why can't America start becoming more self-sufficient?Brazil is one of the BRICs, an acronym that refers to the nations of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, the rising powers. The BRICs have been increasing their global economic power at such a fast pace that Goldman Sachs predicts they will become the four most dominant economies by the year 2050.It's no surprise that Brazil is among the nations with the biggest and fastest growing emerging markets. They have been making smart economic decisions.Among those decisions was to stop depending on foreign energy sources. Since 1980, Brazil has increased its oil production by 876 percent. Now it actually has a surplus.President Obama has expressed his eagerness for Brazil to expand offshore oil drilling and...(Read Full Article)