The Meaning Of "Independence"

Pretend you are the nominee in 2016, and answer question about US energy exports raised at a candidates' debate based on the following 2 sources of information:


(1) 
The Christian Science Monitor(November 2013)
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2013/1107/Should-the-US-export-oil

Should The US Export Oil?

..."Exporting energy is good for the economy," wrote Blake Clayton, an adjunct fellow for energy at the Council on Foreign Relations, in a June policy memo. "Letting drillers reap extra profits from selling crude oil overseas, if the market dictates, would provide greater incentives for drilling, stimulating new supply. It would also encourage investment in oil and gas production in the United States rather than abroad."

[...]

 Supporting the free market and supporting open trade is a key priority for our industry as well as the President," API  (American Petroleum Institute) spokesman Reid Porter said in an e-mailed statement. "It creates efficiencies, creates jobs, and increases revenue to our government.  These points are often made as part of our public discourse in the context of API’s priority issues.”

(2)
SCITIZEN  (May 2012)
http://www.scitizen.com/future-energies/the-oil-industry-s-deceitful-promise-of-american-energy-independence_a-14-3746.html

 The Oil Industry's Deceitful Promise of American Energy Independence

 ... the industry wants us to hold two contradictory ideas in our heads. The first is, of course, the already debunked 100-year claim. The second is that we are going to vastly expand our use of natural gas: for more electricity generation (for cleaner air, of course!), for more natural gas-powered vehicles, and for more natural gas-based chemicals. 

The industry even wants us to believe that there will be enough left over to export to other countries. How the supposed 100-year supply--which is premised on the current rate of consumption--is going to last that long if the country continually grows that rate is simply glossed over. Add to that what any realistic analysis reveals, namely, that natural gas supplies will almost certainly turn out to be less than claimed, and it's easy to see why natural gas will never be the answer to American energy independence.6
We also have the truly bizarre claim that oil from deep shale formations in places such as North Dakota is going to provide the United States with enough production to reduce its imports to zero. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), however, puts the total technically recoverable resources of oil from deep shale formations at 24 billion barrels. This says nothing, of course, about whether such oil will be economically recoverable. And besides, 24 billion barrels constitutes only about 288 days of world supply or about 3 years of U.S. consumption. 

The rate of production of this type of oil, properly called tight oil, is expected to reach 1.3 mbpd by 2030. And, total U.S. oil production is expected to reach 6.7 mbpd by 2020 and begin to decline thereafter. Since U.S. consumption is projected to remain around 15 mbpd through 2030, the country will continue to import oil and oil products during this entire period...

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