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Comment by hollerith | Hacker News Reader

SA get more negative press now than they did after the 9/11 attacks even though 14 of the 15 attackers grew up in SA and even though wealthy Saudis were the main source of funds for the madrassas that created most Islamic extremists.

The US doesn't need SA the way it did in 2001 what with its having become self-sufficient in petroleum.

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USA still imports about 50% of the oil barrels it uses each day, about 10m[1], and there is not enough pipeline capacity to move shale oil to refineries[2]. It's a long way to being self-sufficient.

[1]: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/10/18/americas-shale-... [2]: https://www.economist.com/business/2018/10/20/the-shale-boom...

I accept your correction; the US in not self-sufficient: "in June America produced 13% of global crude oil" (economist URL in child comment) whereas it consumes about 20%:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/273565/share-of-the-majo...

They do if they want to control the price for the rest of the world and make sure that oil is traded in dollars.

Is the oil being traded in dollars really that big a deal to anyone?

Call me naive but that sounds like being worried about whether the volume of the oil is measured in gallons vs litres.

The fact that dollars are widely used in international markets, e.g. in oil trading, is what enables the US to borrow money abroad in its own currency. Which is a pretty big deal, since owing money in currency you don't control (which of course is what most nations have to do) leaves you vulnerable if there is a downturn in your economy and your currency weakens. Keeping the status of the dollar as a major reserve and trade currency is important to the USA.

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