Actually, we just need access to the oil fields. Having said that though, China, Japan, and Europe are far more dependent than we on ME oil. They may reap the whirlwind for the troubles they have fostered or ignored.
If gas goes to $10/gal, I think the United States could and would cut consumption in half through change in habits, and we produce that much oil. I don't think the rest of the world has that margin of discretionary use.
I'm just speaking out of the frustration of being one of the few countries to try to attempt real positive change in the ME.
Oil is a global commodity. We are not insulated from the impact of an interruption of the flow of oil from the Middle East, which supplies more than half of the globe's exportable supply. The price of oil would go through the roof plunging the world economy into a recession and depending on how long the supplies were interrupted, into a depression.
If gas goes to $10/gal, I think the United States could and would cut consumption in half through change in habits, and we produce that much oil. I don't think the rest of the world has that margin of discretionary use.
The US imports about 60% of its daily oil requirements or about 11 million bbls of imported oil a day. $10 a gallon gas would not alleviate the consumption requirements for those who need to go to work or the trucks that carry most of the nations domestic cargo. Our economy would tumble from any such price increase for gasoline. What you may deem as "discretionary" is essential to others to keep their businesses operating and their prices competitive.