American Oil Independence At Its Highest Despite Recent Military Action

Oil experts say anytime there's military action, we'll often see an immediate price surge.

By dropping 59 tomahawk missiles on Syria, President Donald Trump made it clear: America is firmly against the use of chemical weapons.

"It is in this vital, national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons,” said President Trump.

Historically military action has caused problems for American drivers, for example, the 1979 gas rationing.

The Gulf War led to major spikes at the pump.

After 9-11, American drivers experience much of the same.

“It's not going to impact us in the short term,” said professor Tom Seng.

Energy Business professor Tom Seng teqaches at the University of Tulsa.

"This was an emotional reaction by the traders who got that news,” said Seng.

He says we shouldn't be concerned with the temporary spike in oil prices right now because this is a military action, not war, and Syria isn't a major US oil supplier.

Oil experts say when there's any kind of conflict things can get a little shaky and prices at the pump will likely go up, but America has more oil security than ever before.

"People would not have to worry about whether or not there is gasoline at the pump," Seng explained.

Currently, 700 million barrels of oil sits in the US's Strategic Petroleum reserve. Commercially, there are 500 million barrels.

Seng said if all production stopped, which is highly unlikely, America would be able to keep up with the current pace of oil use for more than two months.

Seng also said America is even more secure because we have a long list of unfinished oil wells that if necessary could be up and running in a matter of months.