Where does the U.S. get its oil from?
Many Americans have no clue. In fact, a new poll from the University of Texas shows that three out of four Americans think the United States imports most of its oil from Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
This chart shows that they couldn't be more wrong...
From December 2014 to May 2015, Middle Eastern oil comprised less than a quarter of all U.S. oil imports. The surprising truth is that the United States gets most of its oil from countries in North and South America.
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Canada dominates the No. 1 spot by a considerable margin. The United States imported 701 million barrels of Canadian oil over that six-month period. That beats OPEC king Saudi Arabia by 283%.
While the United States currently imports an average of 8.04 million barrels per day, that barely scratches the surface of the total U.S. oil market. That's because U.S. production is at unprecedented levels right now.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) supply report this week, the United States is producing 9.35 million barrels a day. That's the highest rate of output in nearly 80 years.
In fact, U.S. oil production is so high that only 40% of the oil Americans use is imported. The other 60% is domestically produced.
Alex McGuire is an associate editor for Money Morning who writes about oil and natural gas. Follow him on Twitter at @AlexMcGuire92 for the latest energy updates.