Russia Now Major Oil supplier to the US
The recent Gulf of Mexico disaster has provided a set back to the United States' desire to overcome its dependency on foreign oil while Russia proves itself the major oil supplier to the US. According to the latest oil market news, ever since the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline system became operational, which is designed to export Russian crude to the Asia-Pacific markets, "imports have gone from zero to an estimated 100,000 barrels a day in a matter of months". With the United States attempting to diversify its oil sources from the Middle East, the Russian oil industry has in turn has greatly increased its supplies. This supply of oil from Russia has also helped to keep down the fuel prices in the West Coast. The oil industry in Russia has now turned into a challange for the Alaskan oil supplies. However scandals in the Russian oil and gas industry, such as the Khodorkovsky/Yukos affair, has questioned Russia's reliability as a long term solution.