Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR), Ford Motor Company (F), Valero Energy Corporation (VLO): The 1 Title We Will Happily Cede to China

Perhaps the largest obstacle in making this happen is logistics. Both Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO) and Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX), the two largest exporters of the independent refiners in the U.S., have nearly all of their excess refining capacity in the Gulf Coast region, which has the problem of being on the wrong side of the continent. So far, a majority of refined product exports have gone to European and South American markets, but the projected expansion of the Panama Canal in 2015 could change that dynamic very quickly.

What a Fool believes

Sometimes it’s hard to grasp the fundamental changes that we’ve seen in the American energy industry. It’s been less than a decade since we were in a position similar to China, where our depenence on oil imports was at alarming levels. Since then, we’ve stumbled upon a globally transformative amount of oil, and our efforts to curb overall demand are starting to bear fruit. It’s hard to say whether China will be able to manage a similar type of turnaround with its own energy policies, but either way it will still take the nation years to reverse the trend.

The article The 1 Title We Will Happily Cede to China originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Tyler Crowe.

Fool contributor Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him at Fool.com under the handle TMFDirtyBird, on Google +, or on Twitter: @TylerCroweFool. The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Ford.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.