Imported oil: It isn’t a Middle Eastern thing

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Imported oil and gas is often invoked as an evil specter in American politics, calling to mind shadowy anti-American regimes profiting off of our oil addiction.

That might be the case if you’re particularly opposed to poutine, Labatt Blue and Justin Bieber — not that we’d blame you, of course. But the fact is, based on U.S. imports of oil in October 2012, the U.S. imports twice as much oil from Canada as it does from anywhere else.

Canada accounted for more than 83,000 barrels of crude oil imported to the U.S., with second-place Saudi Arabia accounting for almost 39,000 barrels.

Another interesting fact: The region in the U.S. you live in dictates where you’ll get your oil from. Colorado, counted among the Mountain West states, got all of its imported oil from the Great White North.

See the story at Grist and see the raw data table from the Energy Information Administration.