Drilled, Deceived, Declining, Dead — America’s Energy Empire

For a century, cheap domestic oil powered America’s rise. Manufacturing boomed. Suburbs sprawled. Superpower status was sealed in petroleum. But that era is long dead—and no slogan, no billionaire, and no pipeline deal is going to revive it.

The U.S. became a net oil importer in 1970—the same year conventional oil peaked. That wasn’t coincidence. Nixon killed the gold standard a year later. Not because of oil directly, but because the post-war economic engine had run out of fuel.

The petrodollar replaced gold, and debt replaced discipline.

Fast-forward: over $34 trillion in debt—a financial empire floating on IOUs and fossil fumes.

Shale: Energy on Life Support

The oil drilled now is expensive, unstable, and short-lived.

Shale oil is technically high quality—light and sweet—but most wells lose 60-70% of output in the first year. The industry has to drill constantly just to stay flat. That’s not dominance. That’s desperation.

Trains, Exports, and Delusions

Oil trains still snake through Seattle—mile-long chains from North Dakota. Some gets refined here. Some is exported directly.

A lot is shipped out because U.S. refineries can’t process the light stuff. As of 2024, America exports over 3 million barrels of crude per day, even while begging OPEC to pump more.

It’s a similar story with coal. Wyoming still loads 140-car trains bound for Asia. While D.C. touts “net zero,” the U.S. keeps the real energy exports flowing—to China.

The Billionaires Got Paid

The Qatar-to-Europe gas pipeline never needed a ‘headline’. Just troops, diplomacy, and a few billion in LNG infrastructure.

Wall Street knows the drill.

American policy stabilizes the routes, billionaires skim the upside, and the public gets stuck with inflation and grid failures.

Fumes and Fantasy

America didn’t run out of oil. It ran out of cheap oil, competent leadership, and honest narratives.

The empire was built on light sweet crude. Now it’s running on debt, spin, and delusion.