Memo To Self: Send Note To Jane Nielson -- November 24, 2015

This DOE graphic pretty much says it all -- the observation that the US is among the top ten countries when ranked for oil reserves. They made the list in 2014, seven years after the Bakken boom began in North Dakota.

But know what amazes me most? How a country like Venezuela can completely screw up their God-given fortune. Not only does it have a lot of oil, it has the "right" kind of oil -- the kind of oil the US needs.

I suppose the other thing that catches my eye: the one continent that doesn't make the list is Europe. And the one oil-producing country that doesn't make the list: Mexico.