More efficient refineries & loss of manufacturing
Two other areas that would contribute to reduced oil usage is increased efficiency by refineries over the last 10+ years to extract more gas from every barrel of oil. I remember this because it was causing a reduction in asphalt which caused the price of asphalt to skyrocket in the 2006/2007 time frame (asphalt is the leftover/final product after everything else is extracted from the oil). As I recall they were able to get an extra gallon or two out of every barrel of oil.
I also recall several stories about chemical companies moving out of the US. I'm wondering how much of this manufacturing has left the US and how that would affect US demand for oil. This would be on top of reduced demand due to the recession.
Eric
