The decline in gasoline consumption apparently resulted from less driving, because the number of vehicles continued to increase. According to the Polk Company, which tracks registrations and retirements of vehicles, 213.3 million vehicles were in use in the United States as of last June 30, up 3.79 million, or 1.8 percent, from the number a year earlier. And the mix continued to shift toward sport utility vehicles, vans and pickup trucks and away from cars, which are more fuel efficient. Institute officials warned, though, that even with slightly lower demand, the system for making and distributing gasoline was vulnerable to disruptions because refineries were still operating very close to capacity, and the fuel market itself had become more complex. Environmental rules now require 14 kinds of gasoline in different jurisdictions around the United States, some with ethanol, some with the additive MTBE, some with low sulfur, and most of them with strict limits on ingredients that evaporate readily.
Unburned hydrocarbons are a source of air pollution.
The oil industry wants to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and in areas of the Gulf of Mexico from which it is now barred. He said the industry would also like to build more refineries but that the permitting process is too onerous. The sharp rise in oil prices last year has already stimulated some parts of the industry. In August 1999, the rig count was at a record low, 98. The release of the 2000 statistics follows by one day the Senate confirmation hearing for Spencer Abraham, who is President-elect George W. Bush's choice for energy secretary.