Mainstream media outlets have made it quite clear that they feel the U.S. is too dependent on foreign oil.

     Our oil dependency is a topic that finds it way into most articles about Iraq or Israel and is usually discussed in any reports about prices at the pump reaching new highs.

     But what you don't hear is that the lack of new American refineries may be the largest impediment to U.S. energy independence.

     And bureaucratic bungling has made the situation worse.

     According to the UPI, the United States has not permitted construction of new refineries in 25 years – and that has caused the country to become terribly dependent on foreign facilities.

     "In a manner reminiscent of how U.S. dependency on foreign crude oil developed, the United States is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign petroleum products like gasoline and heating oil refined from crude oil, the feedstock that refineries process into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and heating oil," says the UPI.

     The report cited Scottish consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, which discovered "that there are about 100 refining expansion projects representing as much as 12 million barrels a day of new capacity being built globally – nearly all outside the United States."

     UPI says that Saudi Arabia – the global leader in crude oil supply – continues to build oil refineries, thus cementing its position as an oil leader.

But it's a different story in the United States.

     "No refinery has been built in the United States since 1976, most due to 'regulatory barriers' and the not-in-my-backyard attitude of communities around the country," says the UPI, citing the Wall Street Journal.

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