in 2015 , and by 2035 , Beijing will be importing 80 percent of its oil . Energy supplies are vulnerable to disruption as some 83 percent of China ’s oil currently passes through the South China Sea and Strait of Malacca . Land pipelines are being built from Russia and Kazakhstan as part of efforts to maintain a supply chain that is less susceptible to disruption .
" From our perspective , the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is a fundamentally bad deal for Europe , " Biden said during a visit to Stockholm where he met with Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven . " To lock in great reliance on Russia will fundamentally destabilise Ukraine , " Biden said , adding : " Europe needs diverse sources of gas . " EU states importedmovement.transportartifact.receiveimport53 percent of their energy in 2014 . A third of gas comes from Russia alone and some newer eastern members are almost entirely reliant on Moscow for energy . The EU has been seeking to reduce its dependence on Russian gas .
The new law ratifies an earlier agreement signed between the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic in August 2015 , which first authorized the deployment of Russian military forces in Syria . According to the agreement , the Russian Air Force is considered to be on Syrian territory at the request of the Syrian government , and it shall be allowed to utilize the air base at Hmeimim ( Latakia province ) and the surrounding infrastructure as necessary . The text of the agreement further states that all arms , ammunition , and equipment necessary to sustain the Russian units shall be importedmovement.transportartifact.receiveimportfree of any charge . Russian personnel and their family members are granted diplomatic immunity in the agreement , and all transport means used to ship equipment and ammunition to Syria is to be immune from inspections , searches , or impounding . The agreement also states that the Syrian government will not make any legal claims against the Russian government or the personnel of its armed forces serving in Syrian territory .
There were only 320 crude oil rigs in operation in May , down from an average of 1,527 during all of 2014 , a decline of 79 percent . And even though the price of crude oil has recovered more recently to around $ 50 , the Energy Information Administration predicted in its June Short - Term Energy Outlook that oil production will continue declining until 2017 before beginning to rise again , assuming that oil prices increase as expected , and that the industry implements productivity improvements . Oil Imports & Dependency — Under Obama , U.S. reliance on importedmovement.transportartifact.receiveimportoil has been cut by more than half . As of the first quarter of 2016 , net imports were down 55 percent . In 2015 , the U.S. imported only 24 percent of the petroleum and refined products that it consumed , which was the lowest annual level of dependency on imports since 1970 .
But they also urged her to stop laying down conditions and caveats . " Clinton will continue to struggle to convince climate advocates that she is serious about addressing the crisis until she comes out for a full ban on fracking , " said Yong Jung Cho , campaign coordinator of grassroots groups 350 Action . As secretary of state , Clinton supported fracking as a way to reduce U.S. dependence on importedmovement.transportartifact.receiveimportenergy , and even led a push to spread shale extraction to allies in Europe to wean them off Russian gas . Her pledge in Flint to curtail the practice followed the blunt declaration against fracking by Senator Bernard Sanders , her sole rival for the nomination . Sanders ' challenge has shifted some of Clinton 's positions in the campaign , and her statement on fracking now comes closer to wider Democratic party sentiment .