- In our case, we will examine the United States' energy security. The U.S. is the leading consumer of oil in the world, followed by China. However, we consume over 18 million barrels of oils daily, and China uses around 9 million. So even though they are second to the U.S., we still use twice the amount of oil! That is why it is crucial that the United States has a high energy security and not depend too much on foreign nations for oil importation.