http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-08/pentagon-oil-spending-may-snarl-efforts-to-trim-490b.html

The U.S. military’s appetite for oil may snarl efforts to pare defense spending by about $490 billion in the next decade.

The Pentagon (USBODEFN), the world’s single largest consumer of energy excluding countries, spent $17.3 billion on petroleum in fiscal 2011, a 26 percent increase from $13.7 billion the previous year, according to Department of Defense data provided to Bloomberg Government.

World oil prices will average an estimated $145 a barrel in 2035 in 2010 dollars, up from between roughly $85 and $110, according to Energy Department statistics. Such an increase might force the military to dedicate more of its budget to fuel while still trying to cut total spending, said Russell Rumbaugh, a defense budget analyst.

“The oil prices will further exacerbate the defense spending cap,” said Rumbaugh, a co-director of the Stimson Center’s program on budgeting for foreign affairs and defense in Washington. “They’ll be in competition with other defense priorities, including procurement and paying soldiers.”

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-0 ... -490b.html