By drilling for oil, won't we increase supply and reduce the price?

It seems like economics 101. Do politicians who claim otherwise deserve to be re-elected. They are either liars or idiots.





Also, it takes only months to drill and start producing. The ten years is for all the permits and law suits that you have to wade through.By drilling for oil, won't we increase supply and reduce the price?
I don't see why this is such a political issue. Our nation has vast amounts of natural resources waiting to be recovered. We need them, let's get them. Seems pretty simple.By drilling for oil, won't we increase supply and reduce the price?
The problem is not supply. There is plenty of oil and refineries are refining below their capabilities because there is, despite the protestations, no excess demand. You do not have to wait in line for your chance at the pump and gas stations are not running low on fuel. Increasing supply will not, in this case, lower the cost at the pump.
You can drill for oil every fifty meters in the USA, but while countries like China and India continue to demand more and more oil, that's equivalent to farting against the wind.


Do you think the price in the US is going to differ from the world price?


Common sense 101.
We may increase supply, but that does not necessarily mean the price will drop. We have no clue how much higher oil will go before domestic drilling produces results.


It could lower whatever the price is at the time, but it could still be higher than it is now.
There is enough oil in ANWR for Americans to consume in one year. THere is ten billion barrels there and we use over 7 bilion in one year, and this is after 10-15 years when the price of oil will be higher and the demand will be more.
Yes, and we need to do that, but the primary problem right now is not the undersupply of oil but the oversupply of dollars.





That's economics 201 but Congress has no excuse for not understanding it.
We also havent had any new refineries built in years. What are we going to do? Ship oil out of the country to be processed, and then ship it back as gasoline?? that doesnt make any sense. More drilling means we would need more refineries.
the oil companies set the prices so if they want to drill and increase the supply but still charge the ridiculous prices, we can't stop them.
Have to balance said drilling against the esthetic value of the land being drilled in.





Some people think it is a tougher choice than others.
it makes sense in theory, but the 10 years is ture so its not really worth it
yer, but it will just run out quicker
You are correct about the red tape. It is bull the way the politicians can't get anything done that ever needs to be done.





But others are correct about the refineries. The oil could flow tomorrow and the refineries would not be able to keep up. If the oil companies even wanted to build some more it would be years before they are operational. And they cost so much to build so that cost would be passed on to the consumer.





The big elephant in the room is the US economy. The US dollar is worth squat on the world stage. So other countries are buying up US companies on the cheap and selling oil to us at exorbitant prices. Look up how much it really costs the Sauds to produce oil.





I won't bore you with the rest but even if we drilled today prices would remain the same.
Drilling for more oil is like putting a band-aid on a broken bone. Many respected geologists and economists believe we have passed the Hubbert's peak FOR THE ENTIRE WORLD! This means that if new finds of oil reserves and increased production is a bell curve in time, we are on the downslope. (oil production will forever decrease from now on). Our generation will probably witness the world's oil reserves becoming depleted. So no matter what new drilling is done, oil will forever be precious, and we should also have the foresight now (After witnessing all mainland American oil depleted ,excluding Alaska) to realize that with our current lust for oil, a new drilling project would have to be MASSIVE to accommodate our needs for just two decades. Geologists worldwide believe no reserve of this magnitude exists today. What should be done is research in alternative energies and transportation. Electric cars(somehow outlawed by the California Air Resources Board) was the most promising new form of locomotion and hopefully legislation will change once again allowing electric cars to be driven on our highways. Hydrogen fuel cells have not yet reached a point of viability and some say may never will. Electric cars/ renewable energy is the best bet right now, however, more research is needed. However, for this to happen, there must be a push from CONSUMERS saying they want this technology. Hopefully this can happen.