President Bush repeated his calls to expand oil exploration, including the number of offshore platforms.
“I readily concede it won’t produce a barrel of oil tomorrow, but it will reverse the psychology,” Bush told a White House news conference today.
Here’s a look at what news sources have reported about the prospects.
Is there oil?
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has 10 billion barrels of oil. Continental U.S. offshore drilling has 18 billion barrels. Shale in the West has 18 billion barrels. An estimated 10 billion barrels of oil are available off the California coast.
How long would it take to get to the gas pumps?
Oil from Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would take 10 years to get to gas pumps. California offshore drilling would be about the same.
There is currently a shortage of drilling rigs. There is no drilling equipment available until after 2012, according to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a foe of offshore drilling. From that point it would take at least seven years for any oil to be available from new drilling.
Will it have any effect on prices?
There’s a 95 percent chance of finding 5.7 billion barrels of oil and a 5 percent chance of finding 16 billion barrels in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, according to the Department of Energy. The DoE projects, if 5.7 billion barrels are found it will lower the price of crude oil by 41 cents a barrel (in 2006 dollars) in 2026. If 16 billion barrels are found it will lower prices in 2025 by $1.44 a barrel.
Today the price of one barrel oil has been trading on the New York futures market in the range of $136 to $147 a barrel.
Public opinion: 57 percent of Americans support drilling in new territories.
Of course it will have an impact on prices, however, the majority of the price increase is due to the devaluation of the dollar. The Federal Reserve is a private bank that is left unchecked even by Congress. The other main cause is the Federal and State tax which accounts for a nice share as well. If we do not correct our dollar we are in trouble.
Tourism in California can be ruined by one accident. Is that a risk worth taking?
It is better to spend money on increased efficiency and alternatives to the poisonous goo.