Drilling for Oil
GILMORE RHETORIC: Jim Gilmore told reporters yesterday that drilling will immediately drop the price of oil:
Oil prices will drop immediately if they know we’re going to bring in more oil. [Bristol Herald Courier, 7/9/08]
REALITY: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the government’s resource for energy statistics:
… annual crude oil production in 2030 is projected to be 7 percent higher–2.4 million barrels per day in the OCS access case compared with 2.2 million barrels per day in the reference case. Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant. [U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2007 ]
But when confronted with the facts, Gilmore could not be swayed:
But WSLS reporter Jay Warren asked Gilmore about a 2007 Energy Administration Report that stated offshore drilling would not have an impact on fuel prices until 2030.
“Baloney,” Gilmore said.
“That’s the federal government,” Warren replied.
“I don’t care what the federal government says,” Gilmore responded. “We know that that’s not right. The fact is we can bring in the oil quicker than that.” [Washington Post Blog, 7/9/08]
If Jim Gilmore doesn’t trust the federal government, this begs an important question: who does he trust?
Not his campaign contributor and Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens:
America is in a hole and it’s getting deeper every day. We import 70% of our oil at a cost of $700 billion a year – four times the annual cost of the Iraq war. I’ve been an oil man all my life, but this is one emergency we can’t drill our way out of. [T. Boone Pickens Email to Supporters, 7/8/08]
Not empirical evidence:
Even Saudi Arabia’s decision to pump 200,000 more barrels per day was greeted with a yawn in financial markets, where prices rose modestly after the announcement. [Washington Independent, 6/23/08]
Not the oil industry:
As politicians debate whether to open federal offshore waters to oil and natural-gas drilling, there is agreement on at least one point: It isn’t a short-term fix.
If the bans were lifted tomorrow, it would be at least seven years – and likely as long as a decade – before the first oil began to flow off the coasts of Florida, California and the eastern seaboard.
“Is it going to happen overnight? No,” said Dan Naatz, vice president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America. “Is it going to solve all of our nation’s energy problems? No.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/19/08]
Not even Republican Presidential nominee John McCain, who said of drilling for oil:
I don`t see an immediate relief [CBS News, 6/2408].