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Here’re the savings from Arctic drilling – 75 cents a barrel
Erika Bolstad | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON – If Congress were to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, crude oil prices would probably drop by an average of only 75 cents a barrel, according to Department of Energy projections issued Thursday.
The report, which was requested in December by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, found that oil production in the refuge “is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices.”
But the report also finds that opening ANWR could have other benefits, particularly in Alaska, where tapping the resources in the Arctic refuge could extend the lifespan of the trans-Alaska pipeline. It estimates that if Congress agreed to open ANWR this year, Alaskan oil could hit the market in about 10 years.
(22 May 2008)
Oil Industry, Lawmakers Aim To Lift Bans on Drilling
Russell Gold Ben Casselman and Stephen Power, Wall Street Journal
Mounting concerns about global energy supply are fueling a drive by the oil industry and some U.S. lawmakers to end longstanding bans on domestic drilling put in place to protect environmentally sensitive areas.
Increasing U.S. oil production would require overturning decades-old moratoriums that limit offshore drilling and accelerating leasing of federal lands, moves that would trigger a swift and vigorous political backlash. Still, as gasoline prices continue to climb and squeeze household budgets, the momentum appears to be gaining to open up new areas.
Oil prices have soared 36% this year, though the price of a barrel of crude for …
(23 May 2008)
Will domestic drilling decrease prices?
Rosalie Westenskow, UPI
A day after oil prices topped $130 a barrel for the first time in history, U.S. lawmakers debated Thursday whether increased production at home would lower prices at the pump.
In an effort to ease the burden on consumers as gasoline prices reach record highs of $4 a gallon, Congress passed a measure last week demanding that the administration stop pulling oil off the market to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The same day, though, the Senate rejected legislation that would have opened up areas in the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling.
(23 May 2008)
