Do You Think Offshore Drilling Will Lower Gas Prices?

Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 07:34 pm

By jamie

Yes

35% (28 votes)

65% (51 votes)

Total votes: 79

Comments

How Would More Oil Not Lower the Price?

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2008-07-23 14:27.

Making more product lowers price. Simple economics 101. Most people who feel that drilling will not lower the price typically do not understand 'supply and demand'. Here's an example: Walmart products are cheap because there are multiple products of various brands (a large supply of it too). Gucci (or any other expensive name-brand) is higher in price because those products are in less supply; thus driving costs up.

Many people repeat the mistaken notion that "oil companies will just keep the price artificially high". This defies market logic for several reasons. The oil market is not controlled by 1 factor or by 1 company. Oil companies in America, OPEC, and elsewhere all compete with one another. When more oil is supplied, buyers will flock to the seller with the largest amount of oil (demand is therefore decreased). This, in turn, forces other (oil) sellers on the market to 1) lower price to attract more buyers, and/or 2) pump more oil (this also drives the price down eventually).

Just a few days ago when President Bush lifted the executive order that was banning off-shore drilling, the price of oil dropped. NO oil was drilled whatsoever, but Bush's threat to compete with OPEC forced them to lower their price basically overnight.

America imports 60% of our oil. More competition within the market drives price downward...it is proven time and time again. Think what could happen if Democrats in Congress would allow U.S. oil companies to actually produce our own oil by uplifting the Congressional ban?

Thanks,

Erick
www.patriot-fire.org

Price of oil

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2008-08-08 14:32.

Keep in mind that those $140/barrel prices are "futures".
It only means that "some guy" bid a small amount per barrel for "the right" to purchase oil at some point of time in the future, for $140.
The news repeats it and only 1 of 20 times that I've seen, ever explains that it's not the actual price of oil, it's some guy's gamble that oil will really be higher than that at whatever point in time his "future" expires.
Believe me! You can make tons of money in futures - (and lose tons, too!!)
Signed -
ex futures guy

This is priceless. When oil

Submitted by jamie on Thu, 2008-07-24 08:02.

This is priceless. When oil prices were high, the right was out to say "you can't blame Bush - he has nothing to do with it". Now that oil prices are dropping it's because of Bush? Will you make up your mind? If that swipe of the pen caused this drastic drop, then why didn't he do it months ago? Let's use some logic here and look at the real factors driving down oil prices, instead of echoing McCain talking points.

Oil prices have dropped because of other factors, such as a steep decrease in demand, rising inflation and a slowing economy.

THINK for yourself -

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2008-08-01 11:27.

The Office of the President AND Congress BOTH had laws and proclamations (that GW had nothing to do with initiating) preventing offshore drilling across the nation.
Just like the original article explained, if there's more crude available, or even the "hint" of a better supply in the future, then the "oil futures" speculators won't bid so high - and that's exactly what happened.
GW rescinded the previous President's "no offshore drilling" Proclamation - and "futures" dropped from $140+ - down to the $120's.
Imagine what would happen if Pelosi would allow a democratic vote on Congress' offshore oil drilling.
She's preventing Congress from addressing the issue - by preventing the proposed bill from getting to the floor.

As far as it taking 10 years to get that oil online? Bull.
In about 5 years in WW2, we managed t produce 50,000 Sherman tanks, 18,000 B-24 bombers, 12,000 B-17 bombers, 15,000 P-51 fighters and tons more. They even built a Liberty ship in 5 days - a compete cargo ship!
I'm sure that we can produce the same safe oil rigs (no spills during Katrina!) that we already have developed on a massive scale and I'm absolutely SURE that we can roll enough safe pipe for transportation.

I'm guessing that if Congress actually decided to stock playing politics with our security and decided to help you and me, they could put out a bill promoting existing oil resource utilization and alternate energy sources development.

Oh, jeez. I just heard:
Congress cares about you and me so much that they just took 5 weeks off - so I guess that your and my wallet don't mean anything to the leaders in Congress.

Face it, we will drill for oil, offshore, at some point - Maybe it's at $7.50, maybe at $10 for gas - it's either that or we'll invade some country with Congress' approval or Obama's proclamation. We might as well get on it and take care of the oil shortage and plan for the future.

Best regards,
Marc

Are you suggesting...

Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 2008-08-06 20:13.

...that we're going to put a workforce at somewhere near the scale of WW2 military production out on these rigs?

I agree with the previous post that demand is down, which means the support is just not there to warrant such a large rush to drill. Invest the time/money elsewhere and gain higher profits.

WW2 workforce?

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2008-08-08 14:22.

The arguments about "how long it will take" to build rigs are put up at "10 years" or 7 years" by "party" self centered politicians and non-thinking "repeaters" of politicians' utterances.
Good lord, I live in Marin County, where tons of "non-technical" people live and proclaim all sorts of unqualified statements, supported by their equally unqualified friends.........
If one were to say to Bechtel (an off the top of my head company), that we need oil production structures ASAP, with significant bonuses for earliest completion dates, you'd have oil derricks and ocean rigs popping out like guppies.
As far as you saying that we might put out a workforce equal to WW2?
The whole oil production equipment thing is MINUSCULE as compared to WW2.

Look at it in the long term.
We (and everybody else in the world) WILL continue to use oil.
There WILL be increased demand in the world.
There WILL be higher prices.
We all WILL develop different motive power as oil increases in price.

What is your r augmentative issue?
You just want to wait till gas is $10 a gallon before we use our own oil? Wait till $15? When?

That would only make a bigger deficit, increase foreclosure rates, increase bankruptcy rates and business closings.

You'll agree when your wallet's bleeding forces you to overcome idealism.

The price of oil has dropped from 144 to 116 - JUST in the last few weeks after GW "unblocked" the offshore drilling ban.
Imagine what would would have happened if the Democrats didn't take their summer recess and actually let their actions speak louder than their words and lifted the Congressional Ban on offshore drilling - we'd see under $100 a barrel - but - no... they are politicians, only interested in using you and I as pawns in their plans for electing their own candidate.
They'll do whatever it takes to hurt us, to make it as bad as possible at the election, so you'll vote for whoever ends up being their candidate.

We all just didn't decide to drive tons less in the last 3 weeks........ So - your gasoline demand reduction as a reason for the dropping crude oil prices holds about as much water as a wicker basket. But, I do have one guy at work who agrees with you.(and I'm actually being good naturedly humorous)

What would help is if you were self employed in the manufacturing sector - Reality is a harsh concept and when you pay the bills and make the sales, yourself, you get a lot less idealistic and have to think things all the way through -

Thanks -

You mean

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 2008-08-15 13:16.

I got the last word??? Wow!!!

Story - Went out to dinner with guys at work.

One guy is 100% sure that GW and the oil companies forced the price of oil up.
"But it's down" I say -

He says that the price of oil didn't drop because GW and the Republicans want to open up some off shore drilling - and, instead stated that the reason oil dropped in price, was that people stopped driving millions of miles and can't get to work and can't eat and are losing their jobs and houses.........

So...... in the newspaper last night, there's an AP story that said that Americans had driven 49 million miles less than previous. That's kinda what he was basing his position on -

What they kinda buried is that that was over 8 months (from memory) AND that they never told you how many miles that we DID drive.

In a short, buried sentence, they mentioned the they expected a ONE POINT TWO percent (1.2%) decrease in miles traveled in 08..........

So -
Mileage traveled is about 1% less than before, unemployment is only 5.7% (less than historical averages, I think) and one of 100 to 250 houses is in foreclosure (depending on what statistic you are looking at).

I ask him - "Would you rather that we have Carter era price controls and you CAN'T buy gas or would you rather "choose" to buy gas, even though it costs more?"

As far as price controls on oil?
There are VERY easy ways for the oil companies to hold out on supply - I know that for a fact, living around more than a couple refineries........ The oil companies didn't get officially "caught" during the Carter era - and I doubt that they would get caught again.

Then he mentioned "record profits" and oil companies........
Exxon only made about a 10% net profit....... and Apple made 15% and Microsoft made about 25% -
I don't see the hoity toity Mac crowd up in arms about Steve Jobs ripping them off - and I don't see people demonstrating in the streets about Microsoft's unabashed monopoly on the majority of pc operating systems.........

It cracks me up to see people yakking on their new iPhones, talking about the oil companies record profits........ on their way to buy a new copy of Microsoft Office........

Hopefully, we all read more....... and think for ourselves.........

So, now it's September 18, 08

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 2008-09-18 14:19.

The price of a barrel of oil is now about $91 (down from $147 peak) - Congress hasn't done anything under Nancy Pelosi, Nigeria is still unstable, Chavez still hates us, we still don't get along with Iran (we don't get much oil from the Middle East, anyway), we still haven't done any off shore drilling (Oh! That's right, Congress still haven't lifted THEIR off shore ban....).

The only significant thing that's happened is the G W Bush lifted an existing democrat presidential decree, that banned off shore drilling.
Oh - and maybe practical Sarah Palin being selected as potential VP.

Even with the whirling finance company maelstrom of stupid lending practices, oil is still down......