Gas prices spark partisan debate in Congress – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

Gas prices spark partisan debate in Congress – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs:

"The GOP bill, which passed 266-149, is named the 'Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act' and directs the Obama administration to move forward with leases for drilling in areas in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Virginia that were already approved but were suspended after the BP oil disaster last year. 'Let's send a signal to the international markets that America is serious about becoming less dependent on foreign oil,' said Washington Rep. Doc Hastings, who sponsored the bill."

 

Crude Oil Falls Below $100 a Barrel - NYTimes.com:

"After four months of surging higher, oil prices plummeted by almost 9 percent as traders worried that American drivers were beginning to balk at paying nearly $4 a gallon of gasoline."

 

OK, lets try some common sense.

New leases and gas prices - How long does it take between signing of a new lease and oil production? Common Sense does not know. That said, it's not days or weeks but rather months or years. A new lease will have no effect on gas prices.

New leases as a signal - Someone needs to explain how increasing oil availability and thus consumption signals less dependence. Consider that the US consumes roughly 18 to 19 million barrels of oil per year. The US produces roughly 9 million barrels of oil per year. About half of consumption. Production has varied between 7 and 9 million barrels per year for the last 10 years. Over that same time US oil consumption has varied between 18 and 21 million barrels per year. The US consistently produces between 1/3 and 1/2 of consumption. The common sense point is that it's consistent. It doesn't much impact imports.

If the goal is to signal less dependence on foreign oil, perhaps reducing oil consumption and increasing renewal energy is worth a common sense thought!

Think not. Note that oil prices went down as oil consumption went down. Isn't there this common sense thing about supply and demand?

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