(STL.News) The United States desperately needs to drill for oil. The western and central Gulf of Mexico is teeming with untapped oil. At current prices, these reserves could supply almost two-thirds of the nation’s oil needs. But if we continue to spend our money on foreign supplies, we will soon run out of oil. It’s time for America to drill for its own energy. Despite the risks, drilling for oil could save the American economy and our future.
As of right now, U.S. oil production is on track to hit a record of 11 million barrels per day. The Interior Department is putting together a plan to open up federal offshore territories for energy exploration. Ultimately, this will allow for oil and gas exploration in our waters, including those that are three to 200 miles offshore. Some estimate that as much as 90 billion barrels of oil and 328 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie beneath the outer continental shelf, which could heat the United States for two years. The prospect of domestically produced oil and natural gas reserves makes America’s energy independence an achievable goal.
The U.S. needs to drill for oil, but there are a number of barriers to drilling. First, a new oil well can take six months to drill and bring to market. Furthermore, the U.S. is still banned from drilling in about 600,000 square miles of marine waters and 500,000 square miles of Great Lakes water. Secondly, the U.S. government’s current policy on drilling for oil may bottleneck the process, due to shortages of skilled labor and specialized equipment. Finally, the Atlantic and Pacific oil fields are typically much smaller and costlier to drill.
The U.S. needs to drill for oil as soon as possible in order to prevent the price of oil from rising in the world. As of last week, the U.S. has only a ten percent share of the world’s oil production. With that much demand, the country will need a huge increase in its domestic oil production to avoid being stranded by the global oil market. However, neither candidate has said whether drilling offshore is a good idea or not.
But the offshore drilling proposal, if enacted by the new administration, will make the United States less dependent on foreign oil. The U.S. would be able to reduce its imports significantly if it were able to recover sufficient oil domestically. In other words, the proposed legislation would have to permit the construction of new pipelines for oil. This ban will only hurt the domestic industry and cause the price of oil to drop significantly.
There is no doubt that America needs to drill for oil, but the debate over drilling is far from over. The majority of Americans oppose the expansion of offshore drilling, and President Trump has emphasized that the country must do what is best for its economic health. But the debate over whether or not the United States should drill for oil has become a political one. The issue is an important one, as it affects the country’s beaches, marine life, and maritime necessities. The decision to explore oil on the U.S. side is ultimately up to the U.S. Congress, but the public is free to express their opinion.
Despite the fact that President Trump and many other politicians support offshore drilling, the majority of Americans are opposed to expanding drilling and are even more opposed to the president’s energy dominance agenda. According to a Yale-GMU poll, only 32 percent of Americans support drilling at the present level and only 15 percent of Americans support the policy in its current form. This is a dangerous approach for America, and we should not allow it to continue to happen.
There are many reasons to oppose the drilling on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The most important of these is that it would be futile, as the drilling would only lead to a 4 cent reduction in gasoline prices by 2026. Environmental and human health is at stake, and these are just some of the reasons that we need to drill for oil. If you live in the northern region, you should consider these issues.