Tumbling Oil Prices

But...I doubt it will trickle down to the pumps. Too little too late.

Meanwhile, OUR reluctance to drill offshore doesn't stop OTHER countries from doing it. China is preparing to drill off Florida's coast in a deal worked out with Cuba. Does anyone really think THEY are going to be more environmentally sensitive than WE will?
Maybe WE won't drill in the Arctic....but RUSSIA WILL. Our environmental concerns are only crippling US.
If we continue to refuse to go get oil on our own then we'll have to continue to have to buy it from countries that want to destroy us. Doesn't sound like a smart plan to me, but hey....

Interesting it as just at the $4 mark. That will be the new benchmark for the rest of the summer, and then they will move on to gouging us on fuel oii and of course natural gas will keep pace with oil.

I personally don't think Democrats are bad and I don't think Republicans are bad either. I think there are bad politicians in both parties. The offshore oil ban being lifted isn't going to do anything for near future prices of gas, and I don't think it is having that much of an impact on stocks today. Personally, and this is me, President Bush is grappling and with that man finally coming out of office soon he should just lay low and handle the business at hand instead of trying to ripple waters he should have been shaking up a long time ago.

I really do not understand folks who oppose domestic drilling. The arguments against domestic drilling are are:

1. Impact the environment: Advances in technology will minimize impact
2. We should developer alternative fuel sources: Agree, however, we need some breathing room in order to do this. Domestic drilling will provide this
3. Oil companies already have land leased for drilling… They do, however there is no oil on those lands
4. It will take too long… Disagree; if you take an oilrig to the Dakotas, you can have oil w/ in 3 months.

This is mostly being argued about from the price of gas angle, and don't know if that would help or not, but I have to ask two questions...
How can sending billions and billions of dollars to line foreign pockets be better than having some of that money cycle back into our own economy? Once that money leaves it's gone isn't it, and at current prices... geez?
Also, everybody complains about good paying jobs going overseas. This will create a lot of good work right here, as well as all the supporting employment. Wouldn't that also be better than just buying foreign oil?

Good points, John S. Thank you. : )

$700 Billion goes to foreign countries for oil each year. that is 4 times the cost of the Iraq war annually. In 1970 we imported 24% of our oil today it is over 70% and growing.

To the environmentalists who are scared about oil spills: only 1% of oil released into US waters came from either Drilling, or Transportatioin of oil. 2% comes from Boat motors. And 63% comes from natural seepage from under the ocean floor. Therefore Nature is doing more harm to Nature than man is.

Now, wouldn't the government be better served giving subsidies to those who purchase vehicles that get great gas mileage? Let's say that you own a 15mpg SUV and get rid of it for a 45mpg economy car. Wouldn't that reduce the cost of drive from 27 cents per mile to 9 cents per mile if gas was at $4.00 per gallon? Kind of like paying $1.33 per gallon.

And, in the process you get a cleaner environment. Seems to me a better choice.

"Now, wouldn't the government be better served giving subsidies to those who purchase vehicles that get great gas mileage? "

Gary,

Great idea, however, conservation will only get you so far. Demand exceeds supply due to the growing economies of India and China.

We need to do conservation and domestic drilling. Domestic drilling would significantly boost our economy and independence from the Middle East, Russia and Venezuela.

"Power, for them, less power for us, the American people. "

This is SO unlike republicans, right? Lord knows, they just want to give the government to the people.



"China is preparing to drill off Florida's coast in a deal worked out with Cuba.

This is a rightwing myth.




"Maybe WE won't drill in the Arctic....but RUSSIA WILL."

We ARE drilling the arctic. Ever watching Ice Truckers?




"Our environmental concerns are only crippling US."

Let's see some evidence to that affect, ok?




"3. Oil companies already have land leased for drilling… They do, however there is no oil on those lands"

Absolute BS. They're sitting on oil reserves, because it's worth more to them in the ground than above. Oil assets controlled by an oil company increase company stock value. Oil produced only generates temporary revenue.

The REAL reason the oil companies want, and have deluded you and your rightwing politicians into favoring giving up federal land to drill on is because they won't have to pay royalties on oil recovered from that land.




"if you take an oilrig to the Dakotas, you can have oil w/ in 3 months. "

They're already drilling in the Bakken reserve, and the US geological surveyors that have examined that reserve have said that it's the largest reserve they've ever seen. It COULD well contain between 200-700 billion barrels of oil, the higher end of which would be twice was Saudi Arabia possesses. Funny that this massive find hasn't brought lower prices. Go figure, huh? It's almost as if the whole system is rigged to shovel massive profits to the oil industry.




Too bad the repubs gutted Carter's energy plans and began to dramatically increase importing, and it's too bad that they've stood in the way of higher fuel standards and other means of conservation for 3 decades. Think where we'd be right now if 20% of our electrical power was coming from the sun, we weren't importing more oil than we did in 1977, and our vehicles were all getting over 30-35 mpg. Too bad the repubs refused to listen to we "stupid libs" all along.

Mickey B., I am not entirely against domestic drilling but have my doubts that doing so would help much. Don't you think that oil corporations would have lobbied harder for this, much sooner than this, if the prospect of huge oil supplies could be gained by drilling off our coasts? I am not convinced on this, but exploration might be worthwhile as long as the environment can be protected. Be this as it may, we are still in a situation where we must move away from oil, and soon.

I do believe that American automobile makers have dropped the ball on R&D. They have an opportunity to move our great nation into the future with electric cars, hybrids and fuel cell, but have not made the necessary investment in these technologies. Japanese automobile makers have moved in this direction and automobile makers from other countries have as well. Why didn't our automobile makers do this? Greed? I guess if you can sell hundreds of thousands of gas guzzling SUVs, why bother yourselves with thoughts of what might be better for the future of their companies and America's future. American corporations have a tendency to only look at how they can profit in the present rather than worrying about the future. This is a fatal flaw with the way American corporate leaders think.

btw, oil prices fell as a result of world economic concerns, not idiot bush's comments. Leave it to a republican to get it 100% incorrect yet again.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080715/ap_on_bi_ge/oil_prices

"Absolute BS. They're sitting on oil reserves, because it's worth more to them in the ground than above. Oil assets controlled by an oil company increase company stock value. Oil produced only generates temporary revenue. "

Clark,

Interesting. Do you have a link.

"This is a fatal flaw with the way American corporate leaders think. "

Gary,

I agree w/ all your points. It is amazing that the hybrid technology originated from Japan.

"China is preparing to drill off Florida's coast in a deal worked out with Cuba.

This is a rightwing myth. "

Clark,

China does have a permit to drill on Cuban land. However, The only thing we know for sure is that they have not started.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2008/06/8678_gop_claims_chin.html

When the oil companies lease the land to drill on, they have to pay the government for that lease. Why would the oil companies sit on land they are leasing if the oil is there? Oh, yes, they are drilling in the Arctic and Alaska as seen on Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel, but the two wells they were wildcatting cost the oil company $20 million dollars. That's quite an investment when you consider they are drilling on the information they got from their geologists saying the oil was there. And, the first well they drilled didn't get it. We have to wait for the next program on Sunday night to see if they reap any oil from their last hope in Langley.

And, President Bush has been calling for alternative fuels, more efficient vehicles, and more refineries to be built since his administration began. I was paying attention early on since I'm a Texan. : )

"And, President Bush has been calling for alternative fuels, more efficient vehicles, and more refineries to be built since his administration began. I was paying attention early on since I'm a Texan. : )"

Nonsense!

Wow good drugs.

That is some of the best bs I've heard today!

Hey, maybe we can invent a car that runs on BS, then the RepugniCONs really can get us out of this oil mess!

Im going to agree with Jerry, good luck with your points barbara !!

It will be a long time before we see the drop because of our increased production.

I don't know about that Sadie. It might be sooner than we expect. I'm optimistic!
: )

Umm Barbara, The oil prices are dropping because of how bad the economy is and not because of any domestic drilling ban being lifted or talked about in an Obvious political move by our Clown in chief. This FACT was all over the news, don't you watch that at all? With the falling value of the dollar and many other economic indicators looking horrible in this GWB driven ecnomy crash the speculators are now thinking that people can not afford the price of gas and will drive less. To suck people back in they drop the prices. Has there been a shortage of oil lately that would mean that drilling for the little bit we may find domestically would make such a huge difference? I didn't hear about that on any news item that I heard, read or saw.

The oil companies with the full blessing of our former oil company maverick president have been ripping us off and this crime has effected the economy on every level. So it is time to make that adjustment just a bit to get people to thinking that things are a little better. Let's see they dropped the price of oil about maybe $20.00 or a little more per barrel during the past few days. Which means that it has been lowered to just extremly overpriced instead of extremly, extremly over priced. As much as you would like to believe that GWB has done something right for the first time in quite some time, maybe even 8 years, the call for domestic drilling for oil has absolutely nothing to do with the price drop. The FACTUAL reason for the drop is that the economy is so bad that it had to happen.

Can't blame you for going for it though, when you are clutching at straws to get one small thing done right by this administration any little glimmer of hope needs to be jumped on. But sorry, it is still "Business as usual" for this failed regime!

700 Billion goes to foreign countries for oil each year. that is 4 times the cost of the Iraq war annually. In 1970 we imported 24% of our oil today it is over 70% and growing.

To the environmentalists who are scared about oil spills: only 1% of oil released into US waters came from either Drilling, or Transportatioin of oil. 2% comes from Boat motors. And 63% comes from natural seepage from under the ocean floor. Therefore Nature is doing more harm to Nature than man is.
Poliwonk USA, Jul 15, 2008, 12:48pm EDT

Wow, I wonder if all of the wildlife and land that died after the Exxon Valdez disaster knows about this? You know that tragedy that they never even had to pay for!!!

Oil prices may have taken a tumble because China and India have subsidized gasoline. The Chinese pay less at the pump because of the subsidy, so why would they care about how much they're using. In fact, China has dropped some of the money they have been putting into the gasoline market and raised prices at the pump. Also, the 3 million cars in Beijing are being sidelined for the olympics I believe beginning July 20th. So, fewer cars driving in China, higher gas prices in China=more oil on the market with less demand=lower prices on oil. The economic development of China, India, and other countries where the gasoline has been paid for by the government is what has driven up the price of gas and when they can no longer afford to subsidize, the price will come back down in my opinion.

However, I think we need to open up our oil fields wherever they may lie, and drill for our own security. We need to stop sending money for oil to our enemies, but Pelosi is blocking this endeavor.

An interesting, well written post! Keep 'em coming.

Oh, and BTW, enrich your experience on Gather by joining us at pointmasters.gather.com.