The Oil Industry

NPR recently had a story on the amount of oil that is being imported into this country. (Here is the story.) It is interesting that the relative amount of oil the US imports has gone down from about 60% back during George W. Bush's administration to about 49% now, and the predictions for the future is that the amount of oil this country imports is going to continue decreasing for the foreseeable future. Now I am not totally certain what caused the transition. A part of it could be the high prices for gasoline that the country has been experiencing. The high prices have encouraged new exploration and production methods for oil that might not have been as profitable when prices are lower. The higher prices would also influence demand in that people would be buying less gasoline.

There is another story that I want to look at on this subject. It seems that about 60% of the federal lands that are being lease are neither producing oil nor under developed for oil production. They are just sitting there unused. (Here is the store.)

The problem I have with these revelations is that you would expect from all the noise the oil industry has been making about need for more areas opened; they want such areas as the Artic Wildlife Refuge and areas adjacent to National Parks opened to drilling. I don't feel that the oil companies can be trusted, when they present their needs. They always are seeking to control more than what they need.