Alaska and Oil

Gas prices are rising almost every day and there seems to be no end in sight.   In a time where money is harder and harder to come by and more and more of it seems to be flying out of our pockets, the last thing we want is higher gas prices as we approach the summer driving season.  For myself, a contractor, it now costs over $120 to fill the tank on my work van.  Is my van gas efficient?  No, but in order to carry the supplies I need to various jobs, there really isn't much of a choice.  So is the answer to all our problems more drilling?  Shell oil company would like you to think so.  They have been trying for years to get approval to start drilling exploratory wells in the frigid Arctic Ocean on areas they have on lease.  So far, no approval has been granted, but it looks like that approval may come fairly soon if they have their way.  They have been working on many fronts to convince our government, the locals in Alaska, environmental groups, and our nation as a whole that they have the proper equipment to safely manage a well and any potential problem that should arise from drilling that well.  Keep in mind that this part of the world is often choked full of ice, temperatures are ridiculously cold, half of the year is dark, and the winds can reach hurricane force on a regular basis.  This is no gulf of Mexico.   The famed fishermen of Alaskan crab deal with deadly seas far to the south of the area that Shell would like to drill in.  Put simply, we have no idea what problems could arise or what equipment would be necessary to deal with any problems.  Granted, drilling has been going on in that region for years now, but that has been on solid ground on Alaska's North Slope, not in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. 

It seems that in addition to their main goal of bringing more oil to the American people for a cheaper price than we import it, there is another reason in the push for drilling.  With the North Slope oil production in steep decline, the Alaskan pipeline, which was designed to be full to capacity at all times in order to ensure its longevity, is now not full and this could lead to corrosion of the pipe and possible failure of the pipeline sooner than anticipated.  It seems that if the pipeline goes, any production in the far north of Alaska would have to come to a halt.  For which reason is Shell pushing for drilling more, the pipeline or to bring oil to the American people?    I have my opinion, but keep in mind that Shell is a for profit oil company that in addition to having concerns about the pipeline and bringing oil to the American people, has already spent $3.7 billion on the 10 year leases without drilling a single hole.  Of course they want to start drilling.  With that much money already down the tubes (no pun intended) why wouldn't there be a push for drilling.  It seems to line up pretty conveniently with rising gas prices, but I am not a consipiracy theorist and will leave all tenuous connections to others. 

The ultimate question seems to be, will more drilling actually lower gas prices in the U.S.  Not necessarily.  Gas prices are determine by oil speculators who drive up the cost of a barrel of oil depending on a number of factors.   I won't get into the factors that determine them, because I am sure that I would give an inadequate list.  However, just because we are producing more oil ourselves does not necessarily mean that speculators will automatically start dropping the price of a barrel of oil, they are making money as well.   If the United States wants energy independence, it will not come with more drilling.  There is a limited amount of oil in this world and even if Shell were to start drilling tomorrow, it would take years before any of that oil would reach our gas tanks.  Even then, we don't know how much oil is trapped beneath the ocean.  It is believed that there is enough oil to fuel 25 million cars for 35 years.  However, the key word is believed, they really don't know.  And what is 35 years?  That is not even the driving lifetime of a single person.   This is only a temporary solution that will keep us from exploring other alternatives.   With the expense of drilling in the Arctic Ocean, which I am sure will far exceed drilling on the North Slope or even in the Gulf of Mexico for that matter, how are they to guarantee that gas prices will go down.  The further from civilization we have to drill and the farther down we have to go, the more we will inevitably pay for the cost of oil. 

What are country really needs to do is change.  I know, it is a frightening word that many people don't like to hear, but it needs to be done, and it needs to be done soon.  There are many solutions out there that could help to wean us off of our oil dependence, but we are not yet open to them.  Maybe there should be more focus on making cars even more efficient than they already are.  Perhaps we should put more money into alternative fuels and systems of production.  That would require that vast majority of us sucking it up at the pump and dealing with the fact that gas prices will probably not go down any time soon and this is the reality we have to live with.  We need to find that ingenuity that made our country what it was and tap back into it to solve our energy dependence issue.  If we really want energy independence, we need to move away from oil and stop drilling.  In the end, any solution will take time to come to fruition.  Money is scarce, the drive to change is even scarcer, and we don't seem ready to deal with the fact that oil supplies are dwindling.  Enjoy your gas prices every day because tomorrow they will probably be higher.  If you really want to change, go buy an electric car and remove yourself from oil dependence.