While our elected leaders on Capitol Hill failed to acknowledge the need for immediate and extensive exploration efforts on both coasts and federal lands, thoughts have come to me from my reading of Oil & Gas Journal issues from the last 4 years:
- Recent advice from visiting Saudi parliament (Majlis-e-Shura) members could assure US lawmakers that it’s time to drill for new oil inside the US—to avoid additional price hikes for US citizens. While praising the realistic view of the Saudi Majlis members, it would be much better to request our two top leaders from the US House and Senate to visit Riyadh for a crash course on energy exploration, production, and usage in the US.
- Believe it or not, even US government agencies are right sometimes. Just going through 2004 OGJ news, I found ample and convincing predictions by the Energy Information Administration that (a) the world’s oil production was declining while demand was increasing faster due to economic growth in Asia but that (b) pricing projections by EIA based on International Energy Agency data were far too low.
Now, in 2008, why is there so much fuss about high oil prices? And why is Congress spending so much time and money to find the “culprits” for high price by questioning the US oil companies repeatedly?
My message for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid: Both of you missed the boat (not passing smart laws encouraging energy exploration in the US) by 4 years while you sat on the data, creating impressions that we US oil explorers and producers are somehow responsible for $4/gal gasoline! If US oil production disappeared tomorrow your respective constituents in northern California and southern Nevada would have to pay at least $8/gal if not more. So please thank us with rewards, not punish us with proposed new super taxes.
Kumar Bhattacharjee
Houston
