Comment & Debate
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee said in July 2008, “This proposal is something you’d expect from an oil company CEO, not the president of the United States. The president is taking special-interest government to a new level and threatening our thriving coastal economy.”[1]
Oil Companies Sit on 68 Million US Acres That They Have Not Drilled, Natural Resources Defense Council. Opposing Views.com: “The call for expanded offshore drilling is a fake solution that only Big Oil wants, because keeping Americans dependent on oil is the best thing they could do for their bottom line.
It is likely true that opening the OCS will not have an immediate impact on oil prices because of the time necessary to organize lease sales and to develop supply delivery infrastructure. However, once development progresses, the expected growth in supply would eventually influence market prices. Some opponents point out that the US Energy Information Administration indicated that the impact of opening the OCS would be negligible. However, modeling exercises that do not capture the influence of market expectations – a critical feature of price formation – are not suitable to understanding the full market impact of an increase in available supply options. Moreover, greater supply should dampen price volatility, all else equal, which is another desirable outcome. Opening the OCS, therefore, should be viewed as a relevant part of a larger strategy encompassing a portfolio of options aimed at easing prices over time.”[2]