If oil dropped to 40 dollars a barrel do you think we should still drill in America?

Christ, I am so tired of seeing people expressing their opinions about this subject when they haven't a clue what they're talking about.





First, we are drilling in America, and have been for a long time. Second, there are thousands of acres of oil leases that are available, right now, in which there is no drilling occurring. Third, if we started drilling tomorrow in the areas that are in dispute, the amount of oil we're talking about, compared with world production, would make very little difference in the price of oil.





The main reason for the recent large and rapid increase in the price of oil, and by extension everything made from oil or which depends upon oil, is twofold: speculation and the declining value of the dollar. Speculation can drive the price of any commodity through the roof, out of all proportion to real value. We saw this in the housing price bubble that grew over the last several years and recently burst. We also saw this in the Dutch tulip bulb price bubble of the 16th Century (no, I am not making this up). Tulip bulbs, for Pete's sake!





The second reason, the declining value of the dollar, is a reason often overlooked. Oil is priced on the world market based on the dollar, so if the value of the dollar declines then the price of everything valued in dollars goes up, even if supply and demand stay the same. One of main reasons for the decline in the value of the dollar is the massive debt the US has racked up over the last few years trying to finance its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, after cutting taxes, by borrowing heavily from other countries, especially China. There is an advantage to devaluing your currency when you owe a lot of money, but there are ramifications here that extend beyond the debt issue, e.g., the rise in oil prices.





Let me be very clear: all this talk about how the US should drill in all these protected areas is nothing but political smoke and mirrors. It would take years to get any oil out of these areas, so it would have no impact on gasoline prices for a long time to come, and even then the impact would be negligible.





Look, the world is not going to wean itself off oil any time soon, but thinking that the solution is to drill in ever more inaccessble locations, or extract ever more difficult forms of oil (tar oils, shale oils) is misguided. We need to develop more fuel-efficient cars in the short term, but ultimately we need to develop better forms of energy.





One good thing about this current hoohah over oil and gasoline prices is that people now have the economic incentive to do both of the above. Remember, although petroleum has been in the ground for millions of years (or thousands, depending on your religious beliefs), the oil business as we know it didn't exist even 150 years ago. It began as a reaction to the rise in the price of whale oil as whales became scarcer. Economics drove technological innovation back then, and economics will drive it now.If oil dropped to 40 dollars a barrel do you think we should still drill in America?
Not that it will ever go below $100 again, but yes we should still drill to reduce dependence on foreign oil until we can develop all of the alternatives. And if we are off oil before we need what we're drilling, we can sell it to other oil dependent countries and be rich like OPEC.





I'm really tired of seeing the liberals rant about how everyone who wants to drill is an idiot and give a ridiculous list of reasons to justify their crusade against oil. Over 75% of Americans agree we should drill everywhere it's available.If oil dropped to 40 dollars a barrel do you think we should still drill in America?
Absolutely. The oil in the middle east won't last forever, so we need to explore all other possible sources of oil. Besides, our dependency on oil, be it foreign or domestic, won't go away anytime soon. We're still 50, if not 100 years away from having vehicles that can travel cross-country that aren't fully dependent on oil. The jet fuel that powers our planes comes from oil. And ethanol isn't a magic bullet, all it will do is raise the price of corn which will raise our food costs. We need all the oil we can get to get us through to the time where we no longer need it, and it sure as hell won't be in my lifetime, and probably not in my daughters either.
Yes. We should do all we can to be less dependent on the middle east for oil. Trying to create alternative energy solutions is fine. But that could take many years to figure out. So we should get oil that we have around our country while it's still there. China is getting exploration leases in the Gulf of Mexico. So they could start drilling there in the future if they want to. Why should we let someone else get the oil if it's there?
Drilling should be authorised regardless of price





The oil companies will drill when and where it is allowed and it is profitable. At 40 dollars a bbl, it isn't worth drilling in some places.
No, but it isn't $40 so we do need to drill more. We need to not rely on countries that don't like us for energy. We need to do whatever it takes to reduce that dependence.
I think we should drill here in any event, I think if we tap our own resources, stop buying from the middle east and become a self dependent country our economy would thrive and we would no longer be at the mercy of the middle east
oil will never drop that low, but if it did we should definitely drill because it'll just go back up again. if we had drilled in the u.s. 10 years ago we wouldn't be in this mess today.
Yes, the more oil, the better.
If we did drill when it was $40 then we may not be in the situation we are in now.
I highly doubt it'll happen so its better not to think about it.
Yes
no we shouldn't.
yes...i am tired of dishing out our money to other country's for stuff we can get right here at home