Is It Time to Tap Into U.S. Oil Reserves?
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photo credit: four4dots
The cost of gas seems to know no ceiling, and many Americans are feeling the pressure. Commuting comes at a premium, public transportation is gaining in popularity, and costs of all goods are on the rises. These factors leave many wondering if it’s time to tap into U.S. oil reserves.
In early July, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked the White House to tap into the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, in an attempt to reverse the sky high oil price climb. The reserve program was created back during WWII, though work didn’t actually begin until 1977. Drilling began near the Gulf of Mexico, and today, the United States has approximately 700 million barrels in storage. The goal is to reach a one billion-barrel reserve.
The reserve has been tapped several times in the past, the first time during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991. President Clinton also tapped into the reserves in 2000, and President Bush again in 2005. Unfortunately, experts believe that tapping into the reserves will do little to alleviate current oil concerns, since increasing prices are due more to fear of future shortages than anything else. They say that, for the moment, Americans must hang in, absorbing the impact of expensive crude oil, and cutting back in other areas.
Tags: Business News | Economy & Business News | Gas | Oil
This entry was posted on Friday, July 25th, 2008 at 3:30 am and is filed under Economy & Business News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
