Offshore drilling will not wean us off foreign oil
February 04 2010 | Oil Pollution, Jim's Blog,
by Jim
This is the first of a few posts seeking to delve into the pillars of the pro-offshore drilling argument.
We’re told that by expanding offshore drilling, America will be able to wean itself off foreign oil.
This is false.
Sure, I understand the logic behind wanting to get off foreign energy sources. I want that myself. I think it’s safe to say that EVERY American wants us to be as energy self-sufficient as possible. The thing is that… offshore drilling is not the answer to that desire.
Let’s look at the math.As the first vehicle to the right suggests, we consume 20.7 million barrels a day. That’s a lot. It’s more than any other nation.
What you might not know however is that we produce 8.3 million barrels a day. I illustrated this in the second vehicle.
So in order to “get off” foreign oil we’d need a bit more than another 12 million barrels of oil per day.
Remember what the best case scenario has been stated for offshore drilling? It’s not 12 million… not even close. It’s 2 – 4 million barrels a day.
Thus the statement “offshore drilling will get us off foreign oil” isn’t even remotely close to the truth.
Offshore drilling will not wean us off foreign oil.
Period.
Offshore drilling is not the answer.
