Can anyone explain how drilling for more oil will lead to energy independence?

Please briefly detail the drill to independence theory and how that works? FACTS are always welcomed.Can anyone explain how drilling for more oil will lead to energy independence?
I'm answering your question in response to an email from Lynne asking me to post here.





First, would you agree that we are addicted to oil? If we can't agree on that, then there's no point in reading further. My truck was siphoned to nearly empty the other night. Would you agree that one of the characteristics of an addict is that they will do almost anything to get what they need?





How do we bring people back from heroine addictions? That's right, we ween them off of the opiate by giving them a maintenance dose of methadone each day until they're stable, then we begin dropping the dose. Hopefully, they can make that final step to freedom from the drug, but it takes a long, long time.





There are many concrete plans floating about for independence from foreign oil, all similar but with subtle differences. Let's take the Pickens plan since his ads are all over the airwaves right now, he's got the money and he's demonstrated that he knows how to get things done. Build the countries largest wind farm, one that can carry the 21 percent of electricity generation that is currently handled by natural gas, freeing the natural gas to be used in motor vehicles. Good for the economy, good for the environment, and good for Pickens. I'm okay with his plan, and we will likely see it implemented, but he has a 10 year horizon.





Oil is a commodity, controlled by the laws of supply and demand. Production is at or near peak right now, worldwide, but the demand is outstripping the supply. You can point fingers and blame oil producing nations, but the simple fact is China and India's economies are exploding. They both need oil in geometrically larger quantities as we go...





So, suppose we just let things go. Supply is not likely to change anytime soon, but what do you think demand is going to do? Do you think China and India will stop growing and stop demanding more oil? What happens to Americans a few years from now when gasoline is no longer $4.00 per gallon and is instead $8.00 per gallon? At what point will the average American no longer be able to afford his drug?





Drilling and adding additional oil to the supply chain will act like the methadone we so desperately need. A stopgap measure while we work on longer range carbon-free projects, like the Pickens plan. I've not seen supply horizon estimates on off shore drilling, but Anwar is a short 3 years if we begin today. Should we choose to drill in the only intersting part of Anwar, the rigs would cover a tiny section of the reserve. As Representative Michele Bachmann puts it, if Anwar is the size of a football field, we need an area the size of a postage stamp. Is that too much to keep Americans from killing each other over oil? Okay, maybe killing is too extreme. Stealing from each other? And what will the relentless demands on the worlds supply of oil over the next 10 years do to our economy? Can anyone explain how drilling for more oil will lead to energy independence?
Understanding the stock market and how it responds to fundamentals, is the real theory behind new drilling. It's all about supply and demand. New oil wells with the potential to bring more oil to the market will adversly affect the markets price on oil.





Certainly, if the market can act so quickly that the price goes up based on a new hurricane on the horizon, it will act just as quickly to new drilling.





Energy independence is quite another thing. Alternative sources for energy will be required in order for energy independence to ever become reality. It will take them all initially, to make a dent in the oil industries hold on energy, but it will happen. Eventually, one or two may dominate the alternative energy market. It could be wind, it could be electrical, it could be hydrogen, or it could be hybrids.





In the meantime, don't dismiss what we know best, oil. For now, drilling is absolutely necessary, in ten years maybe not as much, but it's the one devil we've got, for now !
How hypocritical to say NAFTA and Globalism is great and we need to be self sufficient in oil. The Chairman of the Board of Exxon and many people who know the oil business say the USA will never be independent in oil. Actually we should not want to be energy independent. We can have much more reasonably priced oil, say gasoline at $1.00 per gallon. It makes no difference where oil is recovered, only that oil is produced. The problem is the bad guys who own our banking system, they want to own oil, keep prices high. This world will not return to good health until our banking system is taken from the bad guys.
Energy independence would mean that this country would only have to rely on it's OWN supplies to meet the needs of the country.





With a combination of alternatives, conservation and oil (which we will ALWAYS need) and drilling what is available we would not have to import the:





1.8 million barbells per day from countries that are not allies.





We have MORE than enough oil.


We have the best and most environmentally beneficial technology in the world.





Let us use it.





http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petro鈥?/a>
Dude Brad you couldn't be more wrong. We can get oil in as little as three months. We have oil rigs right now waiting to drill. Sorry about a source but it was an oil exec on a local talk show I have no link.





As far as energy independence goes, it's an interesting question.


Drilling alone will not do it. It would require opening all capped oil wells regardless of production (currently it must produce 5,000 brl/month).


A bill not allowing oil exports. And some kind of production requirement to make the lease holders pump the oil or lose the lease.





As your question implies simply drilling more oil well then capping them will not change the status quo.


This country would have to pump oil and refine it to make the difference. And if we simply throw it on the world market it may just stay the same price if the market is as screwed up as it is now.





We need to keep our oil or we will be s.o.l..


Energy independence means we don't rely on other nations to supply us with a means of creating energy.
I can't give ya facts, but I can give you an educated guess. My opinion is that drilling in and of itself will lead to energy independence. I think that drilling lowers the cost of fuel and energy WHILE we find other means of energy-nuclear, solar, battery, h2o, etc.- These other energy sources are what would, hopefully, make us more energy independent. Plus, I'm not totally convinced that we can be TOTALLY energy independent.





Probably the only true fact that will be helpful is if the domestic oil is sold domestically. If we drill, find, refine, and ship oil all over the world I'm not sure how much that will help. If we sell the oil domestically only it'll flood the US mkt with more oil thus dropping our costs, plus that way we may not have to refine as much oil as if we sold it globally and thus stretch out our reserves.
that will not lead to anything, except for even less oil that the world has once it has been used. That is supposed to be a quick fix for right now, even though we will not see any difference in price if any for at least five years. We should have an oil crisis like Brazil did in the 70's or 80's they had one and now they do not import any oil from any country. It would be tough, but we would get off this dependence of oil from terroist nations.
ah Brad, just the threat of opening drilling up will effect the speculations market.





US Oil companies, having access to US oil means less oil bought from unstable foreign countries. Pretty simple.





The folks at Prudeu Bay Alaska claim that with in 6-8 months we could be pumping oil from the barren mud flats of a very small section of ANWR. I actually believe the people that will be doing the work and not the news casters that make the claims that they are in ANWR with then are actually standing in front of Denali National Park.
We drill our own oil. We refine our own oil. We use what we refine.





Pretty simple.





Kinda like this: I buy a peach tree. I plant the peach tree. It grows and eventually bears fruit, which I eat. Now I don't have to buy other people's peaches! Except, oil is even better - it doesn't just come in seasons, like fruit!
Bush accused us of being addicts but it his greedy buddies addicted to our money. So drilling is an attempt to get our eyes off of them %26amp; again it is working. There is not connection between us drilling for oil %26amp; become independent. That would make us more addicted to it the same as a herion addict who decides to shoot up to cut down on snorting.
It will not lead to energy independence.. but the laws of supply and demand would say increased supply will keep prices lower...Independence can only come massive reduction in use, or us making our own fuels...


http://www.lanl.gov/news/index.php/fusea鈥?/a>
It's independence from FOREIGN oil. We are sending billions of dollars every year to governments who hate us and would like to see us destroyed. Wouldn't you like to see billions kept here at home? Perhaps invested in energy that doesn't depend on oil at all.
It doesn't. The people who want to drill don't want or know we're capable of energy independence! He means energy independence without crapping where you eat! Clean Energy!





Your , VERY SCARY, end of the world will not come from GOD but from you!
I will take at least 20 years before we even see a drop of that oil!!





Also, it wont even effect the price much. Maybe a 2 cent difference.
Pretty Simple





More US sources of oil less foreign equals more Independence.
Quite simply, the more we produce, the less we rely on foreign sources. Is this a set-up?..I know you aren't daft.
Follow the money.