Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

An easier way to lower gas prices in the U.S.

Crude oil is selling for more than $130 a barrel. The Energy Information Administration states that domestic crude production is slightly more than 5 million barrels a day. This domestically produced crude is then placed on the world market, selling at the same price as oil produced around the world.

Many are arguing that opening offshore drilling and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will result in lower prices for a gallon of gasoline and our being less dependent on foreign oil. If domestically produced crude is priced the same as imported oil, where is the difference in the price at the pumps?

President Bush is asking Saudi Arabia to increase production, hoping increased supply will lower the price per barrel. What he should be doing is asking companies producing domestically to withhold their crude from the world market and sell to the American consumer at a lower price. That would have a more immediate effect on the price at the pump.

What is really happening in this debate is the American consumer is being sold a β€œred herring.” The oil companies want to drill in these environmentally sensitive areas to put more crude on the world market, taking advantage of the growing demand by China.

Were these domestic producers to show a real concern for the American consumer β€” meaning the suggestion mentioned above β€” I could fully support their effort.

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