Recently, the international oil price continues to soar, and the new york crude oil futures price approaches the $0/40 mark per barrel. The United States is the number one oil importer, and high oil prices naturally make the American people complain. As the saying goes, it is better to ask for yourself than to ask for others. Recently, US President Bush asked Congress to lift the ban on offshore oil production in order to increase domestic crude oil production. So, did Bush's move work? Why does the United States buy oil from foreign countries at high prices instead of exploiting its own oil?
Bush wants to relax the ban on offshore drilling
Bush did not belittle the problem of high oil prices. In addition to urging Saudi Arabia and other oil exporters to increase production, Bush also hopes to tap domestic potential. On June 18, Bush made a speech in the Rose Garden of the White House, urging Congress to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling (hereinafter referred to as "lifting the ban" by the United States) to stabilize oil prices. He told reporters: "The US Congress must face the grim reality. Unless lawmakers are willing to accept the current painful high oil prices or face higher oil prices, the United States must produce more oil and must take immediate action. " He also said that these waters in the United States may produce 654.38+08 billion barrels of crude oil, which will meet the gasoline demand of the United States in 6543.8+00 years. He also urged Congress to allow mining in Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.
The high oil price also gave the American oil industry a good excuse, and they also took the opportunity to demand "lifting the ban". Lex Tilson, CEO of ExxonMobil, accused Bush of asking Saudi Arabia to increase production, but did not make efforts to increase domestic production, especially in the coastal areas of oil-rich Florida and California.
A poll in Reuters shows that 59.6% of Americans who are worried about soaring oil prices support Bush's proposal to lift the ban. With more than half of the public opinion support rate, Bush's proposal seems to be a good idea. However, Bush's move was ridiculed as "far from hydrolyzing near thirst".
Why did the United States "abandon arms" for many years?
In fact, the crude oil reserves in the United States are very large, and its proven reserves are 3.7 billion tons (by 2006), accounting for about 2.5% of the world's total proven reserves (by 2006). However, there are two bills that make the oil-rich United States "waste martial arts": one is a law passed by the US Congress in 1982, and the other is a presidential decree signed by the father of the current President George H.W. Bush in 1990.
Exploiting offshore oil can not only alleviate the oil shortage in the United States, but also increase the tax revenue and employment rate of coastal cities. Why did the United States kill itself?
1973 During the oil crisis, US President Nixon believed that if oil can be self-sufficient and imports are reduced to zero, then the national security of the United States can be ensured. However, American economist Tom Tantenberg believes that although self-sufficiency has the above advantages, it is a breakfast for future generations, which will make the future national security of the United States more problematic. Some scholars in China believe that Titan's views have influenced the decision-making level in the United States, so the United States began to seal up its own resources.
However, when talking about why the ban on oil exploitation in offshore waters was introduced, the relevant documents of the US Congress only stated that the move was mainly to solve the environmental problems caused by crude oil exploitation and transportation. The reporter of "Youth Reference" newspaper has not seen the American media's explanation of "not eating children's food". In addition, offshore oil exploitation has indeed caused ecological disasters in the United States.
Santa Barbara, California is a small coastal town. 1969, a blowout accident occurred on the offshore drilling platform here, and the spilled oil polluted the entire coast of southern California, leaving a painful memory for local residents. Since then, offshore oil production has been resisted by more and more people and environmental organizations. Thus, during Reagan's term, the US Congress passed a law in 1982, prohibiting oil and gas exploration on most continental shelves, ranging from 4.8 km to 322 km along the coastline. The bill has been extended once a year so far.
Since then, there are still some offshore areas for oil exploitation. 1on March 24th, 989, the ExxonMobil supertanker Valdez ran aground in prince william sound, Alaska, and a large amount of crude oil formed an oil slick with a width of 1km and a length of 8km in the originally picturesque waters, which is the most serious marine crude oil pollution accident in the United States so far. The investigation of the accident by the media and environmental protection organizations directly promoted the US government to take measures to strengthen offshore environmental protection.
1In June, 1990, then President George H.W. Bush signed a decree ordering the Ministry of the Interior to further expand the forbidden mining area, and the offshore areas except Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Alaska (in some areas) were not allowed to be leased to oil companies for mining, and the validity of the decree was extended to 2000. 1998, then president Clinton further extended the validity of the law to 20 12 years.
For a long time, Americans have different opinions on banning offshore oil production. Some people think that this has effectively promoted environmental protection, while others criticize that it has intensified the dependence on foreign energy.