Are President Obama's Energy Policies Causing High Gas Prices
Right-wing media have predictably blamed a recent rise in gas prices on President Obama's energy policies and have called for more offshore drilling, claiming he has allowed America to remain "increasingly dependent" on oil imports from "unstable parts of the world." However, experts agree that it's "not credible" to blame Obama for the gas price spike, offshore drilling would not substantially decrease prices, and U.S. domestic oil production has in fact increased under Obama.The problem as usual as high energy prices are a complex problem and discussing them honestly requires some integrity. A virtue lacking in most modern conservatives,
Right-Wing Media Blame Higher Gas Prices On Obama, Falsely Claim Increased Dependence On Foreign Oil, Urge Drilling
Wash. Times: Obama Has Spent "The Past Two Years Bringing Back These Higher [Gas] Prices."
[ ]...Palin: Obama's "War On Domestic Oil And Gas Exploration And Production Has Caused Us Pain At The Pump."
[ ]...Conservative sycophant Hoft: Obama Continues A "War On Domestic Production" With His "Ridiculous Energy Plans." Linking to Palin's Facebook page, conservative blogger Jim Hoft wrote: "While the president trots out another energy proposal, at the same time he continues his war on domestic production. ... What's really sad is how the lapdog media eats up his ridiculous energy plans that will continue to devastate this nation's economy." [Gateway Pundit, 3/30/11]
Former Mobile Exec Gheit: Gulf Moratorium Had "Zero" Impact On Gas Prices. FactCheck.org examined several claims regarding the Obama administration's energy policies, including the claim that Obama's policies have increased gas prices, and found:
So, why have gasoline prices gone up and what impact have Obama's policies had on oil production and gasoline prices?
We talked to Fadel Gheit, a former Mobil Oil executive who is now a senior energy analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. Asked about the impact of the deepwater moratorium, Gheit said the moratorium had a "negative impact on production, but not as much as the politicians would like us to believe." The impact of the moratorium on gas prices? "Nothing. Zero," he said.
[...]
It's important to note that even before the oil spill and the moratorium, the EIA [Energy Information Administration] projected in April 2010 that oil production in the Gulf would decline this year. Before the spill, the EIA expected the Gulf to produce 110,000 less barrels per day in 2011. As we said, it is now expected to decline by 240,000 barrels a day this year. The difference is 130,000 barrels per day.
[ ]..
Chris Lafakis: "Absolutely No Merit To This Viewpoint Whatsoever." Chris Lafakis, economist at Moody's Analytics and expert in energy markets, told Media Matters via email:
I received your question about whether or not federal drilling policies are responsible for the current rise in gas prices. There is absolutely no merit to this viewpoint whatsoever. Near-term fluctuations in gasoline prices are determined by two primary factors: crude oil prices and seasonality. Since the deepwater drilling delay applies only to exploration and production, it would take years, maybe a decade to get any amount of crude oil out of the ground and into our gas tanks. In the meantime, global crude oil supply is exactly the same as it would have been if the government were giving away permits like candy.
Currently, crude oil prices have jumped $15 since the civil war broke out in Libya. This rise in crude oil prices underpins all of the recent increase in gasoline prices. [Email to Media Matters, 3/14/11]
Michael Canes: "Not Credible To Blame The Obama Administration's Drilling Policies For Today's High Prices." While noting that he disagrees with the Obama administration's policies on oil and gas drilling, Michael Canes, research fellow at the Logistics Management Institute and former chief economist of the American Petroleum Institute, told Media Matters via email that it is "not credible" to blame Obama's policies for the high gas prices:
It's not credible to blame the Obama Administration's drilling policies for today's high prices because of the relative scales involved. As I indicated the last time, world oil prices are determined in a market of around 85 million barrels per day of production and consumption, while the consequences of domestic drilling, particularly in the Gulf, likely would be more in the range of several hundred thousand to one million barrels per day, and most of that production would not occur for a number of years. [Email to Media Matters, 3/10/11]
Lou Crandall: "Gasoline Prices At The Pump Would Be Higher" Even If U.S. Had Increased Drilling. Lou Crandall, chief economist of Wrightson ICAP LLC, an independent research firm that analyzes high-frequency economic data, told Media Matters via email:
Higher oil prices today are a global phenomenon, and the additional supply from increased drilling by the U.S. would not alter the global balance of supply and demand greatly. Gasoline prices at the pump would be higher either way. The only difference is that a somewhat larger share of the revenue would accrue to domestic interests (governmental and private) rather than to foreign suppliers. [Email to Media Matters, 3/14/11]
Wally Tyner: High Gas Prices Are A Result Of World Demand, Unrest In Libya -- Not Obama's Drilling Policies. When asked if there is "any merit to the claim that Obama's drilling policies caused the high gas prices we're seeing," Wally Tyner, energy economist at Purdue University, said: "No. It would take years for increased drilling to have an impact. And most of the oil that remains off the US shores is in deep water and high cost." Tyner added:
The biggest factor is the rapid growth in world demand, especially India and China. Over the past decade, about a third of the global growth in world demand has come from China alone.
Currently with most of the exports from Libya down, that is causing prices to be higher. However, Saudi Arabia has indicated they will pick up the slack, but that will take a while to work through the system. Saudi oil is sour crude, and Libya produces sweet crude mostly destined for European refineries that cannot generally take sour crude. [Email to Media Matters, 3/14/11]
Tom O'Donnell: "The Amount Of Extra Oil That The U.S. Would Produce" Would Have "Almost Insignificant" Effect On Prices. Tom O'Donnell, professor of Graduate International Affairs at The New School and expert on the globalized energy sector, said blaming the high gas prices on the administration's drilling policy mistakes correlation for causation.
Palin, Fox News and Jim Hoft are all known serial liars. They lie so often and so outrageously because they know they cannot win an honest debate,
