You see, it will not be our oil to sell at whatever price we please. The oil will belong to the oil companies, and they will sell it wherever and at whatever price will maximize their return on investment. And that is the way it should be, after all, they will be risking billions to find that oil, and there will be losers as well as winners among the prospectors, so those who do strike the mother lode will be entitled to cash in if they get lucky. And as long as other countries are buying oil, supply and demand will eventually balance out and the world price will stabilize at a lower level, but we will be paying the same as everybody else, adjusted by the small savings we will derive from not having to ship it from half a world away and for the premium we will add to help pay for the higher costs of exploration and production compared to existing middle eastern crude.

You see, there is no "American" oil, because we are a free market economy and our petroleum will go into the same pool every other country goes to when they go shopping for energy. As we flood the world with our offshore oil and reduce buying from overseas troublespots like Saudi and Venezuela, they will adjust their prices and production to be competitive with us. So US prices will not drop, WORLD prices will drop. Oil will get cheaper here, but only by as much as it gets cheaper elsewhere. Of course, some countries, like Saudi and Venezuela, have nationalized their oil and subsidize their own people's consumption, or give it away at a discount to their pals, but we will not nationalize our companies. The market, not geography, ownership, or national borders will determine the price.

And if say, war or revolution breaks out in the middle east and they stop pumping, or if they just quit selling to us out of spite, we will be shipping crude overseas to take advantage of the now-rising prices. A major strike here might mean cheaper oil worldwide, but not as cheap as you might think, and in the event there is still a shortage due to our hypothetical mideast troubles, the rest of the world will be here bidding against the American consumer for the black gold. And remember, the Chinese have an insatiable demand and a lot of US dollars to spend.

Additional American oil production will benefit the world, and we will benefit as well, but it won't drive oil prices here way down unless we make a huge strike, enough to overwhelm the market. In fact, the strike will have to be big enough to drive down prices world-wide. Those who will benefit enormously no matter what happens will be the oil companies. In fact, the successful offshore drillers who do find oil will become very wealthy, even if the amount of crude they locate is relatively modest. That is why there is so much pressure to open up those fields.

If you need a preview of what might happen if we do drill offshore, check out Norway and the UK, they had the exact same bonanza, and gasoline prices there are among the highest in the world. They find it more profitable selling their oil overseas than at home, so they tax the hell out of it to discourage domestic consumption.

No, I am not saying that finding oil on American land or the littoral will be a bad thing, I'm just saying that the benefit will not be as wonderful as we have been led to believe. And the world's oil crisis will only be postponed for a few more years.