17 Jun 2008 America Only Oil-Producing Nation That Severely Limits Its Production

National Center for Public Policy Research Research Associate Reece Epstein has a letter to the editor in today’s D.C. Examiner newspaper, written in response to an opinion column by Irwin Stelzer entitled, “No Quick Energy Fixes, Despite Officials’ Promises.”

Says Reece:

Irwin Stelzer is rightly disappointed in politicians who “prefer to keep Alaska safe for caribou rather than tap our own oil reserves.” America remains the only oil-producing nation that severely limits its own production.

Federal law currently prohibits tapping about 10 billion barrels of oil in the barren tundra of Alaska and another 16 billion barrels off the coasts. It also prevents utilizing the largest known oil shale deposits in the world, which are found in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

The RAND Corporation estimates that between 500 billion to 1.1 trillion recoverable barrels of oil can be found in the shale of the Green River formation, making it the largest known fossil fuel deposit in the world.

With demand for energy skyrocketing and supply subject to incessant instability, we have a clear imperative to develop this untapped and readily obtainable supply of American oil.

Reece Epstein
Research Associate
The National Center for Public Policy Research