Published: September 05, 2009 09:04 pm      

Take advantage of existing oil supplies

Toward the middle of last week, Houston-based British Petroleum announced its latest prospect, in the Gulf of Mexico about 250 miles southeast of Texas' largest city, may contain more than three billion barrels of oil. According to the Associated Press, the discovery — known as the Tiber prospect — is expected to be one of the largest petroleum discoveries in the United States, and it could potentially produce half as much crude oil per day as Alaska's North Slope.

Considering experts have more than once declared the Gulf of Mexico's oil supply tapped out, this is quite a noteworthy find.

It also raises some points for discussion. This oil discovery was made with the assistance of technological advances in oil exploration; without the newer techniques the find might well not have been made. Undoubtedly those who oppose drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts will argue that the Tiber discovery shows the no-drill policy for those areas can continue with no detrimental effects on our oil supply.

However, to whatever extent that might be true, the question still remains: If, this late in the game, there is still that vast of an untapped oil supply in the Gulf of Mexico — what kinds of oil supplies lie as yet undiscovered off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts? Many will argue that we should be working on developing more environmentally friendly energy technology, one that doesn't depend on certain regions' volatile political situations, and this is true. However, while we work toward those technologies, we should take full advantage of the present oil and natural gas supply at our disposal. While drilling off the United States' other coasts might well not give us energy independence, it would allow us to rely less on the oil of the aforementioned regions. The new oil exploration techniques also have the advantage of being more environmentally friendly, as opposed to the risky technique of transporting oil via tanker across thousands of miles of ocean.

The choice does not have to be between using existing oil supplies or working toward new sources. We believe the energy companies can do both, and our government should allow the energy companies to explore and drill beneath the uncharted waters off the United States' eastern and western coasts. Our economic well-being and national security demand no less.