The Day Soon Gas Pumps Could Be Empty

Few markets are as volatile as the buying and selling of oil.  Early this week I read about a sudden drop in price.  Within 48 hours there is a sudden spike.  The bidding on contracts reacts severely to any minor shift in supply or projected supply, or so it seems.

Imagine what’s possible if the United States and the Iranians get into a shooting match.  Considering U.S. firepower, the shooting would be brief.  Disruption could be lengthy.  The Iranians already have plans for disruption of the Strait of Hormuz.  As you can read by clicking on this link, the economy of the planet would get a tremendous shock.  One-fifth of the world’s daily oil supply transits through the waterway.

The volume is 50 percent greater than the United States pumps on a daily basis, which gets me to a fine point.  One third of American oil production comes from just one field.  The Permian Basin, centered in Texas and New Mexico.  The fracking revolution created this godsend.  With current technology the United States could begin making up much of the volume we could lose from the Middle East.

Environmentalists and even some Republican Governors are in the way.  They object to offshore drilling and in some states even fracking.

Question, what would their constituents prefer?  Vast fuel shortages and 20 dollars for a gallon of gas, or a strategic reserve to keep us working, warm and fed during a crisis?