After the BP oil spill, many people wondered whether or not offshore drilling was beneficial.
Land and offshore oil drilling is done to extract oil from deep beneath the Earth's surface. Many people criticize oil drilling for ruining natural environments and, in the case of offshore oil drilling, creating the potential for an oil spill, which can destroy entire ecosystems. But proponents of drilling claim there are a number of benefits to oil drilling that far outweigh the cons. These benefits include more domestic profits, less price disruption, less dependence on foreign oil and lower gas prices.
More Domestic Production
Drilling for oil will only provide the United States with a fraction of the worlds annual oil needs. Thus, it would not be enough to sell to other countries. But, one of the greatest benefits of increasing drilling is that it would shift a share of oil revenue from international to domestic corporations. Thus a greater fraction, no matter how small, of the world's oil expenditures would be earned by domestic corporations.
Less Price Disruption
In 2010 a quantitative study was conducted by economists Robert Hahn and Peter Passell on the benefits of oil drilling. According to their study, drilling would decrease oil price disruptions by 42 to 51 billion dollars. In the multiple cost analysis studies they performed, all of them showed that, financially, oil drilling would result in a net profit for the United States.
Less Dependence on Foreign Oil
The United States imports approximately 65 percent of its oil, and demand keeps growing. By increasing the amount of drilling, the United States would be able to decrease its dependence on foreign oil. This could drastically change foreign policy since the United States would no longer be affected by the political situations in other parts of the world.
Lower Oil Prices
An increase in oil drilling would lower global oil prices. Oil prices increase when supply decreases. If there is an increase in drilling, supply would increase which would lower prices. Lower gas prices for the average consumer is one of the greatest benefits to increasing oil drilling. Many advocates for increased drilling have circulated this information in order to gain support from the people, rather than trying to influence politicians.
