Will More Drilling in U.S. Lower Gas Prices? The Numbers Say No

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Gas prices are a source of frustration for many as they continue to rise higher and higher.  Gas and oil industry leaders are calling for President Obama to allow more domestic drilling and adjust his domestic policy by loosening environmental regulations and not raising taxes on the industry, claiming that this would bring relief at the pump.

Analysts disagree, and in a tremendous article the Associated Press looks at the historical data regarding domestic oil production and gas prices.  The conclusion seems obvious:  more domestic drilling will not, on its own, lower gas prices.  In fact, there seems to be no correlation at all.  More after the jump...

Media Matters analyzes this article and also gives 20 quotes from analysts who argue that more drilling would not reduce the pain at the pump.  Here's a quote from one of them:

Severin Borenstein, UC  Berkeley economist: "Producing more oil domestically will enrich the U.S. economy, particularly U.S. oil companies and their workers. With oil so valuable, it may be a good idea, though the value must be weighed against environmental consequences. But it will have no discernible impact on gas prices, because it will change the world's supply/demand balance for oil by less than 2 or 3 percent over a decade or more."
Where do you come out on this?  Would more drilling have a positive impact at the pump, or are the oil companies just trying to use the public discontent over higher gas prices to leverage more drilling and make more money?  Sound off in the forum.

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