The Real Cost of Democrat Bans on Drilling

It really begins to add up fast:

This should provide some ammo for industry groups pushing the White House to allow wider drilling: A new report says U.S. oil-and-gas drilling bans will increase consumer energy costs and decrease cumulative U.S. GDP by $2.36 trillion over the next two decades.

That’s an average annual GDP drop of roughly a half a percent.

The report, commissioned by the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, comes as President Obama is signaling that he’ll back expanded offshore drilling as he seeks GOP and centrist Democratic support for a broader energy and climate bill.

The report explores restrictions on offshore drilling and onshore areas, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It was conducted by the Science Applications International Corp. and the industry-backed Gas Technology Institute.

It concludes that maintaining limits on domestic exploration will cause U.S. oil production to decrease by nearly 10 billion barrels total by 2030, while OPEC imports rise. The U.S. used roughly 7 billion barrels of oil in 2008.

Drill here. Drill now. Quit messing around with all these silly bans and let's get serious about developing our own energy.