Oil companies at fault? No, we need more energy independence

FLINT, Mich. — Every time the price of gasoline shoots up, the U.S. finds itself in the same plight, yet we never learn from it.

Before we make the mistake of blaming oil companies for high prices, we should consider who the real culprits are.

If ever there was a time for an honest look at oil and gasoline prices, it's now. And what that inquiry concludes is that the American oil industry is not the instigator of higher prices.

The spike in gasoline prices is the latest reminder of the cost to America of not having a comprehensive energy policy. By relying so heavily on imported oil, we are held hostage to events halfway around the world.

Part of what lies behind soaring prices is turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East which has been spreading. After demonstrators took to the streets in Egypt, protests broke out in Tunisia, Kuwait, Yemen and Libya. Oil-rich Libya sends only a small fraction of its oil to the United States, but because oil is a world commodity, Americans are not immune to the shock waves.

Are other oil-producing countries like Bahrain and Oman next? Is even Saudi Arabia at risk? Saudi Arabia alone sits on a quarter of the world's oil reserves.

This uncertainty about tomorrow is reflected in oil prices today. Call it the fear factor. Investors are worried about the situation because no one knows where the turmoil will end. The risk is geopolitical instability in the Persian Gulf that has widespread effects.

Another problem: oil supplies are getting harder to replace once they've been consumed — and the demand for oil keeps growing, particularly in China, India and Brazil. In 2009, the last year for which figures are available, the world consumed 11 percent more oil than a decade earlier.

Oil imports now cost Americans $1 million a minute. Crude oil prices, which are set on the world market based on market forces, fluctuate substantially and unpredictably.

It's time for the administration to realize the urgency and to set the country on a clear strategy of boosting oil production at home. President Obama's recently announced steps to lease some new areas, while worthwhile, fall short of what needs to be done. Congress should lift the moratorium on oil development in the Atlantic, Pacific and eastern Gulf of Mexico now.