Hey Big Oil, You Gonna Finish That?

Sure, everyone knows that opening up more U.S. territory to drill for oil won’t really produce a drop of oil for at least 5-10 years and likely would have no immediate impact on gas prices, and very little impact on long-term prices at the pump.

Well, everyone knows this except President Dumbass and his boy John McInsane, who admitted “Even though it may take some years, the fact that we are exploiting those reserves would have a psychological impact that I think is beneficial.” Huh? A “psychological impact that I think is beneficial” how? Cuz it sounds good? Cuz it might win you votes among the people that fall for such obvious pandering as this and the horrendous and laughable “gas tax holiday” idea?

But one little fact that’s been grossly under-reported and usually not even mentioned in all the hoopla about opening up more U.S. territory to drilling….
As reported by CNNmoney.com back at the end of June:

Oil companies and many lawmakers are pressing to open up more U.S. areas for drilling. But the industry is drilling on just a fraction of areas it already has access to.
Of the 90 million offshore acres the industry has leases to, mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, it is estimated that upwards of 70 million are not in production, according to both Democrats and oil-industry sources.
Oil companies "should finish what's on their plate before they go back in line," said Oppenheimer analyst Fadel Gheit.