Why don't we start using some our oil reserves?

Why do we have wells drilled all over this country that have been capped? Wyoming and Utah are full of them. We have tons of oil stored in reserve. We have not built any new refineries for years. Why?Why don't we start using some our oil reserves?
I don't want to create a conspiracy theory here - that the gas companies haven't built refineries, so that the supply has remained steady whereas demand skyrocketed, driving up the price...as the companies have seen quarterly profits that are unheard of. I won't try and say that this was a carefully constructed plot on their behalf, ahem. Well, ok, I don't think it is but I do think that they've been cheap and that their current plans to expand existing refineries won't solve our problems.





Demand for energy will continue to grow (disproportionately here in the U.S...) and I really believe STRONGLY in seeking alternative sources of energy so that we can not only reduce costs for Americans (costs for living...crude oil costs affect EVERYTHING...prodution, shipping...driving up prices...costs to commute, etc.) but will reduce our dependence on foreign oil - doesn't get much better than THAT!!Why don't we start using some our oil reserves?
The reason that we haven't built any refineries is easy.


First there must be an ample and long lasting supply of crude oil before an oil company will invest to make a refinery. Why build a refinery to operate at 70% when you can operate the current ones at 90% and produce the same amount of gas. Report Abuse

What an idiotic thought. We cannot do that because our un-American politicians (many of them) are profiting from imported oil....
We should, the problem I think is the environmentalist people, they care more about things that don't really matter than us needing gas.





We need to pump more, it's not going to hurt the environment, that is a big joke.





The more you pump the cheaper it will get.
we have to conserve our supply b/c a day will come when our exports will completely deny us or they will run out and coming begging us for it
We haven't built any refineries for years (20 years, at least) because environmentalists keep blocking the building of them.
because the ppl that own the reserves r so greedy that they r going to wait till the average price for a gallon of gas is $8, and then they are going to finally sell the reserves for an unspeakable amount of money, its rediculous, and wrong
I have been asking the same question for a long time about the reserves... I have no idea...





and as far as the refineries... I'm sure if the Republicans wanted to they could pass an act to build more, no one would dare stand in the way with current gas prices, it would be political suicide... so why haven't they even tried to pass an act?... maybe they are making a lot of money off the status quo?
why...are you out of gas...???





as for the refineries..ask the liberals and the environmentalists..same thing, they want to ruin our productivity at the taxpayers expense and turn our country into a ';global state'; run by the un
Our demand in the U.S.for oil far out ways our reserves.


If we want to solve our nations energy crisis we must end our use fossil fuels. There are great new technologies that exist today, such as Hydrogen technology. We could actually put an end to our reliance on other country's for our energy needs. Unfortunately we have a President in office who's family fortune came from the oil business. As long as we have a President who owes his allegiance to the oil business and the money that this puts in his family's pockets ,our nations energy future looks extremely bleak.