Senate Passes Drilling Bill

Yesterday the Senate approved a bill to open Gulf of Mexico to oil and natural gas drilling, while natural gas prices soar 14% amidst this summer’s heat wave.  Although increased domestic production of oil will do little to change prices as barrels are sold in a global market of producers and consumers, opening up drilling off of America’s coasts could significantly impact natural gas prices.  This is because most of the nation’s demand for natural gas is met by domestic production, with the most of the rest coming from Canada through pipelines, and a tiny1-2% coming from liquefied natural gas from abroad.  A large increase in domestic supply would go a long way to making it easier to heat a home.