Dept. of Energy Finds Drilling in ANWAR Would Have Little Effect

Prices per barrel are now $135. Drilling in ANWAR would drop the price $0.75 per barrel.

Do the math -- it would drop the price .05%. At four bucks a gallon (projected near future), that's not even a cent a gallon. It's probably not even worth the energy it would take to get it out of the ground.

clipped from www.mcclatchydc.com If Congress were to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, crude oil prices would probably drop by an average of only 75 cents a barrel, according to Department of Energy projections issued Thursday. The report, which was requested in December by Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, found that oil production in the refuge "is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices." But the report also finds that opening ANWR could have other benefits, particularly in Alaska, where tapping the resources in the Arctic refuge could extend the lifespan of the trans-Alaska pipeline. It estimates that if Congress agreed to open ANWR this year, Alaskan oil could hit the market in about 10 years.