1) Why don't the oil companies drill in the 48,000 acres?
2) Just where do they propose to drill and what, specifically are the known, likely and speculated reserves in each. Not just raw guesses.
3) Just HOW SOON would oil flow in these places?
I am certainly not saying that “Big Oil” is playing games but I would like these questions answered.
Another ?-
When we pump our own oil, Oil Cos. are NOT paying $146/bbl are they? Aren't they paying the cost as pumped? Wouldn't that, by definition, drop the pump price of gas?
The oil that is pumped will be worth whatever the market will pay for it at the time it is delivered. Just as the farmer who plants corn or soybeans based on the market price in the spring can hope the prices stay high but if the forecast starts to show record numbers of acres planted and record harvests are predicted the price will fall. That's the same thing that will happen when Congress stops trying to close the spigot and let the oil companies drill. The price will drop long before the first barrel of that oil reaches the market.
If they aren't drilling the land they already have leases on it's because even $150/bbl doesn't justify the costs/risks involved for the oil that may or may not be there.