By Don G. Briggs, President – LOGA (Louisiana Oil & Gas Association)

If we lived in a country where “capitalism” flourished, the solution to the energy crisis our country is currently facing would look something like this: Investor owned companies (IOCs) would drill more wells to produce more crude to meet demand, federal controlled lands and waters would be open for exploration of its’ natural resources, consumers would conserve, and researchers and IOCs would diligently work to develop alternative fuels for the future.

This past week the top executives of the nation’s five largest oil companies were grilled before a congressional panel to answer questions on high gasoline prices. California Congresswoman Maxine Waters challenged Shell Oil President John Hofmeister to guarantee the American people the prices they pay at the pump would go down if American oil companies are allowed to drill wherever they want off the US coast. “I can guarantee to the American people because of the in action of the United States Congress, ever increasing prices unless the demand comes down, and the $5 dollars will look like a very low price in the years to come if we are prohibited from finding new reserves, new opportunities to increase supplies”, replied Hofmeister. “And guess what this liberal will be all about? This Liberal will be all about Socializing………..basically taking over and the Government running all of your companies”, replied Congresswoman Waters. Of course Waters meant to say “nationalizing”.

It gets worse. The House of Representatives passed the NOPEC (No Oil Producing & Exporting Cartels) bill, by a vote of 324 to 82. NOPEC bill reads, “It shall be illegal and a violation of this Act to limit the production or distribution of oil, natural gas, or any other petroleum product…or to otherwise take any action in restraint of trade for oil, natural gas, or any petroleum product when such action, combination, or collective action has a direct, substantial, and reasonably foreseeable effect on the market, supply, price, or distribution of oil, natural gas, or other petroleum product in the United States.” NOPEC would allow the Justice Department to Sue OPEC members for price fixing in U.S. courts under the Sherman Act, and to seize foreign owned assets to pay for damages.

Under the NOPEC bill, Congress has committed all of the crimes outlined in the bill. If it were not for the legislative immunity congressmen have they would be sued by every attorney in the country under NOPEC. Mark Steyn said, “But, before we start suing distant sheikhs in exotic lands for violating the NOPEC act, why don’t we start by suing Congress? After all, who ‘limits the production or distribution of oil’ right here in the United States by declaring that there’ll be no drilling in the Gulf of Florida or the Arctic National Mosquito Refuge? As Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz herself told Neil Cavuto on Fox News, “We can’t drill our way out of this problem.” It is inconceivable congress would pass such a piece of legislation, when they vote continually to put off limits 85 percent of the natural resources of this country.

We are in the middle of a serious energy crisis. Shultz is correct that we cannot drill our way out of this problem, and no oil executive I know thinks that we can. What we can do, is stop the political theatrics long enough to realize that if we start drilling now, and open up our available resources, we might be able to slow the crisis down long enough to find a realistic solution.