Record prices prompt little new drilling to replace imported fuels

“Why on earth would you drill here when we’ve been drilling here for 120 years and when there’s vast untapped regions across the globe?” said Kyle Cooper, analyst at Citigroup Global Markets in Houston.

Pumps in the United States pulled 5.43 million barrels per day of oil in early July, compared with 5.70 million barrels per day in early February, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.

Houston Chronicle