Maybe pigs can fly. The Obama Administration is under pressure to bring down the high price of gas. With this in mind AG, Eric Holder, will outline a proposalto increase federal oversight of the oil market.

Here are the points of interest:

The president will call on Congress to:

• boost spending on technology to improve oversight and surveillance of energy markets.

• increase by six times the money spent on surveillance and enforcement staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to better deter oil market manipulation.

• increase from $1 million to $10 million civil and criminal penalties against firms that engage in market manipulation.

• in an effort designed to limit energy market disruptions, give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission authority to increase the amount of money that a trader must put up to back a trading position.

Of course this is a political move, and Republicans will never go along with it.
What the heck? It can’t hurt to try.

A year ago, President Obama pledged to reduce US dependence on foreign oil by 1/3 within a decade. We are going in the right direction!

Who knows why we waited so long? What are we doing right?

Higher US oil production does help, but in reality it’s only a drop in the bucket. Higher fuel efficiency in cars, use of renewable energy elsewhere and (unfortunately)an economy that is not close to cooking on all burners all contributed.

That said, the US only holds 2% of the oil reserves on the planet, but consumes 25%. You do the math.

No, it’s not baseball this time. It’s the rising price of gasoline.

And nothing energizes Republicans like rising energy prices. Last week House Speaker John Boehner told Republicans to take advantage of voters’ looming anger over prices at the pump

Let’s get that pipeline moving! And open up more off-shore drilling.

Gas prices are rising for three reasons and non are listed above.

1. Iran’s decision to cut exports to Britain & France (a payback move)

2. Economic recovery is taking longer than expected.

3. Speculators i.e. hedge funds and other money managers placing big bets on the price of oil.

No hints of any steroids

Much chatter about the opening of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Obama announces he will release 30 million barrels over the next 30 days.

Says Energy Sec. Steven Chu:

“We are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries and their impact on the global economic recovery,” Chu said. “As we move forward, we will continue to monitor the situation and stand ready to take additional steps if necessary.”

Peak driving season is upon us, and this should help the situation vis-a-vis Libyan interruptions.

Oil futures immediately took a dive. Down to 91.02 on the NYMEX.

Saudi Arabia had already pledged to raise oil production this year following a failure of the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries to raise group-wide output quotas.

“This was not really on anybody’s radar screen,” said Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective in New York.

Thank you election committee.

Each one gets to try to put his stamp on energy in the USA.

FDR – the great hydro-dams. They cost a mint and even though they still produce plenty of electricity, can only satisfy something like 5% of the nation’s needs.

Eisenhower – started the age of commercial nuclear energy.

JFK & LBJ did not focus so much on energy, Viet Nam kind got in the way.

Nixon – authorized the Alaskan pipeline & warned about dependence on foreign oil. Neither popular at the time.

Ford – created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Carter – called for the “moral equivalent of a war” on energy. Nobody was listening.

Reagan – attempted to abolish the Department of Energy

Clinton – tried for a new generation of vehicles that would get high gas mileage without sacrificing anything else.

Dubya – tried to lift the ban on offshore drilling.

Obama – wait and see just how green we will go.