Increased drilling off the coast of the United States and in ANWR will not lower gas prices, but will enable big oil to gain a monopoly on places to drill while controlling the supply to maintain record profits.

Based on reports in a release from Sen. Harry Reid, there are 68 million acres (80 percent of the recoverable natural gas and oil in the U.S.) currently open to drilling that are not being drilled. Since 2001, offshore drilling has increased, but prices have exploded.

Major oil companies have seen profits of $600 billion with $185 billion used to purchase stock buybacks rather than investing in alternative fuels or new refinery capacity. During that time, refinery capacity has dropped from 93 percent to 89 percent.

According to the Boston Globe, in May, the U.S. exported 183,000 barrels/day of gasoline, 444,000 barrels/day of diesel, and 76,000 barrels/day of jet fuel. Total exports are up 31 percent since 2007.

There is certainly no lack of supply.

In exchange for more U.S. land, oil companies should first drill on the land already permitted and agree to pay higher royalties. According to the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. receives among the lowest royalties in the world. The extra funds could subsidize non-fossil fuel technologies.

The ways to lower fuel prices quickly are to release 10 percent of the petroleum reserve, crack down on speculators, increase refining capacity and force U.S.-refined products to remain in the U.S.

Wes Sirois, Greene