New report shows oil production up in USA and we are over-run with natural gas.
Critical column by Cramer over at realmoney/thestreet.com:
Lower Gasoline Prices Are Within Our Reach
Enter Westport Innovations (WPRT). Westport, which priced 5.5 million shares at $43.25 just this morning, is pumping out natural-gas-burning truck engines for everything from pickups to heavy-duty trucks. Given that trucks are responsible for 25% of the oil we import, if we were simply to have a program helped by the government to get the old diesel trucks off the road and have the trucking companies switch to Westport engines, in three years we could turn the tables on OPEC and lower the price of gasoline using our own cleaner, abundant fuel.
What drives me crazy is that the Republican candidates for president aren’t even talking about this opportunity, and other than one photo-op where the president called our nation the Saudi Arabia of natural gas, there’s nothing really happening to make the switch. Even more absurdly, other than Westport and Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE), which is building a network natural-gas filling stations, nobody is doing anything much at all to try to knock down the future price of oil and become less dependent on unstable Middle Eastern sources.
Why is that? Frankly, it’s an oddity that every oil person I deal with is in shock about. The auto companies aren’t really embracing natural gas, because the subsidies for electric cars are so bountiful. The truckers know that these Westport engines, while giving the users a quick payback, still require a stiff initial outlay.
Still, if we have the will, if we have the political wherewithal, we could lower the price of gasoline for good by embracing natural gas.
http://realmoney.thestreet.com/articles/02/22/2012/lower-gasoline-prices-are-within-our-reach
Critical for our independence from the Middle East Rule and shenanigans. Yell, harangue your politicans!