Gas Prices Falling in Kentucky; Prices Sharply Below Summer Levels | News | Congressman Ed Whitfield

News | Congressman Ed Whitfield | United States Representative

Gas Prices Falling in Kentucky; Prices Sharply Below Summer Levels September 13, 2006 WASHINGTON, September 13 U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield on Wednesday cheered reports of falling gas prices in Kentucky, saying that lower gas prices would ease financial pressures on families and provide an economic boost to communities in the Commonwealth.

High energy prices weigh on every family and threaten the stability of the economy. Every bit those prices fall comes as welcome news to all of us, said Whitfield.

On Wednesday, gas was selling as low as $2.16 per gallon in Murray, down nearly a dollar from earlier this summer. Several stations in Lexington reported $2.12 per gallon gasoline on Wednesday, the lowest in the State.

Since 2004, oil prices have fluctuated wildly due to tensions in the Middle East, supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, and rising demand for oil in China and India. As recently as August, crude oil was trading at $77 a barrel. Yesterday, oil prices closed at a six-month low of $63.76. Energy analysts attribute the drop in prices to overstated fears about global supply shortages as well as a reduction in seasonal oil demand now that the summer driving months have passed.

Whitfield noted that future oil prices were impossible to predict and cautioned that prices could swing back up if market conditions suddenly worsened. The only way we can guard against future price spikes is to increase domestic oil production, as well as developing alternative energy sources that can be produced here at home, he said.

In June, Whitfield voted for the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act which would expand oil exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf. Chevron recently announced test results showing that more than 3 billion barrels, and perhaps as much as 15 billion barrels of oil are recoverable off the coast of Louisiana. Recovering this oil would mark the biggest addition to U.S. petroleum reserves in decades, which some analysts believe could boost U.S. reserves by 50 percent.

Whitfield has also been a strong advocate for the development of alternative and renewable fuels. In July, Whitfield introduced the Alternative Liquid Transportation Fuel Promotion Act, a bill that would promote the use of new technologies that convert coal into liquid transportation fuels. Whitfield is also a cosponsor of the "American-Made Energy Freedom Act" a bill that would allocate the estimated $40 billion in federal royalty and lease revenue from opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to a trust fund to be used for the development of renewable fuels like ethanol and biodiesel.

The good news is that lower gas prices will benefit families in the short term, but we cannot assume that prices will stay where theyre at for an extended period of time. I will continue to support efforts to increase our domestic oil supplies as well as developing alternative sources of energy that are able to meet our current and future energy needs, said Whitfield.

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