New offshore drilling not a quick fix, analysts say – Boston Globe
Start-up delays, global market pressures cited
By Lisa Wangsness

President Bush and Republican presidential candidate John McCain have called this week for lifting a federal moratorium on offshore oil exploration, arguing that taking action to increase domestic oil supplies will help drive down prices.

But analysts say that renewed offshore drilling would have little impact on gas prices anytime soon.

It would take at least a decade for oil companies to obtain permits, procure equipment, and do the exploration necessary to get the oil out of the ground, most industry analysts say. And even then, they add, the amount of new oil produced would probably be too small to significantly affect world oil prices…