Should we nationalize Oil production for the US Military?

Question

I am a free market conservative thinker. However, I think the US government should drill, refine and supply their own oil for military uses only (without buying it on the open market); essentially nationalizing oil for military consumption. Would this have the effect of helping to reduce the price of a barrel of oil?

Answer 1

This has been tried...think 3rd World countries

Answer 2

Good idea.  I would think that it would help a bit.  Less dependency on foreign oil would drive the price down, but by how much, that I couldn't answer.

Answer 3

No, it is more cost effective to buy the oil needed via the market where it is being done realitively effeciently.

For the military to do it it self, would require buying land where the oil is, then training people to drill it, then you need to build an oil refinery, and have trained workers operating the wells and the refineries as well as transporting the goods. All items already being done by a private market, and as you train those workers you have to pay them enough to not head off to the private sector; or you are talking out sources all the work which really is what you are already doing by buying it on the free-market anyway.

But note when you here them talking about taping into the strategic oil reserve, As the name implys it is suppose to be just that a Strategic reserve capable of providing the oil needed to operate our military in a time of conflict should supplys become interupted. It was not intended for the politicians to make worthless attempts at disturbing free-market pricing, when there isn't enough to make any real impact on prices anyway, but makes nice little sound bite speeches to act like they can. They might cause the price at the pump to drop by a penny or two for a few weeks though, Oh but then if supplys get interupted I guess we just out of luck on filling the needs of our military.

Note at the onset of the program the gov't did manage the reserves more itself, but the program has moved even further away from that, more to fully private leasing