... don't feel bad about yourself.

And what happened then????? Why the price has went up, up, up and the economy has become worse, worse, worse.

Because one event happens before another event does not establish causation, Jim.  Post hoc ergo propter hoc, (or in terms you might understand).  The rooster crowing doesn't cause the sun to rise.

Know what?? I think it is you that haven't the vaguest concept about cause and effect.

It's not me, Jim ... it's every oil analyst in the country that thinks your claims are BS.

Energy Analyst Joseph M. Dukert, senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, independent energy analyst, and former president of the U.S. Association for Energy Economics:

Nonsense! Panic drove oil to that peak in 2008, but it was primarily the recession that drove it back down so far. Furthermore, U.S. domestic supply and demand are factors in world price, but usually not as significant as a variety of others.

    Most energy economists applauded President Bush's action in regard to offshore drilling, but suggesting that this "caused" the precipitous drop in global oil prices is akin to the rooster's boast that his crowing brought the sun up.

Michael Canes, Senior Research Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute and former Chief Economist of the American Petroleum Institute:

I would support a lifting of the Congressional moratorium ... However, it's important to get the arguments right, and attributing much of if not the entire fall in the price of oil to President Bush's lifting of the offshore drilling moratorium is not correct in my view."  Canes further wrote:

    Coincidence is not causation, and in this instance I'd say that the two events - the lifting of the moratoria and the ensuing reduction in oil prices - are much more in the coincidence realm than one of causation.  I say that for several reasons.

    1. There was a Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling in place at the time, and this moratorium was not lifted with the President's action.

    2. Even had that not been the case, the time from lifting of a moratorium to offshore leasing to drilling to discovery to production is measured in years, not weeks or months.   At best, the possibility of future production from the lifting of a moratorium might have had some very slight impact on the present price of oil, but even that is questionable because of the uncertainties and timing involved.

    3. Any such impact would be slight at best because worldwide production and consumption of oil at the time was about 85 million barrels per day, whereas new offshore U.S. discoveries from lifting of the moratorium likely would have yielded production of several hundred thousand barrels per day to maybe a million barrels per day, not many millions.  While every bit helps, such incremental amounts could not have reduced world prices by over one hundred dollars per barrel.

    4. Most oil market experts believe that the rapid and sustained reduction in oil prices that began in 2008 and extended beyond occurred because the world economy began to slow down and ultimately to experience a deep recession.   This is one way to reduce oil prices, but not a very attractive one.

    5. Finally, it is useful to put the President's lifting of the moratorium into context.  It occurred during the election campaign of 2008, at a time when gasoline prices had skyrocketed in the U.S., and it was accompanied by a request to Congress to remove the Congressional moratorium, putting pressure on Democrats to respond.  Just a normal part of politics, both sides push for such advantage during election season, the point only is that it's useful to understand the context of an action to better understand its rationale.

The overwhelming cause of the collapse in oil prices has been the faltering world economy, which has fueled the drop in consumption.

Link

The decline in oil prices came after a government report showed domestic crude oil stockpiles rose more than expected as Americans use less oil, in part because they are driving less. In the last month, domestic oil demand has fallen to its lowest level since June 1999, at 18.6 million barrels a day, according to the Energy Department.

Link

Oil markets, analysts said, have been spun around by lower consumption in a U.S. economy weakened by financial instability and by a change in sentiment among financial players, many of whom are scurrying to stem losses or protect much-needed capital.

"The downward pressure on oil is just extraordinary right now," said Daniel P. Ahn, an energy economist at Lehman Brothers

Link

In short, Jim, anyone with at least half-a-clue realizes that the drop in oil prices was caused by the 2008 recession, not Bush lifting the moratorium.  Even the API analysts who upport the lifting of the moratorium wouldn't try to sell that fairy tale.