Energy secretary says Saudis hold key to U.S. gas prices

WASHINGTON – Although Congress is set to vote this week on a bill sponsors say will help provide Americans a more reliable supply of gasoline, Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said Wednesday that pump prices likely will stay high for years to come.

Energy conservation is the only way to significantly affect the price of gasoline, natural gas or other fuels in the near future, he told reporters.

But most of the Bush administration's efforts to achieve energy efficiency and savings will be to exhort consumers and industry to drive less and use less, he said.

In a wide-ranging discussion of energy policy, Bodman said that the impact of Hurricane Rita, which idled refineries in Texas and Louisiana, "will reverberate through the economy of this country for some time."

He did not take a position on the "Gasoline for America's Security Act," introduced by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton, R-Texas, which would make locating and building refineries easier.

Bodman said President Bush likely would ask for additional energy legislation this year, however.

He said that in the long run, the number of U.S. refineries will not be one of the major factors affecting gasoline prices.

He said some energy executives have told him they do not believe additional refineries should be built in this country because it would be cheaper to build the facilities abroad and import refined products.

Besides, he said, the main factor affecting gasoline prices is the availability of crude oil.

"I can tell you right now, the key is Saudi Arabia," the energy secretary said.

He said whether the Saudi kingdom can keep a commitment to increase its output of crude oil by 2 million barrels a day over the next two years will be the main factor affecting prices.

He said some oil industry analysts doubt the Saudis will be able to keep the increased output pledge.

Meanwhile, he said, the most easily accessed energy "is in the energy we currently waste."

"All of us have got to get used to the fact that we have to be more thoughtful in how we use energy," he said.

Americans are accustomed to abundant fuel, he said, "and those days, at least in the medium term, are behind us and we're now dealing with a very different environment."

But he said the administration will continue to oppose measures such as an increase in he federal gasoline taxes or raising automobile efficiency standards.

"A large tax on gasoline would certainly be more interference in the free market than we would like to see," he added.

The Energy Department has launched a voluntary energy efficiency and conservation campaign, complete with a mascot – the "Energy Hog" – and a Web site, www.energysavers.gov.

The Barton bill is set for a vote in the House of Representatives Friday.

The Fort Worth congressman pushed it through his committee without hearings last week in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Jeff Nesmith's e-mail address is jeffn(at)coxnews.com.