Alaskan oil is easy. Near offshore oil is relatively easy. If federal lands were open to exploration, it is likely that more easy oil would be discovered. Unfortunately, keeping Americans dependent on foreign oil appears to be the official policy.
Agree with your reply. I used Texas and Saudi as these are the most recognized by consumers as the source of oil (could have used Canada, Mexico, but same applies).
Also, with Alaska (and Calif), the first instinct for most is to shut out any communication due to "environmental"/MotherEarth ideology. It's not worth the added discourse.
(kind of like the Baakan field being extremely wide, but equally narrow (shallow) in places -- how to determine where to drill to avoid those narrow access?
The Dakota's being a harsh area to drill and almost a third have shut down, as of last week (due to economy).
etc, etc. It's not always as easy as it seems.