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Can U.S. drillers outlast drop in oil prices? Your Say

USA TODAY
A pump jack works in an oil field in Van, Texas.

What's behind oil prices dropping more than 50% per barrel in about six months? Comments From Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

U.S. drillers are highly leveraged to extract oil through "fracking." They can make money when gas prices are high, but they lose money and can't repay loans when gas prices are low.

The Saudis are maintaining their high output and driving prices further down to put U.S. drillers out of business.

— David Bowerman

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has monopolized the market for decades. What is new is that more oil is being produced by non-OPEC members, reducing OPEC's clout. Saudis can still manipulate the market, but not as effectively as previously.

Julie Felix

While crude prices are the primary driver of gasoline costs, the actual gasoline price is set on its own market. Other factors such as refinery supply also affect the price.

Mathew Andresen

Let's have a dialogue about how this is the perfect time for the U.S. to become totally energy independent. The low oil prices, along with increased drilling in the U.S., give us a wonderful opportunity. Build the Keystone XL pipeline. Here is a golden opportunity to make sure no country ever again holds us hostage by using the threat of withholding oil from us.

Johnny Rose

Any outrage about high prices should be directed at airlines that raise fares and start charging for checked baggage in the name of high gas prices but don't remove the charges when prices go down.

Denise Goodwin

Push toward energy independence

Letters to the editor:

Thank you for running the article "Saudi prince: $100-a-barrel oil 'never' again." It was well done and incredibly enlightening.

Saudi Arabia needs high oil prices in order to fund most of its government expenses, but it can weather low oil prices longer than most other oil-dependent nations because it has $750 billion in foreign currency reserves.

It will be interesting to see how the oil market shakes out, and how long Venezuela can keep its head above water if the Saudis keep pumping.

Isaac Orr; Waupaca, Wis.

There is no question that the Saudis are trying their best to glut the oil market to keep prices disastrously low. Their motive is to wreck America's efforts toward energy independence, specifically the burgeoning oil shale industry.

We can't let them do it, even if it means government price supports for oil. Our national security depends on it. We cannot be dragged into every Mideast political dispute on account of fuel availability.

John L. Indo; Houston

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