For decades, huge amounts of oil and gas off America’s coastal waters have been off limit to the oil and gas investor.

While drilling is limited to a tiny portion of the coastline, an estimated 17.8 billion and 76 trillion cubic feet of gas are off-limits due to a congressional and presidential moratoria signed back in 1983.

Because of today’s world of surging record high oil and gas prices there is a high amount of pressure being mounted on the US government to remove those restrictions.

In fact, on July 14, 2008, President Bush did lift this offshore executive band although the Congressional prohibition ban still remains in place.

If the total ban were to be lifted you might see a pull back in oil prices for the short term. But because it takes many years to develop new wells you should see oil prices rise again to new highs.

This would send a signal to the oil and gas investor that U.S. is serious about producing new oil and gas. When and if this does happen, it would lead to one of the greatest profit opportunities we will ever see.

This would indeed boost our domestic production of oil and gas, and maybe keep energy prices from destroying our economy.

Is offshore drilling an answer to this oil addiction?

It does give us access to the only vast, untapped oil reserve left on this planet.

But is it likely, that’s going to change anytime soon?