Report: Florida has insignificant offshore oil

Estimated reserves in Florida waters would provide the United States with less than a week’s worth of oil and have no discernible effect on prices at the pump or U.S. reliance on foreign oil, according to a report released Friday as part of a state Senate review of whether a ban on offshore drilling should be lifted.

Most of the total reserves east of Apalachicola also are gas. The oil estimated in state waters would boost U.S. supplies by less than 100 million barrels, or a small fraction of 1 percent.

“To put that in context, the total estimated amount of oil reserves in Florida would satisfy the U.S. demand for oil [approximately 20 million barrels a day] for less than a week,” according to the report.