Waiting for a gusher

Roller-coaster gasoline prices -- with more ups than downs, it seems -- are convincing many Americans that they need to make some kind of adjustment to keep household budgets in balance. Naturally, competition is stirring among alternate fuel manufacturers, car makers and public transit backers.

It's an opportune time for oil producers to announce a big find, as California-based Chevron Corp. did this week. Consumers could be forgiven for taking this news with a grain of salt.

What we know is that Chevron has drilled a deep test well in the Gulf of Mexico 175 miles off the Louisiana coast, and oil came rushing up at a rate that would make production profitable. To know how much oil is out there, the company must drill another well. Chevron won't even decide whether it's worthwhile to bring this oil to market for another year or two.

The going price of a barrel of oil will figure prominently in that decision, just as high prices lately have made oil in remote locations worth hunting. British Petroleum last week joined Chevron and several other companies that are searching for oil in the Gulf's deep waters, fields once dismissed as too costly to exploit.

Yet, the cost of production there certainly hasn't fallen. A Chevron executive told The Washington Post that its test well alone cost the company $100 million. For consumers, the best news is that this oil is close to the U.S. market and less susceptible to the political interruptions seen in the Middle East.

U.S. oil production has been declining, according to the federal Energy Information Agency, while domestic oil use has been on the rise. As things stand, only a fraction of the 6 billion barrels of oil used every year in this country come from domestic wells. Importing the Middle East's plentiful oil has been cheaper and more profitable for producers. New oil from the Gulf of Mexico would be unlikely to break our addiction to imported oil.

For that, consumers are going to need a range of transportation options. Ethanol made from switchgrass sounds good, as do cars that can run on electricity. Gasoline will remain an option for many, particularly those who can move closer to their jobs and use less. More people should have the choice of public transportation. The only foolish choice would be counting on some new gusher to bring back cheap gas.