Wasn't sure which forum to put this in.

The US has several large oil fields, of which the one off of Louisiana is one. But, as I understand it, (please correct me if I'm wrong) we sell (or give) leases to outside sources, they get the oil and sell it back to us?

Is that the way it works? So if we have the oil, why are we BUYING it back from folks who have gotten a lease to drill? Recently I heard that the lease that BP has is MINIMAL in cost related to the value of the oil they obtain and then sell back?

And if we have known oil reserves as massive as the ones in Alaska and in the gulf of Mexico, why are we paying other countries for it?

Corporate finances are all a shell game.

An example:

Typically a company will pay to build a new building. Then they will sell the property, sometimes at a loss (tax credit) and lease the building back to occupy it.

The lease cost is deductible, the loss on the sale is deductible and the end of the day the building is no longer an asset that can be used for or against the corporation.

It is money laundering done is a "legal" fashion by the people that buy and sell our "laws"

The question you should be asking is "who" leased them the land to begin with? Who in our country is proffiting, while turning the screws to the rest of us?