I'm guessing the cost of getting oil from deep wells or sand wouldn't be all that much more expensive than getting oil shipped in from across the globe.
Oh, its quite a bit more expensive.
That wasn't the point anyway. The point is, the land containing all this oil is completely off-limits in many cases, often thanks to the environmental lobby.
And because the damage resulting would out weigh the gains, economically and environmentally.
Certainly not worth it for a band aid fix to a large problem. By large, I mean "oh god, I'm going to bleed out in hour" bad.
It's got me thinking, though - is there perhaps some other way to get hold of a combustible liquid besides oil? There's corn ethanol, but that stuff sucks and takes a bite out of food production too. I've heard a similar, but better, fuel can be derived from sugar, not sure if I'm remembering right though. There has got to be, somewhere out there, another plant, not so connected to the food supply, from which fuel can be extracted.
We also have this thing called hydrogen. And refining other fuels from bio matter is certainly possible. Here is the catch though, it takes more energy to produce this than oil. The food supply isn't even that big of a deal, more the economics of keeping it cost effective means using crops from less developed nations, which drives their prices up leading to local issues.
Of course, this doesn't address the other aspect, which is ICE engines are wildly inefficient compared to electric. By this, I mean 30% to 95%, so you waste the fast majority of the energy in fuel to heat.
Where there's a will, there's a way - what concerns me is that there is no will. The green lobby has been exerting political pressure to push everyone toward electric cars instead. At this point so much is invested in electric motor technology, I don't think anyone would bother to look.
So much is invested because it is magnitudes more efficient. And solves many of the compromises required for combustion engines, like power delivery and the need for gearing. Torque at idle means drifting and donuts are a simple tap of the foot away.
Some of it could be backroom deals, some of it could be the green lobby whining about polar bears or whatever. The thing about that is, some of the world's other oil-producing nations (not naming names, to avoid moderation) barely care about people, so how much value do you think they place on their local wildlife?
Mentioning Saudi Arabia or Syria won't get you banned, their human right issues are common knowledge. But your reasoning is just so... so... beyond tasteless I can't even fathom it. Are you truly so narcissistic?
Like I said, blame the environmentalists. They whine about pollution to their freinds in D.C., or in some cases, in California, said friends start pushing all the new alternative technologies with subsidies and regulations. This skews the profit & loss equations - suddenly manufacturers have to start building money-losing electric cars to keep the paper pushers happy, and customers start buying more of them because the government promised them money back. From the perspective of a normal person, an electric car still doesn't make a lick of sense, but until Uncle Sam is removed from the equation, most or all of the "OH NOES PEAK OIL" research & development will be concentrated on making them make sense. There are, I think, very strong reasons to search for a feasible gasoline-substitue, and to go full speed ahead on oil extraction in the mean time
You realize Tesla is working in a nation with almost no infrastructure and still looking to be profitable in the next year or two? These aren't money losing cars, they are an invest in the future of transportation.
Relatively speaking, liquid fuels have a high energy density - one of the main reasons electric cars still don't work is the need to carry 1,000 lbs of battery for about 1.5 gallons worth of energy - and if the Tesla Roadster is anything to go by, it's still inferior even if you ignore that due to being more vulnerable to overheating.
And the Model S has plenty of range for major trips along the West Coast with only minimal charging stations. If we actually develop anything close to proper infrastructure, the range of a couple hundred miles with 15 minute charges would mean you'd barely notice a difference.
The over heating issue isn't an issue, check your sources. Oh wait, you don't have any.
They also refuel more quickly. That's the other main problem with electrics - spend all night recharging to get maybe 100 miles of range on a good day, though Tesla's designs seem to be capable of slightly more. Hydrogen solves this problem, but there are issues with getting hold of it so at the end it's probably even worse than electric. The only reason I advocated for it before was because Mazda had apparently figured out how to run it in an ICE.
Rapid charge stations take 15 minutes for nearly 300 miles. Over night charge on a modern full size is similar, assuming you don't invest in the charge station at home.
You realize getting hydrogen is something I can literally do in my apartment? The process of producing it is stupid straight forward, but again, not terrible efficient and ultimately pointless because ICE is hilariously inefficient. Also, band aid fix.
The fun argument. How do you shift it? What does it sound like?
Who needs to shift when you run 12 second quarter miles and swing the back end out on command?
Oh, and speaking of energy density, refuelling, and range: have fun being trapped in the big city!
If you'd read anything in ages you'd realize this isn't the case.
So, that's the sitch. We need some sort of gasoline-substitute that's compatible with existing engines, and that is derived as little as possible from crude oil. We can't rely on the mainstream to get it for us because they've been more or less paid off to work on electric cars. And, honestly, I can't think of a grimmer automotive stay of execution that having to drive one of those. So, brains, get thinking!
Brains are thinking, much better than yours for sure. Guess what? They think you're an idiot stuck in the past clinging to the old ways because change is scary. Oh, and an absolutely miserable person.
tl;dr - read a god damn book that isn't the Bible.
I laughed much louder, really, than I should have. This is why I park my diesel truck facing downhill when I'm far from home. 
