Several members of Congress may try to minimize it. But experts say that a basic force behind dramatically higher oil and gas prices is more expensive exploration and production.“Both the public and policy focus is on [the crude oil] price. But the dramatic increases in costs are bedeviling the industry, delaying new supplies and constitute one of the major reasons for rising prices,” Cambridge Energy Research Associates Chairman Daniel Yergin told a US Senate workshop on oil prices on July 17.“The problem is not only access but building facilities to produce new fields. An attitude has permeated the market that if an oil company says production will begin in 6 years, it...