Wow. Conservatives with backbones? Who knew?

By Ty on 07.29.08 4:47 pm

They’re out of practice and out of shape at this type of game. I hope they stretch first and work up to it. They might cramp up or pull something if they’re not careful. I have high hopes though!

By BCB on 07.29.08 8:58 pm

You can send Reid and Pelosi emails from their gov’t web sites.
I sent one to Reid noting that 75% of Americans want to drill and drill now and put in a jab that it would be very difficult for him to get relected on 25% of the vote.

They are sloooooowly feeling the heat but will it be enough and in time to force them to let go of their grip around America’s neck.

And then there is Ted “The Bridge” Stevens… perfect timing. Watch, Pelosi and Reid will trot that out as an example of how “Big Oil” has bought the GOP.

By Rick Forman on 07.30.08 9:17 am

I tried to make a point on an earlier post on offshore drilling but you deleted it, twice. Why?

By ellen on 08.01.08 1:34 am

Here goes again…

If lack of domestic production is the problem, then why are we currently exporting about 13% of what we produce today? It’s more profitable for big oil to do so. We sell our oil to Australia and Japan, where they’ll pay more for it, and buy the cheap stuff from Canada and the Middle East.

If you understand basic market economics, the oil companies are currently selling every drop they can produce at top dollar, so where’s the incentive to charge less?

Oil companies already have drilling rights on 68 million acres but choose not to exploit them because of the expense of often having to pay royalties to the landowners.

Why this issue of offshore drilling is a red herring:

1) There are 172 US offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, and 26 off of southern California. These rigs cover 77.3% of the known reserves or 68 billion barrels where drilling is already allowed.

2) The estimates of offshore oil reserves in areas where drilling has not been allowed amounts to only 18 billion barrels.

3) The untapped oil in the gulf would be extremely difficult and expensive to obtain. Most of it is under a mile of ocean, 1 to 2 miles of granite and a mile of salt. It would cost more to produce than it would sell for. In order to make this possible, the government would have to extend to oil companies subsidies and tax breaks. If you factor that in, we�d actually be paying more for the oil than we would have to pay if we just bought it on the world market.

4) The 18 billion new offshore reserves would amount to just over 2 years of US oil demand. This added supply would take 10 years to obtain and only affect global oil prices by less than a nickel.

5) One spill on the level of the Exxon Valdez would cost as much as several billion dollars to clean up, not to mention the possibility of ruining a coastal habitat for a generation.

Reminder: McCain, his staff, and other conservatives repeatedly lied by saying that no oil was spilled during hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Even LA Republican Governor Jindal was clueless about the oil spills created by Katrina and Rita. The Minerals Management Service reported that 113 oil platforms were ‘totally destroyed’ a total of 124 offshore spills. The US coastguard, which is responsible for the marine environment, said more than 6.5 million gallons of crude oil had been spilled – one of the worst spills in US history.

The fact is that Democrats want to see more domestic drilling where leases are already held.

If oil companies are allowed to drill absolutely everywhere they want to drill, they’d hit peak production in 15 to 20 years and that peak production would meet just 5% of US demand. How much price pressure do you really think that’s going to create?

By ellen on 08.01.08 1:37 am

Ellen-
Your comments were not deleted twice. They are on another post where you posted them twice on the post entitled Republicans Demand action. Now you are posting them a third time on this thread.

I’ve already heard all your points from Nancy Pelosi anyway. Yes, there are 68 million acres in leases–but that’s just for exploration. It’s not proven reserves. It’s step one in a process.

Oil companies, unlike politicians, are looking 30 and 50 years down the road. Nancy’s plan that you are touting, is completely ridiculous. Until all the red tape, permits, approval, drilling (if there is any to drill) moves forward on one lease, Nancy says companies can’t be looking anywhere else.

Do you know what that does to supply? Do you know how long the process is from beginning to end?

Other facts: The government’s Energy Information Administration reports that U.S. crude oil field production declined to 1.9 billion barrels in 2005 from 3.5 billion in 1970, and the share of our oil that is imported has increased to 60% from 27% in 1985.

And link here to see subsidies per BTU.

And these facts: According to data from the National Academy of Sciences, just 1% of oil found in U.S. waters comes from drilling and extraction, vs. 63% from natural seepage, 32% from cars and boats, and 4% from tankers.

According to the Department of the Interior, since 1985 more than 7 billion barrels of oil have been produced in federal waters, but less than 0.001% was spilled.

By Terry on 08.01.08 5:37 am

Ok, here goes again (again):

WE, the people, want to drill.

WE, the people, don’t want to subsidize crops while the cost goes up so that Scottie Pippen makes more money.

We, the people, don’t want to subsidize the large population of single mothers that have an entire life handed to them for doing nothing more than breeding.

We, the people, want liberty and freedom. How is that accomplished by INCREASED government involvement? I don’t care which party they are from, GET GOVERNMENT OUT OF MY LIFE. We don’t need, nor can we really say that a museum for Punxsutawney Phil is the duty or obligation for the Federal government. (They did put that into a bill.) And yet, these same politicians, that are so all knowing in the reasons for oil and gas prices, feel free enough to use the IRS and their guns to “liberate” portions of my paycheck for such frivolities. Government does not create wealth or technology. Why don’t they let the American people do what they do best instead of whipping all of us into submission?

By BCB on 08.04.08 12:20 pm

[...] I’ve praised Senator Alexander for taking a stand and going to the mat in order to open up drilling. But the drilling provision in this Gang of 10 [...]

By terryfrank.net » Gang of 10 Continued on 08.11.08 6:10 am