Democrats and environmentalists are
keeping the price of gasoline high for a number of reasons. Democrats seem to enjoy
having a crisis to solve, but unfortunately their solutions are usually worse than
the problems. In addition, the environmentalists hate to see capitalism and industry
succeed. Many of them are, quite literally, earth-worshiping hippies. Rational
arguments are lost on people who believe that they can "save Mother Earth" from the evil
oil companies.
If these people would stand aside, offshore oil production could expand, domestic oil
supplies would go up, and prices at the gas pump would steadily decrease.
Federal
scientists: Limit offshore drilling plans. Citing danger to marine life, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration opposes opening large tracts of coast to drilling and recommends
buffer zones off Santa Barbara.
Gaia's Oil Spills.
According to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, between 1985 and 2001, spills from offshore platforms and
pipelines accounted for only 2% of the oil released in U.S. waters. ... Nature, not man, is by far the largest
contributor of oil into the marine environment. In the Gulf of Mexico, natural oil seeps account for 95%
of offshore oil, the National Academy of Sciences reports. In Southern California, they contribute 98%
of the crude in the offshore zone. Those same natural seeps are responsible for 60% of the oil found in
the North American marine environment.
California Assembly Expunges Santa
Barbara Drilling Vote. The California State Assembly is refusing to provide the names of
assemblymen who voted to ban oil recovery off the coast of Santa Barbara. Twenty-eight members
supported the ban, but their votes cannot be found in the official state database. Assembly leaders
expunged the votes in order to spare lawmakers running for re-election an official record of their
controversial decision.
The Editor says...
How can we have a representative government if the legislators conduct secret ballots?
Cubans and Russians May Drill Near
Florida Shore. The Russian and Cuban governments have contracted for Russian energy companies
to search for oil and natural gas deposits in the North Cuba Basin within 45 miles of the Florida Keys.
Should Russian energy companies find and recover oil and natural gas in the basin, they would be drilling
closer to Florida shores than U.S. companies are allowed to drill.
Obama Underwrites
Offshore Drilling. You read that headline correctly. Unfortunately, the Obama Administration
is financing oil exploration off Brazil. The U.S. is going to lend billions of dollars to Brazil's
state-owned oil company, Petrobras, to finance exploration of the huge offshore discovery in Brazil's Tupi oil
field in the Santos Basin near Rio de Janeiro.
This would explain it... Passing the Smell Test.
Earlier this week, AT's Rick Moran highlighted the Obama Administration's decision to invest $2 billion to finance offshore
drilling in Brazil. Many good questions there, including the pertinent question of why offshore drilling is okay for Brazil,
but not for the U.S. Since the initial story broke late last week, Bloomberg has reported that billionaire Democratic
donor George Soros acquired over $800 million in Petrobas stock during the second quarter of 2008...
Deep oil: a
giant discovery. BP has announced a "giant" oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, drilled to
a total depth of 35,055 feet. Drilling began at a depth of 4,132 feet below the surface of the
water. No further details of the magnitude of the discovery are being released. But this is
further evidence that deep oil and gas deposits may dwarf the resources discovered at shallower depths.
BP's oil find is big, but miles
out and down. A major new oil discovery by BP in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the potential
of a highly touted deep-water area where other oil companies also scored big in recent years, but the task of
producing the crude has just begun.
BP Finds
'Giant' Oil Source Deep Under Gulf of Mexico. BP said Wednesday [9/2/2009] that it made a
"giant" oil discovery in the Gulf of Mexico, and analysts said that the find deep below the sea floor
raised hopes that further exploration in the region could help sustain U.S. offshore oil production.
The discovery, known as Tiber, was made 250 miles southeast of Houston and was "in the same league" as
other big fields BP has discovered in the Gulf of Mexico, BP spokesman Daren Beaudo said.
Forget 'Peak Oil' —
Drill, BP, Drill. Ignoring peak-oil Cassandras, BP has made another giant oil find in the Gulf
of Mexico. We're not running out of oil. Our government just doesn't want us to look for it.
Gov.
Schwarzenegger Calls for Drilling off Santa Barbara Coast. Facing a widening budget deficit in the midst
of a deepening recession, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has proposed tapping into a rich source of oil and
natural gas near Santa Barbara to help alleviate the Golden State?s growing economic woes. Long an opponent of
offshore drilling, Schwarzenegger now supports a plan that would allow Texas-based Plains Exploration & Production Co. to
bore as many as 30 wells from existing oil platforms near Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Offshore Oil Suffers From Obama Restrictions on New
Drilling. Congress lifted its 27-year moratorium on drilling off Florida and the East and West Coast
last year, but billions of barrels of that oil remains untouched and off-limits because the Obama administration has
postponed development there. The Obama administration favors green energy and provides generous tax subsidies
to wind and solar.
Activists Push for Offshore
Energy Drilling Ban. A day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar ordered a review of offshore
oil and gas development, Congress is set to hear from environmental activists and officials from coastal
communities who want to continue the ban on offshore drilling.
Obama's Will to Drill. Gas and oil
producers are getting a case of indigestion that no anti-acid can cure. They fear that President Obama will break
his campaign promise to allow drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and the outer continental shelf, arguably jeopardizing U.S.
energy security. ... On his way out the door, George Bush accelerated the process for getting drilling started by two
years, meaning that the paperwork part of the process would have ended sometime in 2010, rather than 2012. Energy
companies applauded this because "green tape" prevents offshore explorers from actually putting a drill-bit to ocean
floor for at least five years, and often longer. But on Feb. 10, Obama's Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar,
announced that he is de-accelerating the process by 180 days, to Sept. 23, to allow more public input and to
give his department more time to review the latest data on U.S. offshore reserves.
Administration delays move toward more offshore
drilling. Calling it a "headlong rush of the worst kind," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today put the
brakes on a Bush administration proposal to expand offshore oil and gas drilling. Salazar said President Barack
Obama's administration will wait until September to decide whether to expand offshore drilling and invited public
comments on the Bush administration's plan to open up as much as 300 million acres of coastal waters for oil
and gas leases.
Obama: I won't move quickly
on offshore drilling. A day after his Interior secretary signaled plans for a cautious approach to oil and
natural gas exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he's "holding out for a
more comprehensive strategy" for U.S. energy development before approving offshore drilling along the East Coast. ... The
president's stand on drilling is a sharp departure from that of former President George W. Bush, whose aides unveiled
plans last fall to sell leases for oil and gas development off the Virginia coast.
Barney Frank Opposes Offshore
Drilling For Fishing Industry. "Well, my main focus on that is on the fishing industry," Frank
said. "I represent the port of New Bedford and Fairhaven — the single most prosperous fishing port
in America and the fishing industry has always been very worried about this." But one fisheries group
expressed a completely different view. Bob Jones, executive director of the Southeast Fisheries
Association, explained to the Northwest Florida Daily News on June 22 that oil rigs actually help
fish populations.
A Change in Climate for Climate
Change Policy. At least a dozen recent polls show that three-fourths of likely voters put far
more importance on the U.S. oil supply than global warming. This prevalent public opinion dissolved
the U.S. Congress' long and intransigent opposition to increased domestic oil production. In late
September, the 30-year bans on offshore oil production expired. The rapid decline in the price of oil,
as a result of economic slowdown, has not yet squelched broad support for more domestic oil production.
Offshore Drilling Ban: An
important event occurred this week, though it went largely unnoticed because of the economic turmoil on Wall
Street. On September 30 Congress allowed the 27-year-old ban on offshore oil drilling to expire.
This is very good news for Americans and for our energy independence. Conversely, it should be bad news
for the world's tyrants who profit enormously from our dependence upon their vast oil resources. One can
hope that the expiration of this ban permanently ends the unnecessary and impractical Congressional regulation
of our natural resources under the disingenuous guise of environmental protection.
Leftists
have blocked U.S. drilling for too long. In 1993, our Congress passed a bill to drill offshore
and the Southern U.S. for oil. This bill was vetoed by President Bill Clinton and was not overridden.
He set a moratorium of 20 years for drilling, which was a very bad decision against America. If we
were drilling in the U.S. and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and building refineries and pipelines
along with atomic plants, we could have been employing over one million workers in the process and in
operation of the refineries and plants.
Energy in the
Balance. Obama and Pelosi have no answer to a few simple questions: If they are now convinced that
it is a good idea to develop our own resources of oil, why do they oppose a bill that would do that, and only that?
Instead of making this now-agreed measure one ornament on a Christmas tree to subsidies, why not pass it on its own,
and asap? And if it is now good policy to give some states the power to approve drilling off their coasts, why
not off Pelosi's California?
Another reason to
drill: Interior Department studies estimate at least 19 billion barrels of oil and
84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lie untapped beneath the 85 percent of our territorial
waters currently off-limits. That many barrels would nearly double the nation's proven oil
reserves. And 84 trillion cubic feet is enough natural gas to supply America's homes for
16 years. And, it should be noted, these initial government estimates of energy in restricted
areas tend to be on the low side. These amounts, if brought online, would be more than enough to
make a difference in heating oil and natural gas prices for many years to come.
Bush Urges Congress
to Expand Oil Drilling After August Recess. President George W. Bush criticized Democrats in
Congress for not acting on his proposal to open more domestic land to oil drilling, saying lawmakers should
revisit the issue when they return from their August recess. "Democratic leaders are leaving town
without taking any action to ease the burden of high gas prices," Bush said in his weekly radio broadcast.
"If Congress does not act, they will owe families across America an explanation for why they're ignoring
their concerns."
Democrats Reluctantly
Embrace Offshore Drilling. For decades, opposition to new offshore oil drilling has been a core
principle of Congressional Democrats, ranking in the party pantheon somewhere just below protecting Social
Security and increasing the minimum wage. But a concerted Republican assault over domestic oil
production and the threat of political backlash from financially pressed motorists have Democrats poised
to embrace a fundamental shift in energy policy.
Offshore oil drilling:
cleaner than Mother Nature. Democrats and other environmental naysayers cite the 80,000 barrels
that spilled six miles off of Santa Barbara, Calif., inundating beaches and aquatic life. This hydrocarbon
Hindenburg haunts the memories of those who witnessed it. But this genuine catastrophe occurred in January
1969 — nearly 40 years ago. That era's drilling technology has gone the way of Flower Power
and black-and-white TV. Innovation has boosted the safety and environmental reliability of offshore
drilling.
Let go
of the past and allow offshore oil drilling. California produces only 39% of the crude oil it
uses. An additional 16% comes from Alaska and the remaining 45% is bought from foreign sources,
according to the California Energy Commission. So there's a gusher of hypocrisy here: The state
that is the biggest consumer of gasoline in the nation — but produces less than 40% of what it
uses — is opposed to drilling for more oil off its shores. We're slackers not pulling our weight.
Energy
Policy End Game. In 41 days, the long-imposed moratorium on offshore oil drilling and domestic
oil shale production is set to expire — gone. This happens automatically and can be stopped only if
Congress votes to re-establish the ban. Lifting the moratorium might free up as much as 100 years'
worth of oil and gas for domestic consumption. But keeping domestic energy supplies off limits is
something Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid and their environmentalist allies desperately
want to do.
Democrats
and Drilling. It took a few months, and more than a few polls, but Democrats have concluded that
they've lost the debate against more oil-and-gas drilling. The surrender became official on Saturday
[8/16/2008], when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that even she was ready to "consider opening portions"
of the Outer Continental Shelf to oil exploration. That's great news, assuming she and her fellow
Democrats really mean it.
Debunking Democrats on Drilling: The
mere prospect that the U.S. might get serious about increasing the supply of oil has sent speculators scurrying for
cover. Imagine what would happen if we actually explored, drilled and produced some of that offshore
oil — which, by the way, could be way more than 18 billion barrels. The U.S. Minerals Management
Service estimated in 2006 that the quantity of undiscovered technically recoverable oil in the outer continental
shelf is between 66.6 to 115.3 billion barrels of oil.
Poll: Majority of Floridians back
offshore drilling. With gas prices hovering at $4 a gallon, a majority of Floridians now support
drilling for oil in protected areas offshore, according to a new poll. The survey finds support for
drilling at 60 percent….
Reid
plan splits Democrats on oil drilling. "I am unalterably opposed to drilling," said Sen. Frank
Lautenberg, D-N.J., a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, citing the recent Mississippi
River oil spill. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is also reportedly against the plan and may
not allow it to be brought to the floor of that body.
The Editor says...
The Mississippi River oil spill on July 24 happened when a barge and a tanker
collided.*
It wouldn't have mattered if the oil came from offshore or elsewhere. The oil spills to which Democrats
frequently point are accidents in transportation, not production.
Drill, Drill,
Drill Is Working. As Sen. John McCain and the GOP leadership nationalize the drill, drill, drill
message, the Republican party might conceivably be riding a summer political rally. The question of
offshore drilling, along with expanded domestic energy production, has suddenly become the biggest political
and economic wedge issue of this election. Is there a Republican tsunami in the making?
This oil is worth its salt.
More stands between the world's oil producers and the bounty of oil and gas beneath the Gulf of Mexico's seafloor
than sediment and sea life. It's salt. But it's nothing like the granules in the shaker on the dinner
table. It's a massive, undulating series of thick canopies, sheets and tongue-shaped chunks that stretch
across the deepwater Gulf far off the coastlines of Texas and Louisiana.
Offshore drilling draws support.
Dave Mica is one who believes it's time to start drilling in the Gulf for oil and natural gas. … "Oil seeps
naturally," Mica said. "You know, think of the 'Beverly Hillbillies' and Jed Clampett and the bubbling
crude. More oil seeps naturally than is spilled by man. It does not minimize situations that
occur and the necessity for cleaning them up, but I think it's irresponsible not to look at the track record
of the energy industry as a whole."
Bush lifts executive
ban on offshore drilling. Putting pressure on congressional Democrats to back more exploration for oil,
President Bush on Monday [7/14/2008] lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling that has stood since his father was
president. But the move, by itself, will do nothing unless Congress acts as well.
GOP
eyes temporary funding bill to lift drilling ban. President Bush removed an executive order
Monday imposed by his father that prevented drilling along the coast. But in order to give oil
companies access to new offshore areas, Congress must remove its three-decade-old ban that prevents drilling
along the Outer Continental Shelf.
Offshore
Drilling a Potent Issue for McCain, GOP. When Democratic leaders shut down Congress last week
for the rest of the summer to avoid dealing with record oil and gas prices, they may have committed the
biggest political blunder of the 2008 elections. What they didn't expect was that many Republican House
members would not leave town without addressing the hottest national issue in this year's presidential and
congressional campaigns.
U.S. and Canada split over Lake Erie drilling.
Offshore drilling has become one of the hot political issues in a new era of $4-a-gallon gasoline. But no
one is pushing for drilling off the north shore of the United States — except the Canadians. As
it has for many years, a Canadian oil and gas company is pumping natural gas out of 480 wells in Lake Erie,
most of them toward the eastern end of the lake.
More
Offshore Oil Drilling. For fear of oil spills, as of 2008, the U.S. Federal government and
various states ban drilling in thousands upon thousands of square miles off the U.S. Coast. These areas,
primarily on the Outer Continental Shelf, hold an estimated 115 billion barrels of oil and 633 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas. This leaves America's energy needs increasingly at the mercy of foreign
autocrats, despots and maniacs. All the while worldwide demand for oil ratchets ever and ever upward.
The
Environmental Benefits of Offshore Drilling: Louisiana produces almost 30 percent of
America's commercial fisheries. Only Alaska (ten times the size of the Bayou state) produces slightly
more. So obviously, Louisiana's coastal waters are immensely rich and prolific in seafood. These
same coastal waters contain 3,200 of the roughly 3,700 offshore production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
From these, Louisiana also produces 25 percent of America's domestic oil, and no major oil spill has ever
soiled its coast. So for those interested in evidence over hysterics, by simply looking bayou-ward, a
lesson in the "environmental perils" of offshore oil drilling presents itself very clearly.
Offshore Drilling in the Gulf of
Mexico: The Mineral Management Services (MMS), an agency of the Department of Interior, estimates that the
OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) contains enough natural gas to heat 100 million homes for 60 years or enough oil to
replace current Persian Gulf imports for 59 years. … But despite these findings, there are those from radical
environmental groups that oppose critical access to domestic oil and natural gas, claiming they are protecting the
environment.
Environmentalists Say Yes
to Offshore Drilling. When an environmental group formed for the sole purpose of opposing offshore oil
drilling warmly embraces a plan to drill off its own coast, you know something important has changed in our culture:
Americans have recognized that offshore oil drilling is largely safe. Since 1975, drilling in the Exclusive Economic
Zone (within 200 miles of the U.S. coast) has had a 99.999% safety record, according to the Energy Information
Administration, which reports that "only .001 percent of the oil produced has been spilled."
House Majority Leader Refuses to
Take Position on Drilling. At his weekly pen and pad briefing for reporters, House Majority
Leader Steny Hoyer refused to answer a Capitol Hill reporter's repeated question about whether he would
vote to support expanded offshore drilling.
Hollywood
Once Hailed Offshore Drilling. In energy production, Louisiana has been well ahead of the learning
curve for decades, and offers ready proof regarding its much-hyped "perils." The first offshore oil production
platforms went up off the Louisiana coast in 1947. By 1953 Hollywood (no less!) was already hailing the
pioneering wildcatters who moved major mountains — technological, logistical, psychological,
cultural — to tap and reap this source that today provides a quarter of America's domestic
petroleum, without causing a single major oil spill in the process.
Well
Oiled Fear Tactics: The Outer Continental Shelf has been off-limits to oil exploration and development
for a quarter of a century thanks to Executive Orders and Congressional votes. We are told that there well
could be 18 billion barrels within reach of our shores. No wonder the Saudis are considering stepping
up their oil production — they had better sell to us while they still have a customer. Once we
tap our offshore reserves, in 10 years we will not need their oil. By tapping ANWR and other domestic
sources, we could actually wean ourselves off of OPEC altogether.
Our
Own Oil Cartel: Contemplate this the next time you spend $60 or more filling up your tinny
little car with gasoline made from imported oil: The U.S. government knows where it can get its hands on
more untapped petroleum than exists in the proven reserves of Iran or Iraq, which have 136 billion
barrels and 115 billion barrels, respectively.
The
Truth About Gas Prices: [Scroll down] The Destin Dome lies 25 miles south of
Pensacola, Florida. It contains more than three trillion cubic feet of much needed dry natural gas.
Chevron acquired leases at Destin Dome in 1984 during the Reagan administration. But Reagan was out of
office before the field could be developed and Bush the Elder came to power. Bush the Elder imposed an
ill-conceived moratorium on leasing oil and gas fields off most of the Florida coast. … The truth is, the
United States is awash in domestic oil and natural gas.
House Subcommittee Rejects Plan to Open U.S.
Waters to More Oil Exploration. A House subcommittee on Wednesday [6/11/2008] rejected a
Republican-led effort to open up more U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa.,
spearheaded the effort. His proposal would open up U.S. waters between 50 and 200 miles off
shore for drilling. The first 50 miles off shore would be left alone.
China's
Drilling for Oil in America's Backyard, Republicans Say. House Republicans want the American
people to know that right now — around 60 miles off the coast of Key West, Fla. — China
is drilling for oil, thanks to a lease issued by Cuba. But 1,200 miles north of Key West, Democrats in
Washington are blocking the United States from conducting its own environmentally-safe oil and gas exploration
in similar U.S. coastal areas….
Opening America's Waters
to Energy Production: Washington, D.C., must do something about the increasing price of gasoline,
now topping $4.00 per gallon. One important step would be to tap our own supplies of oil. Yet for
decades, overlapping congressional and presidential restrictions on drilling for energy in the Outer Continental
Shelf (OCS) have stood in the way of lower prices for oil and natural gas. The President took a positive
step yesterday [6/18/2008] by urging Congress to rescind the ban on drilling in American-controlled waters.
Green
groups bolster lobby against offshore drilling. Environmental groups are scrambling to shore up
opposition in the Democrat-led Congress to more offshore oil drilling, countering the push for added domestic
production by President Bush and voters pinched by rising gasoline prices. "There are plenty of us on
the other side creating pressure, too," said Nick Berning, spokesman for Friends of the Earth, which is
unleashing a campaign targeting select congressional districts to fend off calls for Congress to let the
offshore drilling ban expire Sept. 30.
67%
Support Offshore Drilling, 64% Expect it Will Lower Prices. Most voters favor the resumption of
offshore drilling in the United States and expect it to lower prices at the pump, even as John McCain has
announced his support for states that want to explore for oil and gas off their coasts.
McCain urges end to ban on offshore
drilling. Sen. John McCain said Monday the federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling should be
lifted, and individual states given the right to pursue energy exploration in waters near their own coasts.
The Editor says...
Wow — Let the 50 states decide for themselves. That's a great idea, but that law is
already on the books, Senator. It's called "The 10th Amendment."
Border battle brews over
Mexico's undersea oil. Eight miles north of the maritime border with Mexico, in waters a mile
and a half deep, Shell Oil Co. is constructing the most ambitious offshore oil platform ever attempted in the
Gulf of Mexico. As tall as the Eiffel Tower, the floating production facility will be anchored to the
ocean floor by moorings spanning an area the size of downtown Houston. Slated to begin operating late
next year, this leviathan known as Perdido (or Lost) will cost billions and be capable of pumping 100,000
barrels of crude a day.
Drill
now, drill here, pay less. According to the federal Minerals Management Service, about 86 billion
barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are locked up and untouchable just off our shores.
"Locked up"? By whom? Who could be so stupid? So diabolical? So un-American? Big
Oil? The U.N? … Close. It's our cracked-up Congress — mainly liberal Democrats who
are beholden beyond reason to the religious left's most dangerous fundamentalist sect, wacko environmentalism.
Drilling Off Florida Coast Offers Benefits, Risks.
Exactly how much untapped oil could be found along the country's coastline is unclear. The National Petroleum Council
estimates that 5 billion barrels lie off Florida's coast alone, while the Energy Information Administration suggests
the number is closer to 16 billion barrels. Other estimates go as high as 21 billion barrels.
McCain's
View on Expanded Oil Drilling Uncertain. Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain is
"open to the possibility" of tapping America's domestic oil and gas reserves, but it is not clear from his
voting record whether he would actively push to expand offshore oil recovery efforts.
Tax Deal Opens Way For Gulf Oil
Drilling. An agreement on a tax package Thursday [12/7/2006] moved Congress closer to opening a
vast area in the Gulf of Mexico, 125 miles south of Florida's Panhandle, to oil and gas drilling. …
The drilling legislation also revamps revenue sharing from Gulf oil and gas production, sending hundreds of
millions of dollars to four Gulf states for restoring coastal wetlands and repairing hurricane damage.
A first: Shell plans to produce at
8,000 feet in Gulf. The European oil giant, whose U.S. arm is based in Houston, said it will take
the lead on the so-called Perdido project, which it will co-develop with Chevron and BP, and expects to begin
tapping three fields near the site "around the turn of the decade."
It's Time to End Restrictions on Offshore
Oil Drilling. The United States is the only nation in the world that has placed a substantial
amount of its oil and natural gas potential off-limits. This includes restrictions on drilling in most
of the nation's offshore areas. Despite current high oil and natural gas prices, these longstanding
offshore drilling bans remain in place. Congress should revise this policy, for the benefit of the
American consumer and American economy.
Is the Gulf of Mexico saturated
with oil? Chevron's announcement this week that the Jack Field located in the Gulf of Mexico
270 miles southwest of New Orleans may have as much as 15 billion barrels of oil was not the only
recent find of oil in the Gulf.
Promising New Oil Find in Gulf of Mexico. Tests of
a deep-water well in the Gulf of Mexico could indicate a significant oil discovery, three companies announced
Tuesday [9/5/2006], in the first project to tap into a region that reportedly could boost U.S. oil and gas
reserves by as much as 50 percent.
Exaggeration alert! 50 percent
sounds a bit optimistic at this stage.
Or maybe not... Deepwater Drilling May Open
New Oil Frontiers. Oil companies are buzzing after Chevron, Devon Energy, and Norway-based Statoil
ASA last week announced the successful discovery of oil at a staggering depth beneath the surface of the Gulf
of Mexico (map of region). Jack 2, as the new test well is called, extends downward for more than
five miles.
Businesses urge offshore gas,
oil drilling. Strangers from the heartland, two businessmen share the hope that the energy resting
beneath the deep blue waters of the central Gulf of Mexico might bring relief from high natural gas prices.
So, they wonder, why isn't it being pumped?
Senate moves forward on oil drilling in
Gulf. The Senate today [7/31/2006] narrowly agreed to shut off debate on a bill to allow oil
and gas producers to drill in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, all but ensuring senators will approve the
legislation as early as Tuesday.
House
Votes to Continue Offshore Drill Ban. Despite talk of an energy crisis and the need for
independence from foreign oil, Congress seems to be in no mood to open more of the country's coastal
waters to energy development.
Will
We 'Die of Thirst'? The House of Representatives slammed its boot down last week, for the
second time this year, right in the face of the American economy that will certainly "die of thirst" for
the want of oil. This time it was renewal of the 25-year ban on drilling in offshore areas from New
England to Alaska. It seemed strange to many Americans, since a caribou hadn't been sighted off Jeb
Bush's Florida in a million years.
Drive less, pay more.
Paraphrasing, here's how the exchange went between congressional Democrats and the president over lifting
their respective bans on offshore drilling: President Bush: "We need to lift the bans. Americans
are being hammered by high gasoline prices." Democrats in Congress: "You go first." President
Bush: "OK, I hereby lift the presidential ban on offshore drilling. Your turn." Democrats in
Congress: "Forget that. Gasoline prices are too low. Let's raise the gasoline tax 56 percent
instead."
States Seek to Tap Offshore Oil,
Natural Gas. The federal moratorium on new offshore oil and natural gas development,
imposed by former President Bill Clinton in a 1998 executive order and currently scheduled to expire
in 2012, is coming under fire from state officials who see a silver lining in rising natural gas
and oil prices.
[Hmmm… I wonder why President Clinton did that. If I
didn't know better — and I don't — I'd say the Democrats thrive on crises and
want energy problems to get worse so the government can ride to the rescue.]
Local Off-Shore Drilling Supporters Rally.
Tourism is Florida's biggest business, and the state's 850 miles of beaches are some of its prime attractions,
but they are also highly sought after for off-shore drilling. On Thursday, supporters of
the cause took to the streets in Palm Beach Gardens to spread their message. Many people said they feel
that, with gas prices and supply as volatile as they have been recently, off-shore oil drilling should
be considered.
Drill Like Brazil.
Brazil, a leader in the use of biofuels such as ethanol and in the face of falling oil prices, still plans to
spend huge sums to expand its offshore oil resources. Drilling rigs are infrastructure too.
