Posted on 09/28/2008 9:51:06 AM PDT by Libloather
Offshore oil spigot still years away
By: Associated Press
Texarkana Gazette
Published: 09/28/2008
WASHINGTON—The welcome sign is going out to oil and gas companies off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
A quarter-century ban on offshore exploration expires in this coming week, but don’t expect to see a chain of drilling platforms from the beaches anytime soon.
It will take a couple of years, at least, before any oil or natural gas leases are issued, years more before any oil is found and perhaps a decade before any of it begins to flow to refineries.
And what if Congress, after completing a bill Saturday that removes the freeze, changes its mind next year and again puts some of the coastal waters off-limits?
For 26 years, Congress has issued an annual directive barring the Interior Department from issuing any leases for oil and gas drilling in federal waters on both coasts. It omitted the directive this time after public opinion swung in favor of drilling in response to $4-a-gallon gasoline this summer.
The prohibition has blocked access by energy companies to what the government estimates to be 18 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas beneath the country’s Outer Continental Shelf.
While the freeze ends this Wednesday, the start of the new budget year, oil and gas companies are not revving up their seismic monitoring boats — much less their drilling rigs.
“We do think ... the reserves are significant, so we’re very interested in having those areas open for exploration,” said Marvin Odum, president of Shell Oil Co., a dominant player in deep-water oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.
(Excerpt) Read more at texarkanagazette.com ...
All depends on the November election. Should we declare Tuesday 'energy independence' day?
ANWR oil is a lot closer if it’s allowed.
Yep, I work on a drill ship. Our charters are locked for two years. A lot of the rigs are headed overseas after completion. We may go to Brazil. Word out here is that Obama will Nationalize the oil companies if elected.
“ANWR oil is a lot closer if it’s allowed.”
Saw an interesting program on energy today with experts on both side of the question. Once factor everyone seemed to agree on was that off-shore drilling rigs and related components are currently in short supply. So rather than DRILL, DRILL, DRILL, perhaps our motto needs to be INVEST, INVEST, INVEST, in all forms of energy production and conservation infrastructure—oil, gas, coal, wind, solar, alternative fuels, and super-insulation.
There was also an argument as to whether off-shore oil would lower prices by a factor of 4 or 5 cents or by a larger amount.
.... WHY?....
Pretty unlikely there’s much in the Georgia embayment.
NOBODY knows.. what oil resources are in or near Georgian State territory offshore..
Your statement of unlikely IS STUPID..
What the next RNC advertisment should say is that “we are going to go after jobs to BUILD off shore oil platforms, ships to move oil, all the things that once was at the core of American workforce. We will build turbines to test tides as a form of energy - more jobs and we will drill in the vast American park lands using American steel and drilling tools - jobs - and American trucks to move the rigs - jobs. When we are finished we will build a pair of the biggest gasoline refineries near Cushing, OK and create more jobs.”
Not really. There were some wells that were cappaed on the West Coast. Un cap them and get going!
BTTT!
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