Posted on 07/21/2009 7:34:22 AM PDT by SmithL
Sacramento is so desperate to erase the state budget's $26.3 billion shortfall that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic Legislature seem poised to end decades of prohibition so that they can tap new revenue from a widely occurring natural resource - one dear to many Californians and known for its unmistakable aroma.
That's right, Sacramento is considering a budget that would raise as much as $1.8 billion in royalties over 14 years by allowing new offshore oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara. As of my deadline, the outcome is uncertain.
The Governator points out that the Tranquillon Ridge project would not open up new oil leases or require new offshore platforms. Instead, the project would allow Plains Exploration & Production Co. to slant-drill from existing federal offshore oil platforms into state waters. Because the Houston oil company has promised to dismantle all four of its platforms at the end of 14 years and protect thousands of acres of Santa Barbara-area land, environmental groups supported the project.
Because enviros were onboard with the idea, Schwarzenegger - a longtime opponent of offshore oil drilling who "remains opposed to new oil drilling," according to spokesman Aaron McLear - was able to support the project.
After the State Lands Commission killed the project in a January vote, Schwarzenegger inserted the project in his May budget revise. Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, isn't happy. As far as Nava is concerned, oil company promises to dismantle the platforms and protect land are "fiction." In a press release, Nava claimed that Schwarzenegger "is using the budget as an excuse to force the first new offshore oil drilling lease in California waters since the 1969 oil spill."
I wish Nava were right about Schwarzenegger looking for an excuse to drill offshore.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
HAHA!!
Drill Drill Drill
Which is what they SHOULD have done from the git-go. Whackos.
Kalifornistan, which has led the nation in BS laws and regs, which has installed floating outhouses on lakes (which I had never even heard of till I moved there) in order to protect the environment, is now considering the most despised activity next to nukes, simply because they need the money.
That's rich.
Someone tell those idiots in sac that they could also generate revenue by repealing their idiotic gun laws.
I’ve thought this for years.
In 1979, my family moved to Wyoming, following the mining boom. That made an impression on me. To this day, a fellow can get quite wealthy in the industry.
We were awash in oil and natural gas. If the gov’t would open those fields up, we’d have a new generation of wealthy, blue-collar oil field drillers.
Worried about using up all of our natural resources? Fine. Build nuclear power plants for electricity and keep the oil for gasoline (and all of the other bi-products). Open up the natural gas for heating and cooking.
Between those three forms of energy, our country would be self-sufficient for two hundred years, we’d have jobs out the wazoo, and we’d enter a new Golden Age.
But I’m almost glad they’re not doing it. It appears that the current administration is bound and determined to keep driving us into debt. With the “natural resource” card up our sleeves, we have a way to recover once we get rid of them.
There is hope for America and it’s under the ground.
I suppose another benefit might be jobs...which means additional income tax to Federal and State coffers.
For the record, strategically I am against using our resources if we can obtain those from other countries. I think the last person with the winning card wins the game. Personally, I hate our dollars going to our enemies. This puts me in a difficult position in regard to this. I say the last person with the most resources wins the game, be it Monopoly or politics.
The income tax sucks, let’s repeal it if we can.
Not only would you have a new generation of well to do blue collar workers, you’d have vast entrepenurial opportunities as well.
For each set of drilling and pumping faciliites there will need to be support and logistics and well as increased manufacturing capabilities and their associated spin off jobs.
Let’s not forget all the jobs, too, that will spring up in compliance with environmental regulations!
And that doesn’t even take a look at what the end product does for the region and country!
IMO the refusal to drill here now is the intentional destruction of the US economy.
hey, the government of Canada is as environmentally left-whacko as any, yet they are sparing no time in drilling and digging up the tar sands in order to fund socialist programs
Lets hope that this is true and happens.
The Governator gets in bed with the Greenies who hate America and gets offshore drilling okayed as per this article.
The economic meltdown apparently has hurt the cash on hand for the Greenies, and this offers a great way to appear green and raise money for them and the state.
Just to be fair to Plains Exploration, let’s note that they have ALREADY paid for their leases. If locals withhold drilling permits, they can sue to recover payments. So allowing them to drill avoids having previous payments disappear from the State’s coffers. This has happened in other offshore California fields - although the recovery took 10+ years.
Researchers are genetically engineering optimized algae that combine CO2, saltwater, and sunshine into ready to refine oils. Algae floats and can be grown on the open ocean, 70% of Earth's sun absorbing surface. If a major war broke out there would be a well-funded Manhattan Project in this direction. After the war conventional petroleum would be obsolete. Any oil still left in the ground would be worthless. It would cost more to pump out than it could be sold for. We are close to making this transition so we shouldn't save petroleum for future use. We need the jobs and tax base now. Pump oil like it's going out of style, because it is.
Thanks.
It is past time to be fair to oil companies and explorers for oil who own legitimate leases and drilling rights.
Perhaps, sometimes desperation breads realism.
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