Posted on 02/27/2002 6:15:29 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
The events of Sept. 11 have caused our country to look outward regarding energy and the economy. We are examining relationships with countries around the world. A major concern currently facing the United States is our dependence on foreign oil.
We are now importing almost 60 percent of the 15 million barrels of oil consumed daily in the U.S.
The new Bush administration is re-examining the problem created by our heavy dependence on foreign oil. Both President Bush and Vice President Cheney have energy backgrounds and a keen appreciation of how necessary a plentiful supply of energy is to our economy.
A fresh look at the countries that supply most of our oil will help us understand some of the diplomatic moves that are being made.
First, it must be said that Texas has and will for a very long time, play a major role in producing oil for the country. Even today, Texas produces more than one million barrels of oil per day, which represents more than 20 percent of the U.S. domestic production of the daily 5.8 million barrels produced.
Last September, the United States imported 9.046 million barrels of oil per day. An examination of our imports by country, provides insights into how international policies and our oil-dependency are intertwined. The largest amount came from our own Western Hemisphere, with Mexico bringing in 16 percent, Canada 14 percent, Venezuela 11 percent, and Columbia 2 percent. Our country can feel very secure about these supplies.
The next group of countries that supply large amounts of imported oil are located in the Persian Gulf, with Saudi Arabia importing 16 percent, Iraq 13 percent, and Kuwait 2 percent. The U.S. relationships with these countries have come into question during the last 30 years. Two countries in particularly stand out, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
Saudi Arabia stands as a large supply threat, not only because of the age and health of the senior members of the royal family, but also because of the threat of international terrorists. An attack on one of the three major export terminals or a major Saudi pipeline could take over 3 million barrels of oil per day off the global market.
The situation with Iraq is even more problematic as our country is talking about increased economic and military pressure on the political leadership of that country. Currently, Iraq is exporting 2.2 million barrels of oil per day to the global oil market, of that nearly a million barrels come to the United States.
While the United States does not currently import oil from Russia, that country is becoming a vital player in the world oil market. Russia produces 7.2 million barrels of oil per day, second only to Saudi Arabia's 8.4 million barrels per day. Russia currently concentrates on supplying European and Chinese markets. The primary reason that oil in not imported to the U.S. is due to the high shipping costs.
The renewed awareness of these challenges has caused the Bush administration to come forward with a National Energy Plan. That plan simply stated is an effort to look at all aspects of the U.S. energy needs and decide what should be done to make sure that we continue to have affordable energy. Let us all hope that Congress will support these efforts.
Charles Matthews is the senior member of the Texas Railroad Commission.
Hugo Chavez Tightens Grip on Venezuela's Oil--[Excerpt] Now, the government wants to create a steadier revenue flow by imposing the world's highest royalty rates on companies exploring and exploiting Venezuela's state-owned oil fields.
The Hydrocarbons Law raises royalty rates from 16.7 percent to 30 percent. Giusti warned the new rates will drive investors to other oil producing countries, where rates do not exceed 20 percent and the average rate is 7.1 percent. Among Venezuela's fellow OPEC members, the average is 14.7 percent.
Critics were unappeased by a compromise allowing payments as low as 20 percent for the most high-risk projects, such as heavy crude oil fields in the environmentally fragile Orinoco River Delta.
Allowing for rates of 20 percent ``can only be considered a gesture. This doesn't change the law's central objective, which is to impose absolute state control over the oil industry,'' said economist Orlando Ochoa in an editorial published last week in Caracas daily El Universal.
The Hydrocarbons Law is among the most contentious of 49 laws that Chavez passed last month under special powers that allowed him to bypass Congress. Several business leaders and opposition legislators have threatened to ask the Supreme Court to strike down all 49 laws, arguing that Chavez passed them without consulting the private sector.
Business leader have also called a Dec. 10 strike to protest the laws. [End Excerpt]
Oilman downplays his nation as supplier to U.S.--[Excerpt] Russia's oil reserves are three times larger than the official estimate of 50 billion barrels and the country is poised to serve as reserve supplier to the U.S. market when prices climb too high, the head of the country's second-biggest energy firm said yesterday……Mr. Khodorkovsky has played a leading role in the recent battle of wills between OPEC and Moscow, which is not a member of the producers' cartel.
With the Yukos chairman's active backing, the government of President Vladimir Putin offered only tepid support for OPEC's efforts to cut global production by 1.5 million barrels a day starting Jan. 1, an effort to prop up prices as the global economy went into a slump. The price of oil this week was about $18 a barrel, several dollars below the OPEC target price.
Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Qatar's energy minister, took a swipe at Russia during a visit this week to fellow OPEC member Venezuela.
"We can't protect the market alone in OPEC," he complained.[ End Excerpt]
(February 25, 2002) RPT-Key Colombia oil pipeline fixed after rebel bombs BOGOTA, Colombia, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Colombia's second-largest oil pipeline, Cano Limon, began operations on Saturday after workers repaired damage from a spate of leftist rebel bombings this month, state oil firm Ecopetrol said on Monday. The pipeline, a favorite target of Marxist guerrilla fighters, had been out of operation since Feb. 14. The pipeline has been bombed 15 times since the beginning of the year by Marxist-inspired rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- known by the Spanish initials FARC -- and the smaller Cuban-inspired National Liberation Army, or Eln.
Cano Limon was attacked 170 times last year.
The U.S. government, which brands both guerrilla groups ``terrorists,'' has said it would ask Congress for $98 million to equip and train a Colombian army brigade to guard the 120,000-barrel-per-day pipeline. [End Excerpt]
Chavez security chief alleges FARC links--[Excerpt] "All the peace negotiations there are over and open confrontations between the guerrillas and the Colombian government have begun. Are they going to carry on letting them cross over into Venezuelan territory?" Egui Bastidas asked.
The former DISIP official called on the Armed Forces to issue a statement about their view of the Chávez government's alleged support for the Colombian guerrillas.
Egui Bastidas also made a number of revelations about DISIP activities in recent months. He said the Venezuelan security service had collected personal information about all serving military officers and had also tried to smear opposition figures, such as Alberto Pena, the mayor of Metropolitan Caracas.
The official said he was also concerned at the growing role of Russian and Cuban security advisers in Venezuela.
Egui Bastidas said he had experienced "the direct participation and the attempts at indoctrination by the Russian and Cuban intelligence services, who have direct and virtually unlimited access within the Helicoide (DISIP's headquarters building)."
The official's lawyer, former DISIP Secretary-General Joaquin Chaffardet, said around 100 members of the Cuban intelligence services are currently operating in Venezuela. [End Excerpt]
White House, labor spur push for ANWR oil-- "On Thursday, President Bush will meet with union leaders who are intensely lobbying Senate Democrats to abandon their opposition to oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR)."
ANWR Drilling Bounced From Energy Bill "Republicans are angry that Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has evaded the committee process that they say would have brought an energy bill to the floor with a provision including ANWR.
"Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said that if the committee had been allowed to vote on the bill, it would have supported the House-passed legislation, ANWR and all. The House bill passed last August on a 240-189 vote.
Why aren't the American people being told by the American media that Senate Majority Leader, Tom Daschle, is an obstructionist?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.