Free Republic

Can New technology divert a potential Oil Crisis? We take a look at the latest technology and techniques being used by Oil Companies in the field of Oil Drilling. With our dwindling supply of fossil fuels, oil drillers are finding themselves in great demand and as their techniques become more sophisticated Oil Fields are lasting longer and producing more of the black stuff. I suppose the first order of business would be to mention the continual fine tuning and innovative advances that are taking place almost daily within the technology of “Three Dimensional Seismic Imaging. For those with their head...

The government is, increasingly, the enemy. Imagine the jobs, the wealth, the independence, and cutting the jihad snake off at the head. There is no downside. We could easily extract that oil with minimum impact to the trees. ..... For decades, Democrats have blocked efforts to responsibly develop this nation's energy resources, transforming vast areas of opportunity into "The No Zone." (hat tip Jim)

Last month there was much criticism over the fact that President Obama agreed to give Brazilian Owned Oil Company Petrobras up to $10 Billion Dollars to look for Oil off the Brazil Coast. This was especially disturbing when you consider that they Administration objects to the US Drilling off its own coast, which will work toward keeping the price of oil low and help wean us off foreign oil. Why would the POTUS pay for a foreign country to drill for oil but object to his own country taking advantage of his own country's resources? Payback. Last week Hot Air...

Energy: We balk at importing "dirty" oil from Canada, but others aren't so reluctant. Exempt as a "developing" nation from Kyoto-like agreements, China has decided to help Canada develop its energy-rich oil sands.The Financial Post reports that PetroChina International Investment Co. has struck a deal to buy a 60% interest in Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.'s McKay River and Dover projects for $1.9 billion. China has been establishing energy beachheads around the world in its quest to keep its growing economy fueled. With possible conflict brewing between Israel and Iran, Beijing recognizes the need for reliable suppliers like Canada in an...

Energy: As Russian attack submarines patrol our eastern seaboard, Moscow signs a deal to help Castro's Cuba drill for oil off the Florida coast. In Moscow and Havana, the cry is "Drill, Comrade, Drill!"Two Russian nuclear attack submarines have taken up positions along our East Coast in recent days, another sign of renewed assertiveness by the former communist giant. The move comes as Moscow inks a deal with the communist relic of Cuba to drill for oil we refuse to go after. The submarines are of the Akula class, a counterpart to the Los Angeles class attack subs of the...

Chuck DeVore discusses the hypocrisy of the Obama administration on offshore drilling http://chuckdevore.com/ - The Obama administration recently lent $2 billion to Brazil to help in their off-shore drilling efforts ignoring the revenue potential here in the US. Chuck DeVore describes the details behind this pathetic decision. VIDEO

Reporting from Sacramento -- Although 28 members of the California Assembly supported a measure to allow new oil drilling off the Santa Barbara coast, their votes are nowhere to be found in the official state database. After the measure failed, Assembly leaders expunged the vote altogether, sparing lawmakers running for reelection an official record of their controversial decision. The voting logs made available to the public on the Legislature's website do not indicate who voted for and against the bill on July 24. ... It wasn't the first time the Assembly has done this. The little-known practice of purging votes,...

It is estimated that there are anywhere from 18-95 BILLION Barrels of oil underneath our continental shelf. There are almost 7 TRILLION Barrels of Oil in the shale under the Rocky Mountains (to be fair, with present technology we can only get to around 800 billion barrels of it). Today America Consumes about 20 Million Barrels/day approximately 7.5 million of which we get domestically. My math tells me, using the minimum numbers (18+800 Billion) divided by 20 million, divided by 365 days, the US has an import free Oil reserves of at least 112 YEARS. Drilling would be a true...

Last week Chuck DeVore did his best to get the California Assembly to vote through the first major offshore drilling efforts in over two decades. After the Senate passed the measure the Assembly voted down the measure and later voted to expunge the record, as if it didn't exist. As Chuck noted: "George Orwell would be proud." Glenn Beck quotes Chuck in this 2 minute report. Glenn Beck on Chuck DeVore and the Orwellian Vote in California

SACRAMENTO – Among the proposals in the Capital A austere revised budget Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled May 14 is collecting $100 million by allowing new oil drilling in state waters off the California coast for the first time in 40 years. Awarding the lease would nullify a January ruling by the three-person State Lands Commission, which regulates drilling in the first three miles off the California coast. The commission rejected the lease sought by the Plains Exploration and Production Company to drill in Tranquillon Ridge, offshore from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc on a 2 to 1 vote, despite...

I don't think that anyone wants to destroy the US Coastline at ANY Cost. Even those who want use to exploit our energy resources. The fact is Offshore drilling technology has gotten much easier on the environment. Scientists know two things, first all the estimates of reserves on the US continental shelf are probably UNDERSTATED, after all its been thirty years since they have been allowed to take a really good look with the most modern technology. The other thing that scientists know (and that you rarely hear about from the MSM is that when there are leakages that cause...

The ban on offshore oil drilling that expired last September will be restored by “any means necessary,” Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), who serves on both the House Committee on Natural Resources and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, told CNSNews.com on Friday. Inslee, who participated in a conference entitled "Planning for a Secure Energy Future” sponsored by the Washington Post, also recommended a ban on future drilling in the arctic, where he says there is a “gold rush” for oil uncovered by melting ice caps. But Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), who serves on the House Select Committee on Energy...

Last week when President Obama laid out his budget the message he gave was very clear. The President willing to drastically mess with the economy to protect the environment. Obama keeps making the excuse that alternative fuel sources will help free us from foreign oil suppliers. That claim was just another lie by the President. At the same time he was making his speech his secretary of the interior was canceling 77 Utah oil and gas leases that had gone through seven years of studies, negotiations and land-use planning. In an instant, he eliminated hundreds of jobs, terminated access to...

Here is a new one for the books; Today, the Congress will vote on the stimulus bill that came out of committee yesterday. The bill is 800+ pages long. Think about it for a second, how many of those who will cast their votes today have read the bill or even know whats on it? Congress is rushing this bill through, because the President is pushing them to act quickly. That's why you see congress acting more like a bunch of sailors on a drunken binge, than people with whom we've entrusted fiduciary responsibility. While the President is rushing to...

The Senate on Thursday approved a sweeping conservation measure as it tries to reverse years of rollbacks in environmental protection by the administration of outgoing President George W. Bush. On a vote of 73-21, it passed a package of nearly 170 land and water bills and sent it to the House of Representatives, which was expected to give it final approval. Barack Obama is set to sign it into law after he is sworn in as president on Tuesday, one of the first moves in what is likely to be a more aggressive approach toward the environment. Democratic Sen. Jeff...

Nothing Screams "Drill Here Drill Now" more than this story. Mirfeysal Bagherzadeh, a brigadier-general of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and head of one of the country's "Islamic Police" called for a repeat of the 1972 Oil Embargo. He demanded that OPEC Countries should cut off of Oil Supplies to Israel's allies. Thirty-six years ago, the Islamic countries shut off Oil supplies to the US because of friendship with Israel. In the intervening years we have done nothing to prevent another embargo. We have enough Oil reserves to supply the US with fuel for over 100 years, yet we still refuse...

A Florida tourism group has dropped its long-standing opposition to offshore oil and gas drilling, saying that a cheap national fuel supply would trigger a boom for the Sunshine State's No. 1 industry. When gasoline prices skyrocketed to more than $4 per gallon this summer tourist spots such as Florida suffered, as would-be vacationers stayed home. So in response, the Florida Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (FACVB) has adopted a new policy that encourages a "comprehensive, long-term energy policy" that includes increased oil and natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico along Florida's coast.

10. Land use -- Review executive orders concerning the Antiquities Act designations of lands by the government. Under Bill Clinton, millions of acres of lands were locked up by executive fiat and, because these actions were not established by law, they can be undone by executive action of a subsequent President. 9. Oil drilling -- Continue to push the Outer Continental Shelf planning process so that newly opened OCS acreage can be leased for future oil drilling. 8. Oil shale leasing -- Issue the final leasing regulations for oil shale leasing in the Western United States. Without these, the U.S....

November 21, 2008 Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/November/08-crm-1041.html Aibel Group Ltd. Pleads Guilty to Foreign Bribery and Agrees to Pay $4.2 Million in Criminal Fines WASHINGTON – Aibel Group Ltd. (Aibel Group), a United Kingdom corporation, today pleaded guilty to violating the antibribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division announced. At a hearing before U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes in the Southern District of Texas, Aibel Group pleaded guilty to a two-count superseding information charging a conspiracy to violate the FCPA and a violation...

Amid the energy crisis, Democrats are losing the high ground on the environment to a GOP that is pushing oil drilling. As the election enters its endgame, Democrats and their environmental allies face a political challenge they could hardly have imagined just a few months ago. America's growing dependence on fossil fuels, once viewed as a Democratic trump card held alongside the Iraq war and the deflating economy, has become a lodestone instead. Republicans stole the energy issue from Democrats by proposing expanded drilling -- particularly lifting bans on offshore oil drilling -- to bring down gasoline prices. Whereas Barack...

The European Union has declared it does not oppose drilling for oil and gas at the North Pole. But officials have said techniques will have to be developed to make drilling safe for the local environment, which has been named by conservation groups as being highly fragile. Nature organisations, like the World Wide Fund for Nature, prefer alternative energy sources to be used. The Artic is rich in valuable raw materials and Russia, Norway, Denmark, Canada and the United States want to secure their share of the region. In May next year, they will be able to submit an ownership...

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi led the charge and rallied her troops to stop any notion the Republicans have of expanding oil drilling in an effort to make the country less dependent on foreign crude. She and her cohorts abandoned Washington, turned off the lights and shut the microphones off at the Capitol building, leaving Republican lawmakers literally standing in the dark talking to each other about the importance of expanding domestic oil drilling. What a difference a few weeks makes. Poll after poll reveals the American people want expanded domestic oil drilling, and they want it now. Democratic...

We need to tell our Representatives and our Senators who are running for reelection this year we won't vote for them unless they vote to authorize drilling for oil in Alaska, off shore, in national parks and in my back yard. I doubt that anyone would want to drill for oil in my backyard, but Congress shouldn't prevent oil companies from drilling for oil where ever it may be. Drilling for new oil is part of the solution for the emerging fuel shortage. Another part is development of alternative biofuels. Backward Democrats oppose drilling for new oil because it might...

It amazes me how Congress fails to recognize the difficulties caused by importing 70 percent of our oil then refuses to do anything about that dependency. The problem of appeasing foreign dictators will not end anytime soon because full implementation of alternatives to oil may not be in place for many years. Allen West, candidate for Congressional District 22, advocates ending our dependency through immediate drilling in America and development of alternative sources simultaneously. I know people claim that it would take 10 years from deciding to drill to getting gas into the pipeline. So, I investigated that claim. Historically,...

For those of you watching the Republicans in their oil standoff in Congress on Twitter, this may be of some interest. Hope none of us has gotten this attack yet. Article is linked due to being unsure of copyright issues.

Where is the constitutional authority that empowers the federal government to ban offshore oil drilling, much less save the planet? Answer: There is none. It's an extra-constitutional power they gave themselves. According to this 2006 Congressional Research Service report, it's based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), a treaty that has NOT been ratified by the United States: Federal Jurisdiction. While a signatory to UNCLOS III, the United States has not ratified the treaty. Regardless, many of its provisions are now generally accepted principles of customary international law and, through a series of...

Story Highlights NEW: Speaker Pelosi calls drilling proposal a "hoax"; oil speculation bill fails Republicans want expanded oil production to be part of any solution Democrats bring bill extending renewable-energy tax credits to Senate floor GOP wants to expand offshore drilling; Dems oppose lifting offshore drilling ban WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Republicans on Wednesday pressured congressional Democrats for a vote to lift a ban on offshore drilling before Congress begins its summer recess. The partisan fight over offshore drilling has stalled efforts to pass legislation meant to lower high gas prices before Congress adjourns for its monthlong break at the end...

Congressman Ron Klein is disappointed that President Bush has been "short-sighted" in lifting the executive ban on off-shore drilling. We are disappointed with Congressman Klein. With a complete lack of initiative or imagination, he continues to give us the Nancy Pelosi/far left talking-point response— the truly short-sighted policy. If we had not listened to every administration since Jimmy Carter, America could have been energy independent long ago. And yes, if we develop our own natural resources—ALL of them— the speculators will see that events in the Middle East will have little effect on our supply, which will then be reflected...

Rising energy prices have prompted President George to rescind an executive order enacted by his father and extended by President Bill Clinton to ban offshore drilling. “The time for action is now,” President George W. Bush said in a Rose Garden speech Monday afternoon. A memorandum signed by the President rescinds former President George H.W. Bush’s 1990 executive order drafted in response to pressure from the environmental lobby after a 3 million gallon oil spill off the coast of California in 1969. The current President Bush argued “advances in technology have made it possible to have the oil production out...

A recent Gallup poll revealed that 57 percent of Americans want to open previously untouched territories to oil drilling. A Wall Street Journal-NBC News poll had the number of Americans in favor at 59 percent. I would suspect that as gasoline prices rise, the percentage of Americans in favor of new drilling will too. There is an estimated 17.8 billion barrels of oil located off American shores that is currently off limits to oil companies. According to federal data, that’s about the same as 10 years worth of current U.S. oil production, and approximately 76 trillion cubic feet of natural...

It may be less efficient and more intrusive than other forms of alternative energy, but harnessing the power of wind is “every bit as serious” as other options, according to MSNBC “Countdown” host Keith Olbermann and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. “This [supporting corn-based ethanol] is a problem, not Obama’s best thing, but you know nuclear – there is this notion on the right that nuclear is serious and wind is not,” Krugman said on Olbermann’s show June 25. “But the fact of the matter, given what we know, wind is every bit as serious, and maybe more so,...

The other day I posted “WHO TO BLAME” for our fuel costs. That would be the Democratic Party and three influential people (John Flicker at 212-979-3000, Frances Beinecke at 212-727-2700, and Von Noppen at 510-550-6700) destroying this country under the guise of protecting the environment. And let’s cut to the chase, the Democratic Party is not an American party anymore. It’s a Marxist Party and the problem we’re in is a government created one through decades of the Democratic (Marxist) Party incrementally restricting access to our own natural resources, onshore and off by selling a bunch of lies to the...

The conventional punditry on McCain's call to end the ban on offshore oil exploration has focused on whether President Bush's suppport for the idea will hurt McCain in the fall. But that could change, and soon, if what's happened in just the past few days develops into a real trend: Sen. Jim Webb announced he now supports exploration off the coast of Virginia. Ex-Gov. Mark Warner also supports opening up the Virginia coastline to possible drilling. Meanwhile, the latest Gallup survey shows Democrats are split on offshore drilling, with 39% in support while 59% still oppose. Better yet, it's an...

Behold, a miracle: Public anger over $4 gas is forcing at least some of our political class to confront their energy contradictions. Last week, Republicans Jim Walsh of New York and Roscoe Bartlett of Maryland -- two longstanding opponents of offshore drilling -- asked for a mulligan. We can now add John McCain to the roll: In a speech in Houston yesterday, the Senator finally came out in favor of increasing domestic energy supplies. This is progress, even if it did come dressed in some of Mr. McCain's familiar policy confusions. In the past, the Republican has been a chief...

In a year when Democrats are expected to roll over Republicans in the Congressional races, two issues are certain winners for Republicans if they can avoid wimping out to liberal threats and RINO nonsense: energy and immigration. The nation was treated to a raw demonstration of the power of the illegal immigration issue when a liberal governor of liberal New York state proclaimed the issuance of drivers licenses to illegals. Governor Spitzer, now retired in disgrace, had to reverse his order, and Hillary Clinton lost all her momentum by hemming and hawing over this issue. Now also $4.00 gasoline may...

WASHINGTON - The Senate has rejected a Republican energy plan that calls for opening an Alaska wildlife refuge and some offshore waters to oil development. Supporters of the measure couldn't get the needed 60 votes to overcome a Democratic-led filibuster threat. Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said more domestic oil production is needed to keep prices in check and to reduce U.S. dependence on oil imports. Opponents said areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and coastal waters that have been off limits to drilling for 25 years ought to remain that out of bounds to oil companies....

Those who understand that America is still the country that offers the most hope to the rest of the world, and who also reason things out, find it hard to understand why some Americans: 1.refuse to look at the evidence of global Islamic terrorism, its danger to westerners and the success of the American military in combatting it, 2.refuse to look at the evidence that global warming is a naturally reoccurring phenomenon and is more beneficial to humanity than is global cooling,

It’s another sign that gas prices will probably be heading higher - oil prices surpassed $103 a barrel for the first time Friday as persistent weakness in the U.S. dollar and the prospect of lower interest rates attracted fresh money to the oil market. Some analysts are expecting prices to hit $4 dollars a gallon by this spring. At the Mobil gas station in DeWitt, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $3.34. That is slightly higher than the average price for a gallon of gas in the Syracuse area, $3.32 a gallon - up 12 cents over...

A plan introduced Thursday by U.S. Rep. Mike Ross to encourage alternative and renewable energy relies on oil drilling in Arctic wildlife lands and the Gulf of Mexico to meet its goals. Ross' bill, the "American-Made Energy Act of 2008," also would create tax credits to build new nuclear power plants throughout the United States, with an aim of having 40 percent of the nation's power come from nuclear sources.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- More than 40 percent of those asked told a UPI-Zogby International poll they "strongly support" drilling for oil off the U.S. coast. A total of 6,882 U.S. residents took part in a Zogby interactive poll looking at energy issues and policies. The poll was conducted Jan. 16-18 and has a margin of error of 1.2 percentage points. Asked their level of support for oil drilling off coastlines of the United States, 42.4 percent said they would "strongly support" such a program while another 18.6 percent gave the idea "somewhat support." A total of 16.7 percent...

WASHINGTON -- An agreement on a tax package Thursday 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. Both the House and Senate attached the drilling legislation to a package of popular tax measures expected to win approval by week's end as Republicans wrap up the 109th Congress and turn control over to Democrats next year. 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...

Energy Security: Unable to explain to its constituents why gas costs so much, the Senate has passed the first expansion of U.S. oil exploration in decades. But it's almost a drop in the ocean. As we've noted, Brazil has achieved energy independence in part from the 1.9 million barrels of oil it gets from offshore drilling. And Cuba's Fidel Castro's last act may be to drill 50 miles from Key West, Fla. In February, the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service estimated that the Outer Continental Shelf contains 85.8 billion barrels of recoverable crude. We imported 3.67 billion barrels of oil...

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted Tuesday to open 8.3 million acres of federal waters in the central Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, setting up a confrontation with the House which wants even more drilling in waters now off-limits. Supporters said the measure would be a major step toward producing more domestic energy and forcing down natural gas prices that have soared in recent years. The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 71-25. It now must be reconciled with much broader drilling legislation passed by the House in June. Those negotiations are likely to begin in...

Neil Abercrcombie, the Hawaii Democrat and former college professor who represents Waikiki Beach and its environs in the U.S. House of Representatives, took to the floor on June 29 to liken some Americans to the Taliban. The targets of Abercrombie’s ire were not officials at the National Security Agency conducting warrantless wiretaps of suspected terrorists. Nor were they the military personnel running the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay. No, Abercrombie, who advocates expanded offshore oil and gas drilling because he believes rising energy prices are killing American jobs in agriculture and manufacturing, directed his anger at anti-drillling environmentalists. “We are...

Facing rising energy prices and political pressure to act, the House Appropriations Committee voted Wednesday to end a 23-year-old ban on natural gas exploration in federal coastal waters, the first step in what would represent a major change in how the nation treats its coast. By a vote of 37 to 25, with all four Floridians voting no, the committee passed an amendment to exempt natural gas drilling from a congressional ban on offshore energy exploration first inserted into the Interior Department appropriations bill by Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Indian Shores, in 1983. If the amendment, which faces a tough...

Havana, May 10: Cuba has struck a deal with Spanish, Norwegian and Indian oil companies to drill in the 1.6-km waters of the Gulf of Mexico, industry sources and diplomats said.The possibility of striking oil in Cuban waters just 120 km off US shores at a time of soaring fuel prices and rising global demand has set off a political debate over whether US companies, sidelined by American sanctions, should be allowed to explore there. Contracts will be signed on May 23 in Havana between Spanish major Repsol YPF, Norway’s Norsk Hydro and ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of...

April 29, 2006 Nelson announces bill to block Cuban oil drilling near Keys Associated Press MIAMI -- U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson announced legislation Friday to keep Cuba from oil drilling in the waters between the Caribbean island nation and the Florida Keys. The Democratic senator's bill would block the renewal of a 1977 international agreement allowing Cuba to conduct commercial activity near the Keys -- unless Cuba would agree not to put oil rigs in the Florida Straits close to the low-lying island chain off Florida's southern tip. "At risk are the Florida Keys and the state's tourism economy, not...

The lady has stood up to the playground bully, identified by his trademark "Incredible Hulk" necktie, and tomorrow he comes into our neighborhood to beat her up. With the moxie to block a backdoor bid to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling rigs and haul roads, and the gall to demand that oil executives be sworn in at hearings, freshman Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has angered powerful Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska. Stevens will be in Seattle, Tacoma and Everett, carrying out a threat made on the Senate floor in December and described by The Washington Post as "the...

Environmental groups are suing the Interior Department to block expanded oil and gas exploration in an ecologically sensitive area of Alaska's North Slope. The 18-page lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Juneau focuses on the government's decision in January to allow drillers to lease previously closed acreage in the northeast corner of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The Bush administration's decision opens up 389,000 acres for leasing, giving drillers a chance to find and produce an estimated 2 billion barrels of oil and 3.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the tundra north and east of Teshekpuk Lake....

SANTA BARBARA, CA – California State Treasurer and Democratic Candidate for Governor Phil Angelides today released Coast Guard, his plan to protect the California coastline, end Governor Schwarzenegger’s policy of neglect, and defeat President Bush’s new plans to drill for oil and gas off the California coast. Angelides, who has been endorsed by 70 prominent environmental leaders and Vote the Coast, a grassroots political action organization whose purpose is to achieve coastal protection and conservation, unveiled the plan in Santa Barbara. “The California coast is endangered and President Bush and Governor Schwarzenegger are taking us in the wrong direction,” said...