Thanks. Good Post.
Your figures on ANWR production seem pretty right on. In addition, any benefit to the price at the pump would not be seen for 5-10 years, which adds to the argument that drilling in ANWR is not worth the destruction of a "pristine wilderness".
In regards to using ANWR as another strategic reserve, well that's a new idea, but no oil company in their right mind will drill a million dollar well and then cap it without gaining the deserved profit on their investment. Maybe the government could subsidize, but oil men are not the sort to take hand-outs.
But ANWR alone is not the target of the environmental lobby. <ANWR is only symbolic of all domestic production. If they can succeed in keeping drilling out of ANWR, then they will attempt to do so at some other location at some other time down the road.
When price per barrell was low due to the Saudis flooding the market ($9.00 bbl around 1997-98), oil companies were almost regulated out of business. Oil companies were required to pay fines for "possible environmental damage" prior to placing the bit to the ground! Most independent oil companies could not produce because it was not economically viable to do so. Oil companies were brought to their knees, and now we are literally paying for allowing environuts to run the industry.
The Oil Industry, instead of being demonized, should be allowed to continue providing energy to this Country until alternative fuels can be completely researched, developed, and implemented. Hobbling them will not help this country, but it will hurt us in the long run.
Enviros believe they are so progressive, yet they still see oil production through 19th century eyes..discounting all modern day technology for environmentally friendly extraction.
Just some things I know...no links, it'd take forever:
Did you know that in the early days, when horses were the common transportation, cities such as Chicago and New York considered manure major pollution? In the country, it could be spread around and used as fertilizer, but in the city, there was no place to put it. The stench and flies were horrendous, not to mention all the horse droppings in the busy streets. When cars, and then gasoline (yes, they had to formulate a propellant) came on the scene, Gasoline was touted as the SOLUTION TO POLLUTION. The idea of pollution is not a new thing to this world.
In Iraan Texas, some years ago during the early days of drilling, when oil started coming out of those rigs,.no one knew what to do with so much of it. So, they put it directly in a small valley area. There were acres and acres covered with oil..an oil lake if you will. The earth took care of itself (oil is a natural product after all) and now if you were to go out and look around where all that oil was..you would never know it.
Using ANWR as a strategic reserve would have to be paid for by the public in some fashion. A seeming violation of "small government", but again perhaps justifiable as a "national defense" expenditure.
The various environmental lobbies are going to try to keep drilling out of anywhere, regardless of their success or failure in ANWR.
And on that same note, I'd like to see some serious public money behind getting us off of the oil economy. It's too essential to the security of this country to be left to the short-term interests of private enterprise. I don't see where the current administration thinks this is a priority.