Saudi oil output hike would not solve US problems: Bush (W tells it like it is)

Breitbart.com ^ | 5/17/08 | Breitbart

[zeebee]

Saudi oil output hike would not solve US problems: Bush

US President George W. Bush said on Saturday that a hike in oil output by Saudi Arabia would not solve American energy problems.

"It's not enough, it's something but it doesn't solve our problem," Bush told reporters in Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Bush said he was "pleased" with a Saudi decision taken on May 10 to increase its oil production by 300,000 barrels per day in response to customers, but said that he was "also realistic" about what the Americans should do.

"Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration. Our problem in America gets solved if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy and continue our strategy for the advancing of alternative energies as well as conservation," he said.

"One interesting thing about American politics these days is those who are screaming the loudest for increased production from Saudi Arabia are the very same people who are fighting the fiercest against domestic exploration, against the development of nuclear power and against expanding refining capacity."

[CRBDeuce]

Jorge had the bully pulpit, the veto pen, a majority in both Houses, and the power of Executive Orders for almost 8 years. Mission Not Accomplished.

Jorge had the bully pulpit (with continuous media disinformation countering every issue made at the bully pulpit), the veto pen, a majority in both Houses, and the power of Executive Orders for 6 years.

After 9/11, the country's 'mission' became National Security....mission accomplished, in spite of the Dems, and without dem/media help!

[xenophiles]

I wish I had the sources, but I’ve heard and I believe that we could be self-sufficient for many years.

If what?

Being self-sufficient means not importing any energy (or exporting more than importing, if you want to quibble). If all americans agreed (hah!) to stop importing energy, then sure enough, the US would be self-sufficient. Some luxuries like cheap gasoline would not be available, but the country would be self-sufficient.

In this self-sufficient country, drilling the ANWR would not make gasoline cheap, not even for a few years. The numbers just don't support that.

[jongaltsr]

Oil is purchased on the world market at a price established by that market (primarily).

Saudi Arabia is half way around the world. Their oil goes to the closest ports not to us. China, Japan, India, Afrika, Italy etc. The further you ship a product the more it costs, that is why we buy our supplies from Canada, Mexico, Brazil etc.

We are our own worst enemy because certain politicians prevent us from isolating ourselves from the market and being independant. You know why! They want us to suffer. If we suffer they can help and that makes them powerful.

If we were independant from the supply problems, (We - The US) would be powerful and the politicians would not have any power. Since they control what we can and can’t do in and around our country we are stuck with being dependant upon their “Generosity”.

[jongaltsr]

diesel soy oil canola oil peanut oil waste oil You forgot one - Whale oil

[SuziQ]

"Our problem in America gets solved when we aggressively go for domestic exploration. Our problem in America gets solved if we expand our refining capacity, promote nuclear energy and continue our strategy for the advancing of alternative energies as well as conservation," he said.

All true, and he already knows that we don't get a majority of our oil from the Saudis anyway. I believe get most of it from Canada and Mexico. I think the Saudis are selling most of their oil to the Chinese and Indians, who have become tremendous users of it in the last 10 years, or so.

[SuziQ]

Yeah, so where was Jorge and the GOP on this subject for the past 8 years??

Putting legislation every year before a recalcitrant Senate of enough Democrats and RINOS to force a cloture vote on EVERY piece of legislation. Just because the Republicans had a majority in Congress doesn't mean they could force everything they wanted through.

[Shanty Shaker]

Pay attention - The Saudis are in trouble when the US starts subsidizing nuclear. This was a real issue at the last OPEC meeting. Bush was just letting them know this.

[Viking2002]

Good for you, Dubya. This is the issue that the Republicans need to beat the Dims over the head with every day - there's hardly a person in America that doesn't feel the bite on a daily basis, and even Stevie Wonder could see that liberal domestic policies have forced us into being beholden to foreign energy interests. There's no pipeline attack, no hurricane, nor anything else that the Dims can blame the spike on, and twist the facts to ulimately say, 'It's Bush's fault!'. Decades of kowtowing to the enviroNazi cultists have left everybody in a world of hurt, and the Pubbies have to make sure the voters remember why when they enter the voting booth in November. Four dollar a gallon gas is a spin-free campaign gift from Heaven, if the boobs don't fumble it.

[crz]

http://biopact.com/2007/08/chemrec-and-newpage-team-up-to-produce.html

[Perdogg]

The current estimate has US oil consumption at 20 M bbls per day.

[Perdogg]

thank you!

[DTogo]

After 9/11, the country's 'mission' became National Security....mission accomplished, in spite of the Dems, and without dem/media help!

With the borders STILL unsecured, millions of illegal aliens roaming free, and hundreds of Americans criminalized, assaulted, raped, or murdered every year by illegal aliens...

National Security = Homeland Security = Mission Failure

[DTogo]

Putting legislation every year before a recalcitrant Senate of enough Democrats and RINOS to force a cloture vote on EVERY piece of legislation. Just because the Republicans had a majority in Congress doesn't mean they could force everything they wanted through.

True, but some of those RINOS were in office thanks to Bush's endorsement and outright campaigning on behalf of, like Specter of PA...

[garbanzo]

The miracle fix is not going to happen. Learn to live with that reality.

I shudder to think what will happen when the public finds out that the next president will be able to do nothing about oil prices as well.

[Red Boots]

Wouldn’t it occur to someone that there’s got to be a better way? Perhaps developing machinery that doesn’t use one drop of this product. Are all of our scientists and companies R&D that slow to react or stupid? The technology is OUT there. Where is it?

Well, I disagree that the technology is out there - but if its so easy, why don't YOU do it ?

[kenth]

The enviro-mental activists have been winning the media propaganda war and in the courts for the past 40 years. Get used to higher fuel prices.

---

And give the leftist who happens to whine about fuel prices the verbal lashing of their life.

[CRBDeuce]

thanks

[xenophiles]

The current estimate has US oil consumption at 20 M bbls per day.

Yes, that was the number I used for my back-of-the-envelope calculation (literally). So? You think it might provide 10% of US consumption for 11 years?

Drilling in the ANWR will not make gasoline cheap, and it will not make the US self-sufficient. If your heart is set on drilling in the ANWR, you'll have to settle for a much weaker justification, like providing jobs for roughnecks.

[calex59]

Actually I would have thought that 20 years ago a president would have been able to say what he had and more drilling would have been initiated.

[Perdogg]

The most realistic estimate of oil in ANWR is 10.3 G bbls of
recoverable oil. The one thing to note is, if we can conserve and work on technologies to improve well efficiencies, we might get more oil of existing wells, as well as ANWR. And if the Saudis stop skimming (The Saudis are hoarding oil for later).

If we were to get all of the oil in ANWAR out on Jan 1st, 2009, it would be gone by May 31st, 2010.

As long as the economies of third world, i.e. China and India grow, gas prices will be “high”.

In 1974, gas was $0.55 a gallon. That’s the equivalent to $2.40 a gallon today. The percentage of income directly spent on fuel is still lower than it was 3 decades ago.

I think we are going through the initial stages of the “phasing out” of gasoline that will probably be complete by 2030. I think by then the last newspaper will close up shop.