Dow Chemical to raise prices up to 20 percent, blasts Washington for 'true energy crisis'

ap ^ | 05/27/2008 | ap

[milwguy]

MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) -- Dow Chemical Co. will raise product prices by up to 20 percent almost immediately to offset the soaring cost of energy and raw materials, and the CEO of the chemical giant lashed out Washington on Wednesday for failing to develop a sound energy policy.

"For years, Washington has failed to address the issue of rising energy costs and, as a result, the country now faces a true energy crisis, one that is causing serious harm to America's manufacturing sector and all consumers of energy," Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew Liveris said in a statement.

"The government's failure to develop a comprehensive energy policy is causing U.S. industry to lose ground when it comes to global competitiveness, and our own domestic markets are now starting to see demand destruction throughout the U.S."

Liveris said soaring costs for Dow are "forcing difficult discussions with customers

[MrB]

Are we really going to have to show up on the Capitol steps with torches and pitchforks?

[MEGoody]

Want the refinery or not?

This is your response to my request for support for your claim that there were 1,800 new drill rigs? Okay. . .that tells me you don't have any such information, and I can disregard the claim.

[RightWhale]

I can disregard the claim

You are free to do so, although it was posted here this morning.

[thackney]

support for your claim that there were 1,800 new drill rigs?

They are not new, just actively drilling.

http://intelligencepress.com/features/bakerhughes/

http://www.wtrg.com/rotaryrigs.html

http://www.iadc.org/rigcount.htm

http://www.slb.com/modules/rigcounts/NA/Default.aspx?

[txhurl]

Oil & Gas Journal ^US Drilling Exceeds 22 year High

| May 23, 2008 | OGJ editors

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022449/posts

Posted on 05/28/2008 7:55:59 AM PDT by thackney

HOUSTON, May 23 -- US drilling activity broke a 22-year record the week ended May 23, with 1,889 rotary rigs working, the most since Jan. 3, 1986 when Baker Hughes Inc. reported 1,983 units active.

The latest weekly count is 27 units more than the previous week, and up from 1,760 during the same period a year ago. Land operations accounted for the latest increase, up 31 rigs to 1,799 drilling. Inland waters activity dipped by 2 rigs to 23 working. Offshore drilling was down by 2 rigs to 67 rigs in US waters, including 64 in the Gulf of Mexico.

Texas registered the biggest increase among the major producing states with its rig count escalating by 33 units to 935. Oklahoma and California gained 2 rigs each to 207 and 44, respectively. Louisiana, New Mexico, and Alaska were unchanged at 149, 76, and 7, respectively. Colorado and Wyoming dropped 3 rigs each with respective counts of 119 and 70.

There were 1,493 rigs drilling for natural gas this week, 22 more than last week. Oil drilling increased by 5 to 386 units. The remaining rigs were not classified. Horizontal drilling increased by 16 rigs to 544. Directional drilling gained 9 units to 385.

In Canada, drilling increased by 20 rotary rigs to 152 working, up from 114 in the same period a year ago.

[MEGoody]

US drilling activity broke a 22-year record the week ended May 23, with 1,889 rotary rigs working, the most since Jan. 3, 1986

I don't see where this says this was new exploration. That was the claim that was being made.

[MEGoody]

They are not new, just actively drilling.

Since he was claiming that the number of drill rigs proved that exploration was occurring, then they'd have to be new sites.

[MEGoody]

You are free to do so, although it was posted here this morning.

And reposted since.

It isn't exploration to drill again in the same site, so I'm not sure why you bothered to bring it up in response to my statement that the Dems and enviro-weenies have not allowed exploration in US territory.

[RightWhale]

It isn't exploration to drill again in the same site

Okay, if that's the rule.

[thackney]

New areas go up for lease on a semi-regular basis.

Below is for the federal goverment.

http://www.mms.gov/ld/leasing.htm

Alaska state land continues to have new lease sales

http://www.dog.dnr.state.ak.us/oil/

Other states as well as private land become available as oil/gas companies continue to pay higher rates for the privelage of drilling.

http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Information/newsroom/2008/blm_colorado_announces.html

http://www.offshore-mag.com/leasing/

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2008_April_22/ai_n25340627

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2007/12/10/news/topnews/144209.txt

http://www.miningtopnews.com/us-offshore-gulf-oil-gas-lease-sale-reaps-record-37-billion.html

[MEGoody]

Okay, if that's the rule.

LOL I'd say that was probably the 'rule' for anyone who knows the definition of 'exploration'.

[thackney]

While I was designing oil field facilities in Alaska, sometimes we would do exploratory drilling from an existing site to potential new fields at different elevations.

Sometimes we would go back to a known shallower field too close to the permafrost level to produce at the time of discovery. We would try new drilling and production techniques to see if the field could be producible with new technology, sometimes decades after discovery. West Sak and Schrader Bluff fields have begun production this way. They are still doing exploratory drilling on the monster field Ungu, but that is really shallow compared to the others and they continue to explore it with new methods.

[Think free or die]

"Are we really going to have to show up on the Capitol steps with torches and pitchforks?"

Maybe. However before I go on a pitchfork mission, I'll spend a whole lot more time calling, writing, and e-mailing the gang in Washington DC. I'm also talking to whomever will listen and at least try to get them to look past the "evil oil companies". I'm finding more common sense among the 30-somethings struggling to support families and worried about their future than from many older people.

When I called my Congresswoman and Senators today, I got through on the first call, and when I asked whether Senator Specter's office was getting a lot of calls, the aide told me no. They had a lot of calls last week, but not so many now. If they don't hear from us, they're apt to go on their merry way with their fingers in their ears singing La, La, La, let's save the polar bear.

[crz]

No, but a gallows built in front would help.

I dunno what the answer is. It is going to take something really radical to wake these dungheaps up. They havent a clue and if they did its apparent they dont give a rip.

[penowa]

"Globalism is not furthered when we ‘retreat’ inside our own continent."

Do you actually believe that using our own resources instead of being more and more dependent on others, including our enemies, to meet our energy needs is a bad idea because it doesn't promote globalism? If so, you must be drinking the high-powered, Jim Jones version of the kool-aid.

[B4Ranch]

Not using more nuclear powered electrical plants is a thing I consider traitorous. We are bent over and tied down where the Saudis can rape us anytime they feel the urge. Are we so stupid that we can see the way out? Not having initial oil wells in every area of CONUS that has oil is another thing that bites me everyday. Not having built more oil refineries is criminal behavior. One plant is shut down for annual maintenance and oil immediately jumps 4 cents nationwide. IDIOTIC!

Just so you understand my bitch about globalism, I'll detail it for you. If you owned an international corporation would you want financial influencing decisions being made by three ‘ministers’ that you have no influence over? These people may not even be citizens of the countries they are making decisions about? Yet they are the ones who determine if you are ‘obeying’ the treaty.

I prefer to do something like that under a contract with my attorneys making the determination if I am violating a law or if the other party is in violation of our contract. If my business partner doesn't make the product to my satisfactions, I want to be the one to say so, not some appointed minister who has no gain or loss from his decision.

Thank you but no thank you, I do not want a government whose powers keeps growing like bacteria in a pile of dead fish.

[GBA]

Your post almost makes me want to invest in Dow Chemical. I admire well run, profitable companies that provide so many of the products and services we use daily. I have no problem with what a company and its board decides to pay its CEO or anyone else it employs. I have no dog in that fight. If I did, I’d buy from someone else. I do have a problem with how government messes up energy policy in such a way to screw us all for years to come. No matter who I have voted for, here we are and given the “government solutions” being discussed by our politicians, here we will be for a long time.

[Sir_Ed]

I saw on Fox news that McCain was heckled, and the protesters removed. He gave a little speech saying “We respect people’s freedom of speech, those protesters don’t respect freedom of speech” and I thought to myself “You hypocrite...you totally do NOT believe in freedom of speech, in fact you passed legislation that censors the NRA and Right to Life from criticising politicians during elections”!

The protesters just wanted to chant a few lines and get on TV. McCain, on the other hand, actively seeks to suppress entire communities free speech during elections.

I’ll take a couple of yelling protesters any day over the un-American, anti-free speech John McCain.

Ed

[MEGoody]

While I was designing oil field facilities in Alaska, sometimes we would do exploratory drilling from an existing site to potential new fields at different elevations.

So you are saying that maybe a few of the 1,888 drills might be 'exploratory', but you don't know.

And neither does RightWhale.

Throwing out the number of drills doesn't support his argument against what I said about the Dems blocking exploration.

[MEGoody]

Maybe I'm missing something, but it appears that the leases for 'sale' (or at least most of them) are resales of existing leases upon expiration of said lease.

So, if I'm missing something, perhaps you can point me to the specific page I should be looking at.