Enough Already -- the US Needs to Drill Offshore

http://www.janereinheimer.com ^ | July 16, 2008 | Jane Reinheimer

[janereinheimer]

The domed ones on Capitol Hill have insisted that loosening up on those bans to drill offshore wouldn't make any difference for years and years and years.

So how come the price of crude (futures) went down $10 the very day that Bush signed an executive order repealing the ban that his father had put in place when he was in the White House.

Just imagine what the price of crude would fall to if congress did its part in repealing the ban that they put into place to appease the environmentalists! And further, I heard somewhere yesterday that the Chinese are drilling 30 miles off the coast of California, not 50 or 60 miles.

But that ban is only half the problem. The other part of the problem requires congressional approvals.

Apparently that's not going to happen. Both Pelosi in the Big House and Reid in the Senate say they're just not going to allow such a nonsensical thing as a repeal on offshore drilling or drilling in oil-rich fields in Alaska. Here's what Reid had to say about that: http://www.newsholic.net/2008/07/no-drilling-votes-in-debate-over-oil-speculation/

Reid says rescinding the ban would be a gift to the oil companies. Actually, Mr. Reid, it would be a gift to China and every other country that wants to come in and drill in the oil rich fields off the coasts of the United States.

But wait! Isn't America supposed to be a representative form of government?

So you feel represented? I certainly don't. I live in Illinois and I am here to tell you that Senators Durbin and Obama don't do a thing to make me feel represented. They think they know what's best for all of us We the Peoples.

Well, 91% of us say the congressionals have it all backwards. Since they apparently aren't experts on anything but politics (instead of governing and legislating), I do not need for them to tell me what's best for me. Especially when it comes to the high price of crude.

And I'm no economist but I'd bet that I have more economics courses in my business administration undergrad than a lot of those politicians under the Dome have.

Pelosi's solution is the try to force Bush to use up all the oil reserves before authorizing any drilling anywhere. That would bring the gasoline prices down, she says.

Problem is, what she's advocating is specifically against the law. I learned that from our watching C-Span the other evening. The oil reserves cannot be used to effect an economic change.

That little piece of advice to the White House warranted the Investors Business Daily to call for Pelosi's resignation. Imagine that! Advising the president of the United States to do something that would specifically be against the law.

And, of course, she and Reid say that it's Bush's fault that the approval rating for congress is only 9%.

Click on this website and you'll see a map that shows where China is going to be drilling about 36 miles off the coast of the Florida Keys. Cuba gave them permission and they'll be drilling in areas where our nitwits in congress say US oil companies can't drill. Here's the map at this site: http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2006/05/its-official-cuba-hires-china-to-drill.html

Now, don't you feel represented in Washington?

The Senate did approve a measure in the Energy and Natural Resources committee that does open up 2.9 million acres for drilling as long as the drillers stay out about 100 miles off the coast of Florida.

So, let's see. The Chinese don't need permission from our "self-imposed divine right of kings congress" to drill off our coasts in international waters. They could go 40 miles off the coast of Florida and still be in international waters and there wouldn't be a thing we could do about it. They could put all kinds of oil rigs in a 60 mile zone before they even got to where the US companies were allowed to drill. http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2006/2006-03-09-10.asp

Here's a really interesting map that shows where the offshore oil potential is located (and where drilling is prohibited): http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2008/07/11/todrill_graphic.html

115 billion barrels is a lot of oil. Especially since the US only used 7.5 billion barrels last year.

Here's a map that showed up on Free Republic which shows the prohibited areas -- the "No Zones" where US oil companies are not allowed to drill. The map is at response #12 on the thread. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029500/posts

Keep in mind that a barrel contains 40 gallons. And after refining, we get about 19 gallons on gasoline from one barrel of crude.

Of course, we'd need to get real busy and build more refineries. We could do that. We have lots of politicians running around the country lamenting the loss of jobs to outsourcing. So hire all these people who want to work. Approve overtime. Approve three shifts a day. If that's not enough, hire another crew and another one and another until the refineries are up and running.

This is America, folks. We can put up a house in less than 90 days and I'd wager that we could put up a refinery or two in less than ten years. Don't believe that doomsday "worst case scenario" that comes out of political mouths.

[janereinheimer]

Thank you Mr. Carter.

This is news to me. And it’s also one of the things that Quint and I dearly love about Free Republic because we’re one big collective brain, it seems.

I wondered where Castro got the idea he could do this. Now his relationship with Chavez makes more and more sense.

[janereinheimer]

I heard on C-Span the other night that the oil company profits are in the 8-10% range. That’s not an obscene percentage for profits.

And this morning, on Fox News, I also heard that BP was drilling down 45 miles below the ocean floor in one location near Alaska. That doesn’t sound cheap to me.

My point is, big profits go toward some pretty big expenses. Although I do agree that the benefit packages of oil executives are what I consider way too high. But I don’t have a big enough brain to figure out what they figure out. I do know they don’t strike pay dirt every time they stick a drill into the earth’s crust, though.

Our priorities are turned upside down in this country. For instance, a CEO of an oil company can have a $400 million benefit package but school teachers and military personnel have to eke out a living on what they’re paid.

But that’s grist for the mill for another thread.

[janereinheimer]

painting = paying

sorry

[fabian]

here is some documented info from author and former gas station owner Richard Clough...
http://thetruthbehindhighfuelprices.com/blog/
Alot of leased land that cost much without any permits even filed to drill!

[EdReform]

Drilling in the Offshore