Free Republic

June 18, 2008 Reid: Bush And McCain Still Don't Get It - We Cannot Drill Our Way Out Of This Energy Crisis Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to President Bush’s proposal to drill offshore for oil: “This week’s flip-flop on offshore oil drilling by President Bush and Senator John McCain is nothing more than a cynical campaign ploy that will do nothing to lower energy prices and represents another big giveaway to oil companies already making billions in profits. “The facts are clear: Oil companies have already had ample opportunity to increase...

Democrat claims that leases are “sitting idle” are FALSE and MISLEADING.Here are the facts: FACT: Once a lease is secured, a long, comprehensive exploration process begins that“can require years of mapping, testing, drilling and construction” and can cost “millions or even billions of dollars.” Bidding on, paying for and securing a lease is not a license to drill, nor can production occur immediately. Even after “time delays” associated with initial leasing and drilling of exploratory wells, it has taken nearly a decade to produce energy on leases in the past. Democrats mislead when they say a classification of “not in...

House Democrats responded to President Bush's proposal to end the moratorium on offshore as well as Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by telling the president to drop dead, although they used a lot more words to make the same point. The Democrats' main argument was that the oil industry is already in possession of 68 million acres of oil leases and that Big Oil should drill away on those before they come around asking the federal government for any more land or ocean floor. At a Capitol Hill press conference following Bush's White House Rose Garden appearance, Rep. Ed Markey of...

An apparent drafting error resulted in the omission of provisions from federal offshore oil and gas leases signed in 1998 and 1999 that could cost the government billions of dollars in lost royalties in coming decades, lawmakers learned Wednesday. At issue are leases drafted after Congress passed a law that was designed to reduce royalty payments during periods of low energy prices to provide an incentive for more production and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. The law, which went into effect in 1996, also required the government to set thresholds that would boost royalty payments if energy prices were...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A pair of high-profile but delayed Alaska oil and gas lease sales are expected to draw heavy interest when bidding takes place next week, a state energy official said on Thursday. High oil prices and an increased number of interested energy companies are expected to boost demand for the leases that will provide producers with the right to explore for oil and gas on state territory, said Bill Van Dyke, acting director of the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas. The leases to the North Slope area and the Beaufort Sea are in the...

<p>WASHINGTON -- Congress is virtually certain to stop the Bush administration from spending money next year to prepare for the development of offshore oil leases along California's central coast.</p> <p>The delay is intended to give the Interior Department and the oil industry another year to strike a deal to retire 36 controversial leases.</p>