That headline is the title of an article over at CNN. This article is the typical CNN style reporting, short on facts and full of speculation. In fact, reading the article is quite the challenge, because of the many contradictions within it! This is an article that was obviously written by taking the Democrat talking points and putting them into a line. The point of the article is to condemn the oil companies (yet again) as the big bad mean guys who are trying to stick it to the rest of us.
First, the article points out that the oil industry has 90 million acres of leases in the gulf of Mexico. Of that some 70 million acres are not producing oil. The article also points out that the US produces about 8 million barrels of oil per day, and then consumes 21 million. Now, I was never real good at math in school, but doing some quick calculations, I find that they have some 20 million acres of leases producing something less than 8 million barrels of oil per day. I am also not in the oil industry, but I’m thinking that isn’t a real good production record. So, the democrats want the oil companies to be forced to drill the remaining 90 million acres of leases at the same pitiful rate before letting them explore the possibilities more productive sites like ANWAR and the Atlantic coast. Just to illustrate the socialistic viewpoint of the article, rather than the proper free market attitude, consider this quote:
Oil companies “should finish what’s on their plate before they go back in line,” said Oppenheimer analyst Fadel Gheit.
The same man, later in the article, agreed that oil companies were not just sitting on leases. So, if they are not just “sitting on leases” and they are wanting more land, there must be a good reason. The reason is that what they have under lease is not productive enough to drill at the current cost of equipment and laying pipelines. The equipment itself is in high demand right now because of the high cost of oil–oil is being taken from everywhere it can be found and harvested. That makes it economically infeasible to try to harvest from the deep water areas of the Gulf, where production has been average at best. However, if the companies could drill closer to shore, along the Atlantic coast (you know, the same oil that the Chinese are going after!) then they would be able to produce more oil at more reasonable cost.
The same principle holds true in ANWAR. They can get in and get the oil from a relatively small parcel of land, and produce up to 2 million barrels per day. So, 8 million (or less) barrels per day from 20 million acres, or 2 million barrels per day from a couple of thousand acres. Which sounds like the better plan to you?
This article also quotes “one democrat staffer” as a source. I don’t know about you, but that is who I want to take my information from. This “staffer” claimed that if the oil companies would drill the remaining 70 million acres that they have in lease, they would produce an additional 5 million barrels per day. 70 million acres, 5 million barrels. That is even more pitiful production than what they already have. So, they should spend all the money necessary to drill, and pipe that oil from the gulf of Mexico, and end up with a lower production rate than when they started. Sounds like a brilliant strategy to me. Sounds like a democrat strategy to me! By the way, the oil companies have said that the estimates of this “staffer” are way too high. So, it would be even worse than the projections above.
I am glad to hear that John McCain has come out in favor of lifting the bans on offshore drilling. That will help to alleviate some of the problem if companies are actually allowed to go in there and get the oil. That remains to be seen. It is time for McCain to wise up and change his stance on ANWAR too. He keeps claiming he is a rebel…now he has a chance to prove it. After all, every other candidate continues to cower before the environmental lobbies. He could buck the system and do the right thing for a change!
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I’m getting frustrated hearing liberals say we shouldn’t drill because “it will take ten years to get anything helpful”… yet they advocate all this alternative energy sources… that are also years away… and the “ten year” thing is a myth perpetuated by environmental whackos. The oil companies (you know, those who actually do the work) say they can get it done in less time than that.