Wow! You are very quick to point out how you need to educate everyone around you... It's not a very desirable quality in a debate, especially when you are factually wrong with some of your statements.
Let me point a few out.
1. The oil industry is heavily taxed. But they are also very heavily subsidized. Congress has tried to put a real dollar amount to it and was only able to estimate it at $35 billion last year. But with the hundreds of programs it's almost impossible to get a real number.
2. There is nothing holding back oil companies from building new refineries. As a matter of fact between 1975 to 2000, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received only one permit request for a new refinery. It is not in the best interest for them to build new refineries. Why would they? To drive down the cost of their own profits?
3. Oil companies hold lease rights to over 3,000,000 acres of land where they could drill tomorrow. They have over 9,000 drilling permits on land alone. They are numerous permits to drill at sea. But they aren't using them.
4. You here all this talk over Anwar... Why? Why don't we here about the Bakken oil formation in North Dakota? It holds the potential of 500 billion barrels of oil. Well, that's because they are already drilling there with new wells going up every day. But it's the smaller oil companies that are doing it and not the big 5... hell, there is even talk about state owned oil production. Wouldn't that be a kick in the ass to the big 5?
5. Oil prices can be attributed to a weak dollar, the merger of oil companies, speculation and pure greed.
It is not about supply and demand, so why the huge push for adding drilling permits when they aren't using the ones they already have?
Bakken is starting to come online, as we speak. That has been an expensive, and arduous task to drill, and exploit the starter wells.
That field is going to take years to fully develop.
I have said it time and time again, permits do not equate to ability, they do not allow someone to run in and drill.
I don't think folks have any idea how regulations work on land drilling or offshore drilling, and that's typically not public information either, not at the level I am talking about. Everyone needs to face the fact, oil is about wheeling and dealing, it's not about society, it's about money.
The unfortunate fact is, is that since the bust of the 80's I think oil industry officials have been stocking the war chest and have vowed to not let it happen again, and when folks talk about oil being evil, think for a minute how many people oil employs.
In a short answer...Again, NO ANWAR ISN'T the only reputable source of oil we have, but as I have said before as well, making people happy at the pump, starts with making the bastards on Wall St. happy.
And last but not least, we have been entering into dangerous times at least so far as I can see for the last 8 years it has been prevalent, we have put a commodity in the hands of our government, it's no longer supply/demand, and publicly traded, it's part of the deals politicians make for their buddies.
Imagine if it were food
We can argue/debate about Oil the evil empire, embargos, subsidizing and tax breaks, Bush said NO to tax breaks for big oil this year, I know nobody feels bad but bottom line is something has to be done, bicker and piss and moan all you want, but solar power, full electric powered cars....Isn't here yet
Mark my words, there is a GLOBAL MARKET that is in fear of what the middle east is going to do with the 10% of the oil they supply us, issues in Nigeria, Russia deciding to NOT deal with us but China, and the rumors about drilling off the coast of Cuba (not confirmed).
Let oil hit 150-160 a barrel, and you will all let oil companies drill in your backyard when a loaf of bread hits 25$ a loaf.
I sound a little jerky, but I don't mean to. Picture this if you will on the topic of permits:
Cost to drill your "average" oil/gas well (btw seldom do you find much oil
)
1-2.5million dollars from geo to completion, now that's assuming NO PROBLEMS and this is on land mind you, you can multiply that by 4-5 times for offshore.
Oh no.....it's a bad well, too much CO2, too much water....Or just plain ole dry hole, it will cost you another 250,000 to P&A and pay the penalties or make it an injection well and pay the government.
So there is on average 2-3 million you have paid.....For water you can't even drink
How many of those do you think your average oil company is going to allow to be drilled? Remember folks, finding oil actual OIL not gas....Is still part education and part luck, and it's still about trying to get the drill bit to pay zones, which is REALLY FUCKING LUCK
