Time to open ANWR to drilling?

[Melensdad]

With gas at $3.00 per gallon in the USA and nearing 1-Pound per Liter in the UK, is now the time to open up drilling in the Arctic National Wildife Refuge?

Bush plans to tackle petrol price
US President George W Bush has unveiled plans, including an inquiry into price fixing, to lower the cost of oil and cut climbing petrol prices.

Mr Bush told the Renewable Fuels Association that the US needs to "get off its dependency on oil" as crude costs have moved towards record levels.
The US will also stop topping up the strategic oil reserve, boost domestic output and promote alternative fuels.
Mr Bush said that oil and petrol prices were a matter of national security

'Fairly treated'
He said that the main problem facing the US is that it now gets 60% of its crude from foreign suppliers, many of whom have unstable governments and anti-American policies. As a result, the US had to step up its efforts to become energy independent, especially when consumers were bearing the brunt of oil market problems by having to pay more for their petrol, he explained.

Calling high petrol prices a hidden tax that hurts consumers and companies, Mr Bush said a main worry was that corporate and retail spending will decline as gasoline prices top $3 a gallon.

Mr Bush said that he is asking the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to look into whether the higher price of petrol was being caused by market manipulation.
Consumers need to be "treated fairly at the gas pumps", he added.

In an effort to get more crude oil and petrol onto the market, Mr Bush said the US would not top up the strategic petroleum reserve over the summer. "By deferring deposits until the fall, we'll leave a little more oil on the market. Every little bit helps," he said.

Different views
However, Mr Bush warned that any steps he introduced would simply be short-term measures that needed to be backed up by a shift in mentality among US consumers and companies. "Long-term we need to power our automobiles with something other than oil," Mr Bush said in Washington.

What the US now needs to do is step up its efforts to conserve energy, and invest in new, environmentally friendlier sources of fuel such as ethanol, he explained.

Voters expected oil companies to spend more on developing alternative energy sources, especially as they were making massive profits, Mr Bush said.

To help promote the use of more fuel efficient cars, Mr Bush called on lawmakers to give greater tax breaks for hybrid vehicles that use electricity as well as petrol. His comments took some of the steam out of the oil market, and crude dipped in both London and New York.

Prices are still near record levels, however, and are unlikely to tumble while concerns exist about Iran's nuclear programme and demand remains strong in developing nations including China and India, analysts said.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/4943378.stm​

 

[bczoom]

Yep. A long time ago would have been a good time to open ANWR.

I'm suprized I haven't seen anyone ask for the government to reduce the taxes on gasoline.

Or, the best option would be to generate a fuel source similar to the energy of a black star. They've found that the high-energy particles being spit out are 25x more efficient than anything humans have created for power.

"If you could make a car engine that was as efficient as one of these black hole engines, you could get about a billion miles per gallon of gas," Allen said. "In anyone's book, that would be pretty green."

Black hole comments/quote from this story. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192935,00.html

 

[beds]

The US will also stop topping up the strategic oil reserve, boost domestic output and promote alternative fuels.
Mr Bush said that oil and petrol prices were a matter of national security

​

This seems a little scripted to me. "When gas hits $3 a gallon, we'll send out this announcement that says something must be done and we are going to seek more domestic production in the ANWR.". I feel that the price of oil has been manipulated by the reserve stockpile purchases - orchestrated by the Bush government.

 

[bczoom]

This seems a little scripted to me. "When gas hits $3 a gallon, we'll send out this announcement that says something must be done and we are going to seek more domestic production in the ANWR.". I feel that the price of oil has been manipulated by the reserve stockpile purchases - orchestrated by the Bush government.

Can you elaborate?

I don't recall the numbers but I thought the government reserve was pretty small compared to what's used and therefore couldn't really have much of an impact either way.

 

[Melensdad]

beds. . . bear in mind that nowhere did Mr Bush mention ANWR. I was the one who brought up ANWR as a possible solution.

 

[bczoom]

In this article, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192968,00.html
it does say Bush would like to open ANWR.

Bush was also asking oil companies to reinvest some of their record profits in new refineries. Mr. Bush and his aides have rejected calls for a windfall profits tax on oil companies, but no new refineries have been built in this country in 30 years, and a number of refineries were closed in the 1980s.

He was also calling for increased domestic oil production, including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, something he's pushed for since he took office, but which Congress has so far refused him. Ironically, Congress approved drilling in ANWR during the Clinton administration, but President Clinton vetoed it.

 

[beds]

Can you elaborate?

I don't recall the numbers but I thought the government reserve was pretty small compared to what's used and therefore couldn't really have much of an impact either way.

I stand corrected. Only an additional 10 million barrels per year which is only a .25% increase.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=adSVuSrAsIfo&refer=us
"The government has been adding an average of about 25,000 barrels of oil per day to the reserve so far this year. The U.S. imports about 10 million barrels a day."

 

[Melensdad]

I did not see the FOX report, I was reading CNN and BBC and the stories I saw did not include ANWR. That is actually why I brought up the topic of ANWR because I was surprised it was omitted.

But I believe that a sustained $3.00 per gallon, or worse yet a climb to $4.00 per gallon will put a lot of pressure on both parties to open up ANWR.



BTW, does anyone else find it odd that people will pay $1 for 500ml of water in a gas station but bitch about the price of gas?

 

[daedong]

BTW, does anyone else find it odd that people will pay $1 for 500ml of water in a gas station but bitch about the price of gas?

Bob, I didn't know you used metric in the US is this common?

BTW 500ml water is a lot dearer here than a buck and I agree.

 

[Melensdad]

It is reasonably common with beverages to use metric here in the US. In fact that is about the only thing I can think of where metric is even reasonably common. Almost all beverage containers include metric volume, many list the metric volume first.

 

[bczoom]

It is reasonably common with beverages to use metric here in the US. In fact that is about the only thing I can think of where metric is even reasonably common. Almost all beverage containers include metric volume, many list the metric volume first.

Is that that little 746ml stamped on the side of my 12 OUNCE beer can?

 

[California]

I didn't know you used metric in the US is this common?

Following up Off-topic -

We're in the middle a voluntary conversion that has slowed down to no perceptible change at this time.

Beverages is one of many areas where both are used. The big multinationals, Coke etc may sell a 6-pack of 12 ounce aluminum cans alongside half-liter plastic bottles. In wine, 750 ml bottles have completely replaced the prior size which I think was 1/5 gallon.

I've seen US-sized quart and half gallon milk cartons overseas, probably due to the packaging equipment. Do you have them there?

For motor oil, do you buy liters or quarts?

I just looked in the kitchen: Olive oil (Italy) and soy sauce (HK) are metric, US sourced vinegar, sugar and oregano are ounces or lbs, and salt is an odd size labeled in both that isn't any round measure. A 1 lb plastic bag of uncooked tortillas was the only thing I found that didn't have US and metric measures printed side by side.

BTW the wine was Yellow Tail Shiraz from AU that is heavily advertised here and even sold in our wine-producing counties. Is that a big brand in its home country?

 

[California]

And back on-topic:

I thought a lot of the oil presently going through the Alaska Pipeline goes to Japan because it is closer, and they bid more for it.

Increased production might simply drain the reserve, increase profits for the producers, and not increase west coast fuel availability.

Does anyone know the facts on this issue?

 

[OkeeDon]

"Long-term we need to power our automobiles with something other than oil," Mr Bush said in Washington.

Golly gee whiz, what insight. If the GOP had not been so obstructionist and favoring the big oil companies for the past 30 years or more, we would be well on the way to that goal. After the shortages in the '70's, Brazil made a concerted effort to switch to enthanol. Today, 40% of their auto fuel is pure ethanol (mostly from sugar cane), almost all of the cars are FlexFuel, and they are almost 100% self-sufficient. That could have been us, but the American public has supported the party that has done the most to kill alternative fuels.

Now, belatedly, Bush is paying lip service to ideas that he pooh-poohed when he was running against Al Gore.

Sigh....

 

[DaveNay]

Iraq war March 2003 - present, estimated $250 Billion spent so far.

Since 2001, we have spent nearly $10 billion to develop cleaner, cheaper, and more reliable alternative energy sources -- and we are on the threshold of incredible advances. Pres. Bush SOTU 2006

See the difference? Pres Bush is a oil loving, Texan who's entire personal fortune is deeply rooted in 300 million year old dead palm trees. In the last six years (edit: I shouldn't have fingered W here, the US has never paid much attention to alternatives), there has been only a token expenditure of seeking a solution to the problem of oil supplies. There is plenty of possible advancement to be made in battery technologies, nuclear (new-clear) fisison and fusion, solar and wind.

Personal note: Hydrogen is complete monkey-crap, it is an energy transportation method, not an energy source, and barely compares with current battery technology in terms of total system efficiency.

 

[Melensdad]

Well here it is, the Republicans want to give out $100 checks to people AND open up ANWR. A price gouging proposal is included in the Republican proposal.

The DEMOCRATS want to roll back the TAX for 60 days on gas & diesel. The Democrats admit their proposals are symbolic. The Democrats claim the price gouging proposal is aimed at the Mom & Pop* operators.

Both parties will recind $2Billion in tax breaks.


* -- Just a side note, here in Indiana, our Attorney General went after several gas stations that allegedly engaged in 'price gouging' and in every case, they were Mom & Pop operators, not national chains.

Lawmakers Scramble to Ease Gas-Price Pain

By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer2 hours, 12 minutes ago

Senate Republicans proposed a $100 rebate check for millions of taxpayers Thursday to counter high gasoline costs, but linked the assistance to drilling in an Alaska wildlife refuge, assuring the measure would face stiff opposition from most Democrats.

Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee called the proposal "a bold package that will give consumers some relief" from gasoline prices that have passed $3 a gallon in many parts of the country.

"We are going to ease the burden," added Sen. Pete Domenici (news, bio, voting record), R-N.M., at a GOP news conference unveiling the measures. Frist said he hoped for a Senate vote next Tuesday.
But Democrats said the GOP proposal favored big oil companies.

"It's designed to protect Big Oil while mistakenly believing that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will solve America's energy problems," said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada. A price-gouging measure in the GOP package focuses on "mom and pop" operators and not the major oil companies, said Manley.

The GOP plan also repeals some recently enacted tax breaks for oil companies, eases permitting for refinery expansion, provides tax breaks for development of gas-electric hybrid cars, and gives authority for the Transportation Department to increase auto fuel economy, although it does not require such increases.

Democrats, meanwhile, were assembling their own package of measures, including a proposal offered by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., for a 60-day suspension of the 18.4 cent federal gasoline tax and the 24-cent a gallon diesel tax. He said it would provide immediate relief of $100 million a day for motorists.

With growing public outrage over high gas prices and another round of huge profit announcements this week by the major oil companies, it seems no one in Congress wants to be without a plan, however symbolic, to respond to people's election-year concerns.

As evidence of the angst politicians are feeling over $3-a-gallon gasoline, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Thursday to allow the Justice Department to prosecute member nations of the Organization of Petroleum

Exporting Countries for price-fixing in violation of antitrust laws.

Committee members acknowledged that the action was little more than a gesture.

"We are venting our frustration," said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. He said he doubted such a law would act as a deterrent to OPEC. "They are just going to fight us in court forever," he said.

The Senate Finance Committee also scrambled to respond. In a rare move, the panel requested tax returns from the country's major oil and gas companies as part of an investigation into industry profits and soaring gasoline costs.
Sen. Charles Grassley (news, bio, voting record), R-Iowa, the committee's chairman, said senators were concerned about the "record profits and significant executive compensation in the oil and gas industry."

"I want to make sure the oil companies aren't taking a speed pass by the tax man," Grassley said in a statement.
With gasoline prices soaring and oil companies announcing record profits, "it's relevant to know what the real financial picture is for this industry," added Montana Sen. Max Baucus (news, bio, voting record), the panel's ranking Democrat.
Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest oil company, said Thursday that higher oil prices drove first-quarter profit up 7 percent from the prior year. Net income rose to $8.4 billion, or $1.37 per share, in the January-March period from $7.86 billion, or $1.22 per share, a year ago. Oil prices actually fell Thursday after U.S. government data showed motor fuel demand weakening, apparently in response to higher pump prices.

It's highly unusual for the Senate committee to seek corporate tax records. The last time it made such a request to the IRS it involved the tax records of the bankrupt Enron Corp.

Both Republicans and Democrats said they planned to support rescinding $2 billion in tax breaks, which included subsidies for exploration in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and in geologically or politically difficult regions of the world, as well as royalty relief for certain oil and gas exploration. Executives of the major oil companies said at a recent hearing they do not need those tax breaks.

House and Senate conferees — as part of a broader tax package — were also considering a measure that would change accounting rules involving oil held in inventory, which would force the five biggest oil companies to pay an additional $4.3 million in taxes.

The industry and the White House oppose that measure, viewing it as a form of windfall profit tax that singles out five companies for accounting practices widely used in and out of the oil industry.
​

 

[ddrane2115]

In short HELL YES, and get this wimp ass pres off his can and tell those opposed to it to go the IRAN or IRAQ.