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Science & Technology
President Bush To Lift Executive Ban On Existing Offshore Oil Drilling
2008-07-14
President Bush will lift an executive ban on offshore oil drilling, although new oil exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf will remain off limits until Congress also takes action. The president will make a Rose Garden statement on Monday, where he is expected to announce his lifting of the ban.

White House press secretary Dana Perino says Bush is acting now in hopes of spurring Congress to act. So far, lawmakers have shown no interest in doing so. Bush and a growing number of lawmakers have been calling for broader options in dealing with rising energy costs, including $4 per gallon gasoline.

The Outer Continental Shelf has been a particularly hot debate, with the Bush administration saying new drilling technology would make U.S. shores safe from environmental disaster while helping to drive down prices with greater supplies.

Democrats say energy companies already have plenty of space to look for oil and have stalled on investing in more oil production while reaping record profits.
Posted by:Anonymoose

#21  Oh, and tariff imports to $100 a barrel to offset any attempts by the suadis and OPEC to kill our market by dumping in a predatory fashion.

100 bbl is sustainable, and is a good basis number for shales, and the new oil fields.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-07-14 23:57  

#20  I say drill as much as possible, to keep our money from going to the Saudis and Venezuela.

And remember a lot of this offshore will be more natural gas than it will petroleum.

So start converting vehicles to natural gas - we have a 100+ year supply of that.

Plenty of breathing room, and all the money stays here.

Combine that with eliminating buying on margin in the futures market, limit futures trades to those who can take delivery, and oil prices will drop quickly to the supply/demand curve for petroleum, instead of the supply-demand curve for futures.

Posted by: OldSpook   2008-07-14 23:56  

#19  RUMORMILLNEWS Thread > HOW LONG BEFORE MEXICO IMPLODES? Severe or catastrophic decline in Mexi-specific Gulf, etc. national oil production may induce civil anarchy and national disintegration 2010-2012???

Also from SAME > GLOBALRESEARCH.CA > SOME THINGS COME AROUND FULL CIRCLE - USSA? FISA will finally + formally turn the USA into POLICE STATE USA.

Oh Yeah-h-h - 2008-2012 [2016] POTUS Period!?
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2008-07-14 21:03  

#18  Oil may be volatile but it's still a relatively inexpensive alternative. If that weren't the case we'd be swimming in alternatives by now.

I hope by "do something" you folks aren't advocating that the federal government swoop in an choose winners in the energy market by heavily subsidizing the chosen few. In the long run that'll be more costly than oil price fluctuations.
Posted by: AzCat   2008-07-14 19:17  

#17  Indeed. One of the images that sustains me is the mental picture of a bunch of Arabs sitting around trying to figure out how to make an oil sandwich.
Posted by: Kelly   2008-07-14 17:59  

#16  But in the long run it is not about the price of gasoline per se, it is about national survival and perhaps that of Western Civilization, so we best get to doing whatever it takes to get from here to there.

Amen to that Kelly! Now if the economy doesn't go belly up and the common person doesn't go bankrupt before anything is done. Oil is too volatile. Every time Iran sneezes, the price goes up. Speculators don't give a flip about America. When they buy and hold on to oil, they are creating a greater artificial demand. However, they are only part of the problem. We need to fuel our ship of state ASAP and then say screw OPEC. If the Arab states and the Arab stateless had to worry more about feeding themselves, they would have a lot less time to think about terrorism.
Posted by: JohnQC   2008-07-14 17:35  

#15  No disrepect intended to the doubters, but we KNOW drilling is not the long term solution. It is a stop gap measure.

We've had 40 years to work this out and we as a nation have done nothing. The major reason for inaction is a lack of political will and silly-headed thinking; and to be honest we are just beginning to get to a point where modern technology will be able to handle the load. Most people are shocked when I point out to them that automotive manufactures have been experimenting with "hybrid" cars for about a century now.

No matter how you cut it, it will most likely be about 45 to 50 years before we are off oil as a principle source of energy so we need to do what we can to assure our energy supply for that time and domestic oil is essential....along with solar and wind and nuclear and bio fuels and conservation and anything else folks can come up with.

I do not expect the price of oil and gasoline to plunge; if it were up to me and, if I trusted the government to utilize any excess funds wisely (or even midly corruptly), I would like to see price of gasoline stabilize about about $3 a gallon for the immediate future to help force the issue along.

But in the long run it is not about the price of gasoline per se, it is about national survival and perhaps that of Western Civilization, so we best get to doing whatever it takes to get from here to there.
Posted by: Kelly   2008-07-14 16:42  

#14  Grenter has it about right. The myriad of gasoline flavors does have a lot to do with gas price. Any downward pressure would be short lived. I doubt that OPEC would increase production, if anything they would decrease it to keep the price high. We can't produce enough to sustain ourselves. If prices go down because we are supplying an extra 5-10% of our own oil then one of two things will happen: demand will continue to increase causing prices to go up or OPEC will cut production to keep prices high. Their economy depends on high(er) prices. Of course Kelly makes a good point, I too would rather pay ourselves $4/gallon than the Arabs. But most of our oil comes from Mexico and Canada.
Posted by: AllahHateMe   2008-07-14 16:20  

#13  I would rather pay $4 per gallon to ourselves than a bunch of A-rabs
Posted by: Kelly   2008-07-14 15:44  

#12  At best it might put some downward pressure on the price of crude. If my understanding is correct, it would induce OPEC to bump up their production in response to a serious threat of increasing production here. If the price comes down enough, the incentive to drill here would be reduced.

What WOULD help the price of gasoline? It's been my impression that there is no excess refinery capacity, what with the goofy 31-flavors of gasoline that are mandated for various regions.
Posted by: Grenter, Protector of the Geats   2008-07-14 14:39  

#11  Hmph. Definitely not against this move, but I hope no one thinks this will do anything for gas prices.
Posted by: AllahHateMe   2008-07-14 14:12  

#10  "They leased it, they did some geological surveys, and they apparently determined it wasn't worth drilling there."

A point lost on so many.....
Posted by: Kelly   2008-07-14 14:02  

#9  "Democrats say energy companies already have plenty of space to look for oil"

Oil companies aren't stupid. They know where oil is most likely to be found in commercially viable quantity. They aren't going to drill in areas where they are pretty sure there isn't any oil or isn't much oil even if they do have a lease for that plot of ground. They leased it, they did some geological surveys, and they apparently determined it wasn't worth drilling there.
Posted by: crosspatch   2008-07-14 13:42  

#8  I wonder if it will be vetoed.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2008-07-14 13:19  

#7  That's ok Frank - I'm sure Queen Nancy and company will be more then willing to have an 'extension' of the current moritorium until after the election.

And the Republicans in congress will merrily go along with it.... all in the name if bi-partisanship and all that...
Posted by: CrazyFool   2008-07-14 13:17  

#6  the Congressional ban expires annually (Sept 30th this year) and has to be renewed by Congress. The ante just got upped. What do you think the election may turn on this year? :-)

HT to dre at Protein Wisdom for that nugget of info
Posted by: Frank G   2008-07-14 12:51  

#5  Democrats say energy companies already have plenty of space to look for oil and have stalled on investing in more oil production while reaping record profits

The farming equivalent of tellign the companies they need to farm the rocky infertile places before we let them farm the rich-soil flat bottomland.

Moron lying Dems. The areas left undrilled are left undrilled fr a reason - they are not projected to be productive at acurrent prices and tech. The new offshore areas are, as woudl be ANWR and oil shales.
Posted by: OldSpook   2008-07-14 12:47  

#4  Democrats say energy companies already have plenty of space to look for oil and have stalled on investing in more oil production while reaping record profits.

SURPRISE! Democrats show themselves to be a bunch of lying (fill in your favorite pejorative) yet again!

I'm watching drill rigs and drill ships being built in South Korea like there's no tomorrow, with a construction budget that is all but unlimited. The groups shelling out that EXTREMELY serious cash have names like Chevron, BP, Qatar Gas, etc. ONLY if you're an ignorant lefty Demo bastard do they not qualify as "Big Oil."

Reminder to self: calling for the injury or death of American citizens here at the 'Burg(including rank traitors like the average Demo congresscritter), no matter how thoroughly and completely deserved, will probably result in sinktrapping.

Posted by: Jomosing Bluetooth8431   2008-07-14 12:45  

#3  Yes, but watch the Donks spin, has hard as they can to pander to the 'never ever' crowd and the anger rising at the gas pump, to close those 14 with November quickly approaching. Heh.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2008-07-14 12:37  

#2  This effectively opens about 14 acres for drilling.
Posted by: crosspatch   2008-07-14 11:52  

#1  Better late than never.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2008-07-14 11:45  

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