Originally Posted by ashurbanipal

They'd like to explore. No one has said anything about drilling that I've heard. As you will read in the link I post below, oil companies spent a whopping two hundred thousand dollars per quarter in 2007 lobbying congress for the right to explore those areas. Call it 1 million dollars per year.

Now look at their profits, and tell me that's not a pittance.



Well, meet the first one who doesn't. Here's my position in a nutshell:

1) It's far too late on climate change and pollution. We passed the line where we are utterly doomed in 2005--actually probably sometime in the 1970s.

So as far as environmental issues go, we're already fooked, so it doesn't really matter whether we drill more or not. In the meantime, a little more oil can help us be more comfortable.

2) However, it's estimated that there could be up to 18 bbls along the east coast. Those estimates are based on the 2k survey by the U.S. Geological survey, which suffered from major methodological flaws. I'll be happy to discuss those in depth with you if you like; in the meantime, it's worth noting that since then, they have been dreadfully wrong on every projection they've made. They've become an untrustworthy source as far as most people are concerned.

There probably is some oil there, especially off the Carolina coasts and the coast of Florida. The geology is right for it. But that's really all we know; we don't even have adequate seismic surveys. Even assuming that we could recover 18 bbls, that amounts to a 900 day supply for the U.S. at our current rates of consumption. We would face some serious technical challenges in recovery that would slow the rate of flow down signficantly. That 18 bbls--if it's there--isn't likely to be all in one place. We'll need more rigs, and then they'll have to be deployed. Etc. Etc.

The real kicker comes when you realize that even if we start today, it will be about 20 years before we start to harvest the first barrels of oil. At current and projected decline rates, the pooch will already have been screwed by then. At the projected decline rates, if we start now, we'll be recovering oil from the east coast in 2029. In that same year, we'll be producing roughly 15 mbpd worldwide. We're producing about 82 mbpd right now. The maximal flow rate for the east coast is going to be something less than a million barrels per day, so it's hardly going to do anybody any good.

I would suggest you read these articles:

There May Be Oil Offshore, But…

Why Exxon Won't Produce More

Originally Posted by rhinefire

Feel free to read the attached link about our glorious traitor Bla-bla and hisso-o-o-o concern about the environment that he is loaning $2,000,000,000 to (South) America for offshore drilling. Oh, those horrible big oil companies (only here in the states of course) and their total hatred for the environment. Lying dirty scum but at least he is lying to the left as well.

Hot Air Blog Archive Good news: Obama backs off-shore drilling! Update: A Soros connection?

Originally Posted by formerroadie

Um, dude, sorry to break it to you but the Import Export Bank makes loans to foreign countries. That's what it does. It's their job. It has nothing to do with Obama. God, the amount of **** the right babbles without knowledge is amazing.

Originally Posted by ashurbanipal

The real kicker comes when you realize that even if we start today, it will be about 20 years before we start to harvest the first barrels of oil. [/url]

Originally Posted by apdst

Why not fund drilling here and put Americans to work?

Originally Posted by GySgt

Because we shouldn't screw up our shores if we don't have to. If we can keep the dirty across the oceans where it belongs then we should take advantage of it.

Originally Posted by GySgt

Because we shouldn't screw up our shores if we don't have to. If we can keep the dirty across the oceans where it belongs then we should take advantage of it.

Originally Posted by apdst

But, we won't screw up our shores. Most of the crude oil pollution comes from natural seepage, 60% in fact. If we drilled those pools, it would relieve the gradient pressure and stop the seepage, thereby reducing the pollution.

The oil and gas industry is the most environmentally concious industry that America has. No other industry is as clean as the oilfield.

Originally Posted by GySgt

So why use it up? Use there's. When the rest of the world is looking for oil, we can just come home and use our own and kill anyone that comes near it.