Congress finds Big Oil holding back fields that could DOUBLE US output

[yurbud]

Rush Limbaugh and other right wing commentators have blamed high oil prices on limits on off-shore drilling near the US and in ANWR, but what makes people think big oil will pump more if we give them more oil fields?

Right now, they hold leases to federal land that they AREN'T DRILLING ON that could DOUBLE US oil output according to the House Committee on Natural Resources. They have introduced a bill to make them use those fields or lose them:

Washington, D.C. - In an effort to compel oil and gas companies to produce on the 68 million acres of federal lands, both onshore and offshore, that are leased but sitting idle, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) today introduced legislation that gives Big Oil one option - either "use it or lose it."

The 68 million acres of leased but inactive federal land have the potential to produce an additional 4.8 million barrels of oil and 44.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas each day. This would nearly double total U.S. oil production, and increase natural gas production by 75 percent. It would also cut U.S. oil imports by more than one-third, reducing America's dependency on foreign oil.

The Rahall bill would force oil and gas companies to either produce or give up federal onshore and offshore leases they are stockpiling by barring the companies from obtaining any more leases unless they can demonstrate that they are producing oil and gas, or are diligently developing the leases they already hold, during the initial term of the leases.

Coal companies... are required... to show that they are diligently developing their leases during the initial lease term. The law was enacted in an effort to end rampant speculation on federal coal as a result of the energy crises of the 1970's.

Oil and gas companies, however, are not required to demonstrate diligent development. Because of this, oil and gas companies have been allowed to stockpile leases in a non-producing status, while leaving millions of acres of leased land untouched. The Rahall legislation directs the Secretary of the Interior to define what constitutes diligent development for oil and gas leases.

http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=389&Itemid=1">FULL TEXT

They are holding those fields back to control the price and keep it high, just as they aren't shedding too many tears over the violence in Iraq or war talk about Iran since that drives up the price of oil too.

In fact, before the Iraq War, http://professorsmartass.blogspot.com/2007/03/oil-too-cheap-if-no-iraq-war-says-oil.html">OIL & GAS JOURNAL fretted that when the sanctions came off, Saddam would pump too much oil and drive down prices--unless there was a war. We gave them the war, and they rewarded our sacrifice of tax dollars and soldiers lives by gouging us at the pump.

If they didn't charge us less for giving them Iraq, why would they for ANWR?

VOTE THIS UP on newsrankers so wider audience sees it:
http://news.propeller.com/story/2008/06/17/congress-finds-big-oil-holding-back-fields-that-could-double-us-output/#comments
http://digg.com/world_news/Big_Oil_holding_back_fields_that_could_DOUBLE_US_output
http://www.reddit.com/info/6nsrg/comments/http://www.reddit.com/info/6nsrg/comments/
http://www.buzzflash.net/story.php?id=56052

[Mojorabbit]

1. I think they should be left alone

Our grandchildren will need it some day even if we transition somewhat off fossil fuels. I can't see sucking all of it out of the ground to be sold on the world market till there is not a drop left. It should be a part of our national treasure and treated like gold.

[yurbud]

5. my point is more that we shouldn't give them MORE when they aren't using what we already gave them

[Raksha]

36. And they can STOP blaming the environmentalists!!!

They do that nonstop, incessantly. It's their knee-jerk response when anyone complains about the price of gas, and I'm fed up with it. I know just exactly the bunch of RWW kool-aid drinkers on another forum who need this shoved in their faces.

[hokies4ever]

42. I agree with your point of view, unfortunately

too many people are short-sighted and are willing to sell our country's future for a little bit of comfort now. Just look at our $9 trillion debt and the fact that McCain has vowed to keep the Bush tax cuts even if it means not balancing the budget.

[NMDemDist2]

2. there may be *some* truth to that but....

I live in the 'oil patch' and the drilling rigs are working 24/7 around here with an 18 month backlog for new sites

and the rigs that aren't drilling new well heads are working 24/7 to open up capped wells ASAP

there's more to this than meets the eye...

[yurbud]

10. if they wanted the oil out of the ground in leases they have, they'd find men & machines to do it

[NMDemDist2]

11. Ok you come on down to the desert here and make $20 an hour

our unemployment is running at less than 2 percent. If you're breathing and can pass a piss test, you're hired.

tell your friends....

and no, I'm not kidding and don't need the sarcasm smilie. Need a job? come on down!

[Leopolds Ghost]

40. What the article fails to mention is that 1/2 to 2/3 of all oil is economically irrecoverable

That includes tiny-ass fields that wildcatters used to go broke bringing oil to market.

If we want to go back to the wildcat model we can lower the cost of oil by setting
speculators loose on every patch of dirt in the US, drilling in the Los Angeles basin again, like in Blade Runner.

[pt22]

3. That's a bunch of woo-woo crap.

There are practically no idle rigs...anywhere.

[yurbud]

6. maybe there aren't even rigs on those fields

[johnaries]

14. If there are no idle rigs, then why are they pushing for ANWR

and offshore drillings? That's the point of the OP. The fact they are asking for more protected lands when they aren't using the land they already have.

[pt22]

16. Same reason people invest in anything.

...

[johnaries]

33. No, They are not "investing". They are blowing smoke up our asses.

Plain and simple. Leasing land that you are not using is not investing. It's a waste of money.

[NMDemDist2]

17. because they are greedy fucking assholes

just saying...

here's the CEO of a local oil company, has tons of trucks on the road all the time (along with the Hailburton rigs) and he's the star of this article from the WSJ

Take Eugene Isenberg, the 78-year-old chief executive of Nabors Industries Ltd. If Mr. Isenberg died tomorrow, Nabors would owe his estate a "severance" payment of at least $263.6 million, company filings show. That's more than the first-quarter earnings at the Houston oil-service company.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3346400

[SalmonChantedEvening]

15. What exactly is a woo-woo?

?

[NMDemDist2]

18. OOGA BOOGA SMOOGA WOOGA!!!

:rofl:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_oet&address=358x190#o

[SalmonChantedEvening]

20. AZDD6!!

Hiya Lady!! :hug: :loveya:

Morans: Why some gene pools should just call it a day :rofl:

[NMDemDist2]

23. hi sweetie!

I'm off to the shower (no peeking?? :evilgrin: ) to sadly go in for a mandatory work meeting on my day off. :cry:

at least they're bringing pizza :shrug:

:loveya:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

25. Staring is not peeking.

:evilgrin:

They best spring for pizza, draggin' ya in when you could be showering more :rofl:

soooper :hug: fest

[NMDemDist2]

26. in the desert here we try to conserve water, no maybe I'd better not shower more

maybe just share it with a friend???

:hide:


:rofl:

:hi: I'm gone now, catch ya later....

[SalmonChantedEvening]

27. Oh sure

Lather me and leave me ;)

Take care k :loveya:

[pt22]

19. I have no idea, I just like writing it.

:D :rofl:

[SalmonChantedEvening]

22. So you have no idea what it is

Yet you know what it's crap looks like.

Check please!

[pt22]

28. I will have you know I have seen unicorn poop!

;-)

[Ghost in the Machine]

29. Who *hasn't* seen skittles?

[yella_dawg]

4. Oil prices are a scam and have been for years.

During the 70's oil embargo, my grandfather owned a fueling station for fishing boats in the Gulf. He was driven out of business. The refiners were loading excess fuel on barges used to service offshore rigs. Fishing boats learned fast that when weather blew in, the barges started dumping fuel like mad to prevent storm damage to the overloaded hulls. A fishing boat holds a lot of fuel. One storm would fuel the local fleet for weeks or months.

A guy I worked with in the oil fields told the story of watching gasoline tankers dumping full loads of gasoline on the ground back then because there was no more storage available. They couldn't cut back the refineries less the ruse be too visible. So they dumped it. He told this story only a year or two after it supposedly happened. I believed him.


Is oil a problem? Yes. Is it such a big problem gas has to cost four bucks. Seemingly not.

[yurbud]

8. read THE PRIZE or watch PBS doc on it. Back in 20s or so...

so many independents were drilling in Texas that the price collapsed. So the majors had the feds send in troops to chase the small guys off their fields, which lowered production and raised prices.

All of our machinations in the Middle East with Saddam and Iran are variations of that.

[liberal N proud]

7. Peak Oil, Supply and Demand, High Prices, Speculators

All a last ditch effort by the oily scum bags trying to get their greasy hands on the last few pristine places in the world. The Florida Gulf coast, Wyoming wilderness bordering Yellowstone and ANWAR.

They sent bu$h and Cheney to secure more oil for the oil monsters but they have failed. The bu$h regime started wars and relaxed environmental regulations and yet they were thwarted on the grand prizes.
So we have Peak Oil and yes I know oil will run out some day but stay with me.

They pushed peak oil hype way ahead of it self to buy in a contingent of save the planet people.
Since the Iraqi occupation has not produced the oil for the oil boys they must seek other means and the two biggest prizes, Florida Gulf Coast and ANWAR.

So drive the price up artificially, threaten Iran with war and beg Saudis to cut production while publicly claiming you begged them to increase. And if Congress doesn't let you attack Iran, get your friends in the mid-east to threaten them.

All to take the last great wild areas on the continent.

[yurbud]

9. ANWR I could see saving, but Florida? Isn't it already a toxic cesspool that will be underwater

in a few years anyway?

That's like saying we shouldn't put a garbage dump in New Jersey.

[Disturbed]

13. Oil Corps. are rippin' everybody off.

How much longer will they be allowed to do so?

[kimmerspixelated]

24. Perhaps when a number of their buddies in

other corporations go out of biz because it depended on shipping start screaming, "Uncle"!!!

[Mojorabbit]

31. No it is not a toxic cesspool

and there are a lot of sea life nurserys left here. It would be a disaster for our ecosystem if there were an accident..

[liberal N proud]

43. Have you ever been down the west coast of Florida?

White sand beaches beautiful clear aqua colored waters, dolphin haven, home to manatee and deep sea fishing is fantastic.
Miles and miles of pristine beaches and wildlife refuge from the panhandle to the Keys.

Don't let them make Florida look like the coast of New Jersey.

[yurbud]

44. ok, you've convinced me. Now I've got to come down some time

[liberal N proud]

45. You should - but you had better hurry before they trash it all

My favorite time to visit is October or November and early April

[iamahaingttta]

51. Obviously, you've never been to New Jersey!

Granted, the part along the Turnpike from the tunnel past the airport is pretty gross. However, the beaches from Asbury Park to Wildwood are for the most part pretty lovely. Going there next weekend.

[liberal N proud]

52. I have to admit, I have never been to the beaches

But they tell me they are pretty nice.

I have never really cared much for any Atlantic beaches north of Miami. Nothing personal, the water is always colder and not as clear. Not that I will turn down a trip to the beach.

[rucognizant]

63. Haven't been there recently..........

But I have seen the NJ beaches through several phases in my lifetime. When I was a child there were still dunes, with seaside growth. There were great clots of oil from the off shore, ship traffic........torpedoed and sunk, submarine activity............( during WWII)
Then it cleaned up, the dunces eroded away, they kept building jetties to hold back the beach.............
he sand was fine and white, ( afterall NJ was a major glass cneter because of the fine sand!the incline was gradual, no falling abruptly when walking out toward the deep.
THERE WAS NO TRASH, BECAUSE THAT POPULATION WAS SELF REGULATING, AND CARRIED IT TO THE TRASH CANS WELL PLACED ALONG THE BEACH.!
The beaches of the Riviera aren't nearly as nice.
Yes the west coast of Florida has great beaches too and wonderful fish and coral reefs.............
AND DON"T DARE TOUCH MY MAINE TIDEPOOLS!

[kimmerspixelated]

21. Your version makes the most sense.

Bastids!

[Leopolds Ghost]

39. Why do Americans refuse to believe oil is not limitless?

We can't keep going on driving 2 blocks to the store.

[liberal N proud]

41. Because the M$M says it is supply/demand

[Leopolds Ghost]

64. We are running out of oil. No new discoveries. The market is right to jack up the price

our POLICY should be to jack up the price of oil, as Carter tried to do. That's what the LIBERALS IN EUROPE HAVE BEEN
DOING FOR DECADES -- TO PROMOTE CONSERVATION AND HEALTHY TAMPING DOWN OF AUTO USE. We are just now coming to the price
of gas they have in transit-friendly Europe. Too bad your home town legislates against walkability, no? Sucks for you.
In this case the "market" is right. A stopped clock is right sometimes.

Do something about your hometown's anti-pedestrian parking, subdivision and housing ordinances (wherever you may live,
the laws are the same) and I will listen to your price complaints.

[livingonearth]

12. Right wing nut jobs act like the oil companies aren't in it for themselves.

What do they think- the oil companies are just waiting for the chance to do something nice for America? They already drill in Alaska, and does it all stay in the states to help keep costs low here? No, it goes straight to the world market where the dollar isn't worth as much as it used to be. Right wing nut jobs use restrictions on drilling in ANWAR as a way of fooling themselves into thinking the "Liberals" are to blame for everything.

[yurbud]

30. TELL YOUR CONGRESS COWARDS to support this bill LINK:

Find your senators & congressmen:
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/index.html

My letter to my rep, Henry Waxman:

Please support Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008 (H.R. 6251) that tells big oil companies they have to drill on leases they already hold on public land before they are given any more. The House Natural Resources Committee found that we could DOUBLE our domestic oil output if they simply drilled on those unused leases.

We should certainly require that they do that before we discuss opening ANWR or more off-shore drilling to these parasites.

Congress has been far too compliant to the interests of big oil to the detriment of the American people, from not collecting royalties to spending our tax dollars to fight a war that is keeping prices high to coercing the Iraqis to pass a Hydrocarbon Law as a "benchmark" of success even though it gives most of their oil income to big oil companies, which will further inflame hatred of Americans.

People are starting to wake up to the fact that Congress has fed us platitudes while picking our pockets to fill those of the already wealthy like big oil.

You are one of the few who have stood up for us, but we need you to do even more and vote for this bill, H.R. 6251

[jgraz]

32. Excuse me while I die of not surprise.

[Solon]

34. Until holes are actually drilled in these fields, any estimates(doubling production? really?) is...

idle speculation. Indeed, there are no guarantees that ANY of these acres of land have oil underneath them at all. Even if they most overly optimistic estimates are correct, double domestic production wouldn't even meet 10 percent of current domestic demand, much less demand a decade or so down the road, when the field is fully developed and pumping.

[yurbud]

35. which is true of ANWR and other areas they are demanding we give them as well

[DCKit]

50. You're claiming we currently produce only 5% of our current consumption?

AFIK, it's closer to 46%. Even if it were *only* 25%, the increase would provide 50% of our total consumption and the current excuses we're being fed - world demand, declining production, terrorists in Nigeria and the ME, Iran, etc... - would evaporate.

Additionally, Big Oil wouldn't be holding those leases if they weren't capable of producing. They drill test wells as a matter of course, determine whether there's an economic benefit, then cap the wells. They're holding these lands in reserve. Goggle "tight hole" for shits and giggles - not all the results will be about Big Oil sitting on leases.

[Leopolds Ghost]

37. Oil isn't just found everywhere. Entire North Slope Alaska is leased but the actual fields are small

Sorry, it takes a highly specific coincidence of structures to yield an oil reservoir.

This "news" reads like an account threatening mining companies with a "use it or lose it" clause
to recover all the remaining gold in the lower 48.

[yurbud]

46. coal mining companies have ''use it or lose it'' law because of speculators

it's in the article at the link.

[eagleswing963]

55. Ban Speculation

Simple as that!!

If you speculate, you go to jail, and lose your trading privileges.

[yurbud]

47. my point is no that we should drill more but that big oil is lying about what they have

[Leopolds Ghost]

38. Also, can I point out that US oil production peaked in 1970 and discovery of new oil peaked in 1930?

[L0oniX]

49. http://hubbert.mines.edu/ ...been there ...studied that years ago.

People should study up on the catastrophe we are headed for.

[L0oniX]

48. What happened to Kuwait? How about a little payback help? ...

We rescued Kuwait and what do we get from it?

And on the big push to allow drilling off our coasts ...well there isn't that much oil out there and they are lying to us about it so that they can make the big money. We use 20,000,000 barrels of oil a day in the USA. The supply of off shore oil is about enough to help with 3 years worth.

IT DOES NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF OUR OIL CONSUMPTION BASED LIFE STYLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[eagleswing963]

54. Or even better

I am sure there is some old law on the books still active, that says the government can allocate oil and other supplies during war time.

Bush and Cheney keep saying we are in a war. If such a law exists, then I am sure there is some way to make Big Oil keep it here if its pumped here!

How much oil comes out of our ground and goes to Japan, Europe, or China?

I would love to know!

[eagleswing963]

53. Isn't there a law against price gouging?

If so why is that law not enforced?

I know I am naive, but seems to me a simple matter of arrest an Big Oil guy, charge him, prosecute him and jail his sorry ass!

[blindpig]

56. Naw, this is the beginning of the pain

of Peak Oil. To be sure, there are hustles and speculation going on, but from what I've heard that accounts for 8-14% of the price of oil. It is expanding demand coupled with inelastic supply which is raising the price. Of course the Saudis could open the spigot, it is not in their interest to do so cause when it's gone they're back to being a desert backwater. Of course there is more oil in the ground, under the sea, but the cost of extracting and refining it raise render our profligate current use of it untenable, particularly under the market system.

We could nationalize and rationalize the energy sector, I would, but that still won't effect the supply. We could extract every gallon and damn the environmental damage, I wouldn't, and postpone the inevitable for maybe a few years, but then what? Who knows how much damage to the Earth, and we're back where we started.

We should nationalize the energy sector, make massive government investment in mass transit and rail, subsidize gas and heating oil for those with no alternatives until alternatives can be made available and not importantly, severely restrain the Pentagon, shrink it, as it consumes 40% of the US total.

The age of cheap oil is over, get used to it.

[Ganja Ninja]

57. Perhaps we need to hire some Chinese oil companies. n/t

[leftofthedial]

58. the vermin who run big oil have been running Enron-esque scams for decades

artificially restricting supply, creating "shortages," manufacturing crises, price gouging, corrupting the political process, using the resulting chaos to leverage less regulation and more concessions.

I guess it's not enough that we maintain the most bloated military in history so we can fight "wars" for them.

[defendandprotect]

59. I trust everyone understands that we're being "ENRON-ED" . . . ??????

[defendandprotect]

60. THIS time we should nationalize the oil industry --- and get ELECTRIC CARS on our roads --- !!!

[Leopolds Ghost]

65. Where will the energy come for 200 million Electric Cars? Americans drive too much.

That is because of cheap gas. Raising the price of gas in Europe VOLUNTARILY helped prevent these inefficiently
mechanized development patterns.

[defendandprotect]

66. Innovations and alternatives have been stymied ---

Obviously we have a car industry doing more to protect oil industry interests
than consumer or environmental interests--

More expensive gasoline would still be a severe pollutant and contributor to Global Warming ---
and isn't desirable. We have to stop burning fossil fuels.

Overpopulation in itself is a problem and certainly the move to suburbs is a problem --

Not to mention the overall lack of efficient, properly maintained MASS transportation --

My town has yet to come to terms with any of this --- and were recently trying to erect
multi-tiered parking garages--!!

Meanwhile, as to alternative energy and electric cars ... you really should rent the movie
"Who Killed The Electric Car?"

My library has it --- yours might?

[oldskool]

61. If drilling off shore is necessary

Then We the People should own the oil rig. I wonder how Rush
and big oil like that.

[Rudyabdul]

62. Great information, thanks.

I just read an interesting article that might give us even more understanding of what is really going on with high gas prices and why we keeping hearing the GOP mantra on oil prices is that we need “new drilling”:

Iran's Ahmadinejad says oil price artificial

[yurbud]

67. NPR played a clip of Rahm Emmanuel pounding big oil on this--even DLC gets it!

[mmonk]

68. It's always been about controlling production and controlling prices.

This goes for domestic oil resources as well as foreign.

[ProfessorGAC]

69. For The Millionth Time! Supply Is NOT The Problem

There is enough oil in the system now. The problem is unregulated markets with two non-value added layers of profit taking. It's been the problem the whole time, with the exception of the mid-70's oil embargo.

We don't need more drilling. We don't need more supply. There is enough oil to meet the demand.
The Professor