Can Offshore Drilling Really Make the U.S. Oil Independent?

[amyrose2712]

Can Offshore Drilling Really Make the U.S. Oil Independent?
Even if U.S. energy policy goes "drill baby drill," there will be no escape from the vicissitudes of the global oil market(Scientific American Online)

By Emily Gertz

When Arizona Sen. John McCain accepted the Republican nomination for president, he vowed to cut America's reliance on foreign oil by opening up the nation's Atlantic and Pacific coasts to drilling—drawing cheers from GOP delegates on hand for his party's national convention. "We will drill new oil wells offshore, and we'll drill them now," McCain pledged to his faithful, who gushed with enthusiastic chants of "drill, baby, drill!" The ultimate goal, the candidate said: to "stop sending $700 billion a year (for oil) to countries that don't like us very much."

No one disputes that a lot of oil lies untapped under the rocky floors of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans off the U.S. coasts, in areas where Congress has banned drilling since 1982. But is it enough to free the U.S. from its dependence on foreign suppliers?

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), is the part of the U.S. Department of the Interior responsible for leasing tracts to oil and gas companies and collecting the royalties on them, which amount to around $8 billion a year. The leases are supposed to be awarded through a competitive bidding process, in which the best-qualified company coming in with the highest split of royalties wins. (The Interior Department's inspector general, however, released a scathing report on September 10 charging that 19 current and past officials in the MMS's Denver-based Royalty in Kind program were both literally and figuratively in bed with energy company execs. The IG report describes "a culture of ethical failure" in which staffers accepted vacations and other pricey gifts from oil companies, rigged contracts, did drugs with one another and had sex with industry reps.

(snip)

Kaufman dismisses as "nonsense" any promises that offshore drilling could make the U.S. "oil independent." Even if it could somehow insulate itself from the ups and downs of the global oil market, he notes, the U.S. would have to make a huge leap in domestic oil production to replace what it buys from overseas.

"At its peak in production, which occurred in 1970s, the U.S. produced about 10 million a day," Kaufman says. "Now, after 30 years of fairly steady decline, we produce about five million barrels a day," whereas we consume 20 million barrels daily. "Whoever talks about oil independence has to tell a story about how we close a 15-million-barrel gap."

The McCain campaign did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=can-offshore-drilling-make-us-independent

[marmar]

1. The assertion that offshore drilling will make the US energy independent is a chimera.....

..... a right-wing wet dream.

[Historic NY]

3. Exactly, not including how long it will take to get product to market..

from the time it takes to construct rigs, drill and finally get product to shore. They don't even mention that refinery's need to process don't exist. Republicans don't get it and that what the GOP is counting on ignorance.

[annabanana]

2. The BIGGEST FLAW in the "drill baby drill" push and no one

in the media mentions it... It really really ticks me off.

"American Oil" is a phrase that should never be used without someone correcting it immediately. It doesn't matter who pulls it out of the ground, or where it's pulled from... We will have to line up behind the Chinese and the Indians to buy it.

[Strelnikov_]

9. Not to mention . . .

that the other OECD/IEA nations (who we tapped for refined products following Katrina/Rita, and possibly now after Ike) will not accept this.

Also, how can we sue talk about suing OPEC and yet restrict sales of domestically produced oil?

Either we have a liberalized market, or we don't. And for the country that consumes 30% of the worlds petroleum exports, depends on imports for 66% of it's 'spice' fix, a country that is deeply in debt . . .

[dmosh42]

4. I agree with all these premises, plus...

the fact that the oil industry doesn't have the refining capacity and infrastructure to handle more crude. They have been paying themselves off with profits with nothing towards the future. This is all about knowing the Repukes will lose control, and they want to lock up all the leases they can.

[Hubert Flottz]

5. Look at how well it's working RIGHT NOW!

Now how much did gasoline just go up in 24 hours?

[KamaAina]

6. There's plenty of oil to drill for onshore.

By now you've all seen the stories about all these "instant millionaires" up in North Dakota. Do you think they just struck oil there last Tuesday? We've known all along there was oil there. But at $40 a barrel, it wasn't profitable to drill for it. At $100 a barrel, it's a different story -- one that could be repeated across many such marginal reserves across the country.

Just Say No to Big Oil and its rapacious demands to drill anywhere and everywhere a well will fit!

[paparush]

7. This image sums it up nicely

[tannybogus]

8. No! There is only enough oil offshore

to last us a finite number of years. I have seen estimates of 10 years. In addition, the oil that

is pumped out will go to the oil company and they can put into the open market. There is no special

US pool that their oil goes to. People don't realize that.

[OHdem10]

10. Offshore Drilling gives us oil while we transition to other forms

of energy. Think of the millions of vehicles in US. Think of the
different levels of income of our citizens. No way will be able
to make an abrupt change over. We need oil to get through the
transition. Most people understand we do have enough oil for
complete independence using oil. More affluent will be able to change
over, then people of less means will gradually change over.
Our Country is too large and too vastly populated for some great
switch. Common Sense helps.

[jpak]

13. Offshore drilling will provide an additional 200,000 a barrels per day

That's 1%

repeat 1%

of US daily crude demand.

It's a crock o' republican shite....

[alarimer]

11. No. There isn't enough out there.

And think of the disruptions every time there is a storm or something.

[Abugface]

12. It's a trick to enrich big oil.

The oil, once it is tapped, will go on the world market. It's not like it will stay in the US. Big Oil will get richer - it will have no significant effect on gas and heating oil prices, except perhaps for a small and temporary psychological effect. Another gross example of corporate welfare. :mad: