Dems didn't cave on offshore drilling- they pulled Repubs

[fulllib]

Into their trap!

Louise Slaughter on Rachel's show demonstrated how offshore drilling is not going to happen anyway- there are 68 million acres already there that are licensed and not being used, the oil companies don't want it anymore than that(they don't even have the equipment!), and we export oil as it is.

But there are three Dem wins:
1. It will also be paid for by lifting the oil company tax breaks,
2. We got alternative energy advances from the bill
3. The repubs are done talking about it, their only mildly strong cmpaign talking point.

I know it seems like the Dems caved, and that was my reaction much of the day. But I'm also cognizant that Barack is the party leader, and this would not have gone through without him approving. Last week, we saw a vote for something McCain had voted against twice before (equal pay, was it?) pulled from the floor. Many commented that it would have been a chance to prove McCain what he really is. I think it was because Barack didn't want to risk McCain, even though he voted it down twice previously, getting a chance to vote for it- that would have completely changed the discussion about women and Palin if he had gotten that vote.

This is the same thing- Barack already took the hit for changing his mind on this one weeks ago. Now that it has a bill, it gets renewable energy items through and ends the only successful talking point McCain's campaign has at this point. Hannity will flap about Dems caving, but it wont go further than that.

[HughMoran]

1. Getting rid of the oil company tax breaks was good

It can be revisited next year, so it's not likely there will be any drilling (or even permits) before that.

[theoldman]

2. The important thing was to get it out of being a campaign issue.

In the long run it was a smart move by the Democrats.

[Old and In the Way]

3. Republicans tried to adjourn the House twice today w/o bringing up the drilling debate

They basically called the Republican bluff on their pet kabuki issue. Big Oil won't do it because:

1) It's capital intensive, much more expensive than drilling on land.
2) It's a risk of capital - no guarantee that these wells will produce oil.
3) They make more and better no-risk profits buying oil from established fields outside the US.

Big Oil, of course, had no problems letting Republicans use this issue politically. But allowing Big Oil to drill and Big Oil actually drilling are 2 very different things.

If the Democrats negotiated away the Big Oil tax breaks and can use this money to encourage solar/wind/renewable domestic energy, even better.

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. It really is simple, isn't it?

Yes, it's much easier to drive to the drilling site than swim. Takes fewer parts to build a derrick when it doesn't have to float.

[napi21]

4. Louise did a great job, and I agree with what the Dems didf.

Basically, they called the oil companies bluff. Now lets see if any of then actually DRILL!!

[mzmolly]

7. I agree.

A great tactical move. ;)

[misanthrope]

9. I concur...

...this was brilliant!

Now the "Drill Baby Drill" canard is gone, useless.

That means the next lie to take front and center, once the futility of this last avenue is exposed, will be the refining question and Big Oil DOES NOT want the truth about that to reach the frontal lobes of average Americans. A congressional probe in the last decade already revealed the inner-industry collusion in that regard, not to mention the simple economic logic refinery expansion defies for those posting record annual profits as is.

Maybe this is the beginning of a new tactic: remove the straw men from Big Oil's tactics and watch the truth dawn on Joe Q. Public?

[misanthrope]

6. We export 1.8 million barrels per day...

....We're obviously starving for those additional domestic derricks.

[FogerRox]

8. Please. Dig the facts.

Those idle leases are mostly w/o oil or nat gas. They lease a tract just to do a seismic survey, if the results are good they wait for a drilling rig to become available and drill. Most leases dont contain oil or gas. Seismic surveys have reduced dry hole drilling by maybe 50=60%.

THere are at least 1 significant oil field in Alaska that are not being produced because the Alaska pipeline has yet to be extended to that field, Pt Thompson. Alpine was waiting a few years for an extension of the Alaska pipeline, Alpine is now producing.

North American reserves are estimated to be between 10 & 20 giga barrels. Most of that is low quality thick oil in rock of low porosity, so the oil doesnt flow very easily.



http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0028-01/fs-0028-01.htm

" ANWR has 10 smaller oil fields. 95% chance of holding 3.4 bb.

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs045-02/figure6.html

NPRA has 4 oil larger fields, 95% chance of holding 5.9 bb

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs045-02/

Drill smart

I again digress:

"Senator Menendez"

Fact: Oil Companies Have Access to 100 Billion Barrels of Oil. Oil companies have access to 100 billion barrels of conventional oil under federal lands and waters that are not under any moratoria and are being leased or are available for leasing. .

http://menendez.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=299804

Interior Department has estimated 18 billion barrels of oil available off shore under a congressional ban.

http://www.doi.gov/issues/expanding_oil.html

100mb in existing leases should be produced before the 18mb found offshore in banned areas are.


Drill smart.