Bush To Echo McCain's Plan To Drill In Oceans

WASHINGTON — President Bush plans to make a renewed push Wednesday to get Congress to end a long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, echoing a call by GOP presidential candidate John McCain.

Congressional Democrats have opposed lifting the prohibitions on energy development on nearly all federal Outer Continental Shelf waters for more than a quarter-century, including waters along both the East and West coasts.

With oil prices soaring and motorists paying $4 a gallon for gasoline, political pressures have been growing for more domestic oil and gas production.

"The president believes Congress shouldn't waste any more time," White House press secretary Dana Perino told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"He will explicitly call on Congress to ... pass legislation lifting the congressional ban on safe, environmentally friendly offshore oil drilling," Perino said. "He wants to work with states to determine where offshore drilling should occur."

Bush also will reiterate his call for development of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Perino said. McCain has opposed drilling in the refuge, maintaining that the pristine areas in northeastern Alaska should be protected from energy development.

On Monday, McCain made lifting the federal ban on offshore oil and gas development a key part of his energy plan. The Arizona senator said states should be allowed to pursue energy exploration in waters near their coasts and receive some of the royalty revenue.

Bush has made clear in recent weeks that the drilling moratorium in coastal waters should end to allow for more domestic oil production and help "take the pressure off the price of gasoline."

Democrats, as well as some Republican senators from coastal states, have opposed lifting the drilling prohibitions, fearful that energy development could harm tourism and raise the risk of oil spills on beaches.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for president, opposes lifting the ban on offshore drilling and says that allowing exploration now wouldn't affect gasoline prices for at least five years.

Congress imposed the drilling moratorium in 1981 and has extended it each year since by prohibiting the Interior Department from spending money on offshore oil or gas leases in virtually all coastal waters outside the western Gulf of Mexico and in some areas off Alaska.

President George H.W. Bush imposed a separate executive drilling ban in 1990, which was extended by President Clinton and then by the current president until 2012.

Bush has been considering lifting the executive ban as a symbolic move to get Congress to take action, but he decided against doing so for the time being, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because internal deliberations were involved.

The House Appropriations Committee was scheduled to vote on legislation Wednesday that included a provision that would continue the drilling moratorium into late 2009. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., planned to try to strip that provision from the bill. A proposal Peterson offered last week that would open all federal waters 50 miles from shore to oil and gas development was rejected by an Appropriations subcommittee on a 9-6 party-line vote.

Comments

[RememberTheAlamo]

Hi All!

No slight to the Wikipedia, but their numbers need to be taken in reference to their source.

Recoverable oil is determined by a complex formula using about 26 variables. The most important variables are price, inflation rate, interest rate, distance from a market . . . what Wikipedia provides is a low-ball, conservative estimate of a very small percentage of the actual oil which is "in place". . . . and even that is "toned down" . . . . nobody ever likes to be wrong!

The East Texas Oil field is a case in point . . . it was discovered in 1931 . . . it was expected to last till 1934, then 1939, then 1945, then 1950 . . . it is still producing 34,100+ wells later and 5.2 billion barrels (one field).

Kansas (which is no ANWR) has produced 6.2 Billion BBLs of Oil and is producing from every county but seven? . . . and nobody thought there was oil there!

You could produce more from Kansas (or any other state) if you returned to these fields and performed enhanced recovery . . . at the moment the Wikipedia would consider Kansas "empty", but at $100 per BBL , then Kansas probably has another 6+ billion BBLs of oil to give


The oil guys are asking for three things . . .
(1) Get the environmental regulations out of the way
(2) Speed the permits
(3) Let us develop

[research]

2-4 years worth of US oil use.

Then what?

1T$ 10 years replace all coal oil nukes imported oil with solar and wind.

even in three years, over 45 Nukes worth of Wind power will be installed world wide.

Wind and Solar are the best course, right now.

Sustainable forever.

Here's the details:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/research

[marymansour]

America's worst nightmares can be summed up in three people: George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and John McCain.

[beejcctx]

People - THEY WANT ALL OF THIS - this way Halliburton - which is an OIL and GAS company!!!! Makes even more money for Bush, Cheney and their minions -- all at the expense of the American people and now what's left of our environment. Bush ALLOWED the pricing to get out of hand - probably even asked the Saudis to screw us over so bad that many in the public will also demand we drill offshore and in Alaska again -- look at the BIG PICTURE - it's what Chaney and co. WANT!!!

[thedesertdweller]

100% correct, these wingnuts see the writing on the wall & are trying for one last giveaway of our commonwealth to the oil industry lobbyists.

What I don't understand though is the huge level of ignorance of the wingnuts followers who buy this dril more garbage. We don't have a nationalized oil industry so therefore there is NO CORRELATION BETWEEN DOMESTIC OIL PRODUCTION AND LOWERING OUR PRICE AT THE PUMP!!! Fools such as Hannity keep saying drill but Exxon will just sell it to the highest bidder. If this oil was to be sold only to the US at @20 a barrel it would help. But then Conservatives would go crazy over that too since their loyalty is to the fantasy free market ideology, not reality.

Any additional production would just sit in tankers out in the ocean because there's nowhere to put it, we barely use what we produce currently! & OPEC would produce a few million barrels a day less and we'd be in the same physical supply situation as we currently are.... which isn't bad at all since there are no shortages!!!!

[thedesertdweller]

Here's a thinking test for the wingnuts

1. No shortage of supply now or in the relevant future

2. No spike in demand, in fact it's down the last 6 months

3. Oil costs about $2 a barrel to produce which nets about 20 gallons of gas.

4. Something along the lines of a 2000% increase of money sunk into commodity trading over the last few years courtesy of deregulation.

5. Wingnuts beg to drill more when the oil industry itself doesn't even utilize already approved leases. Something along the lines of 75% of current approved leases to drill are sitting there untapped.

WHY ARE WE PAYING $4+ a gallon for a product that costs about a quarter to get to market.

I challenge any wingnut to add this up and make a logical case for drilling before we first repair our markets.

[Redrover666]

1. China and India have emerged as industrial powers placing significant additional demand.

2. See #1

3. OK

4. OK

5. Having a lease only guarantees a right to drill, not whether or not there is oil, or if it's cost effective to take it.

6. Because world demand and manipulation drove it there.

7. We can't "repair the market", it's a world market. We can however start letting our oil companies do their jobs so that we don't have to continue importing 58% of our oil and be dependent on world markets.

Right now two thirds of Americans want a significant increase in American oil exploration and production. The real question is.... why are folks like you so against it? Your points are laced with vitriol and hate, rationalizations and excuses. You absolutely do not want another oil well, period. Liberals have been vehemently against oil exploration for nearly twenty years. It's your baby. In America's eyes Bush owns Iraq, but you own the price of gas at the pump. Tonight when they fill up, they'll be thinking of you and which one is hurting them worse.

[mergina]

These people are so easy to HATE.

[incontempt]

Keith Olberman, finally, tonight discussed why fuel prices are up...ENRON and the loophole put into law with McCains assistance and with phil grahams direction.­.. close this and oil/gas will drop by 25-50% OVERNIGHT.­...i want someone in jail....an­d McCain is directly linked to this corruption at the whole worlds expense...­airlines failing...­.farmers quitting..­the whole works.

The hammer is falling and the truth will be exposed...­.finally

[Redrover666]

The truth that everyone is noticing is that for decades democrats have prevented the drilling of oil wells and forced us to be dependent on others for our energy. Furthermore, in this crisis, democrats continue to argue against drilling new wells.
The tables have turned. Only weeks ago the big issue was the war. Now it's decades of democratic obstruction of exploiting our own abundance of domestic fuel

[incontempt]

THere is plenty of ground for oil wells that are leased and unused....­this whole thing is distraction for bush mccain...y­ou'll see and then you'll be embarrassed.

[thinklib]

Say what you want, but this is a big time losing issue for Democrats.

Even if it takes years for drilling offshore or in ANWR to make a difference at the pump, we'll all be glad when it finally does.

We're already looking for alternate sources of fuel and ways to make it profitable to bring it to the marketplace - that will take years too. That's why we should drill as well.

Mark my words, this is a losing issue for Democrats.

[incontempt]

Hold your horses....­McCain is the reason...h­im and his enron loophole, close it and oil/fuel prices will drop overnight 25-50%!!

Now...who is going to jail for this corruption?

[Redrover666]

Just curious. I am for both drilling, digging, and developing alternative fuels and technology.
There is plenty of green technology on the market now.

I am assuming that you folks are in the forefront of all this. I would love to hear some personal testimonials about your solar panels, electric cars, tankless water heaters, passive air conditioning etc... and how it has paid off for you and our environment.

[incontempt]

look up homemade or diy solar batch water heater...w­ant to cut costs?...p­ut it inline before your normal water heater...e­xposed to the sun but behind glass or plexiglass and whaalaa...­when you empty your normal hot water heater ,it fills with 30 or 40 gallons of 120+ degree water instead of 40 degree ground water and saves much energy...o­r extends your hot bath by 30-40 gallons a simple diy for a few hundred...­or better get an old waterheater from dump to recycle.

[Redrover666]

Great! So how did it work out for you? Who was your contractor? Did he do a good job and did he come in under or over bid?

I use a tankless water heater that cut my energy usage by 50%.

[DMcD]

Not fooling me !!
This is just more of the same "bait and switch" tactics employed by Bushco for 7 years now. They're confronted with a serious problem , think-up a way to profit from it , then exploit their ulterior motives while professing to solve the problem [example; Iraq and Halliburtin]. In this case; Offshore drilling and Exxon.

[Redrover666]

Nope, sure can't fool you.

Now, take your medicine and go to bed.

[incontempt]

seek recent information on enron loophole..­..someones going to jail;-)

[blastocyst]

Just continue to pay the Chinese to do our heavy-lifting for us. The high cost of low prices.

[brighterside]

The reasons why oil prices have skyrocketed:

1. Worldwide demand for oil. Especially China and India.

2. The ever shrinking supply of oil. Yes supplies are shrinking. How can anyone argue its not when we used billions of barrels each day.

3. Speculation on the price oil. Investors are driven by fear because of middle east tensions, failing U.S economy, fear that supply cannot overcome the weight of demand and other factors.

4. The devaluation of the dollar. A barrel of oil cost 40% more than what it supposed to.

Offshore drilling won't work. Both California and Florida folks don't want it. Drilling in Alaska will take years to reap the benefits.

Secondly, OPEC will compensate us will less oil from abroad and we will still end up with the price we started out with.

So this offshore drilling idea by McCain is a red herring. We are in a crisis and there are other ways to tackle this than just knee jerking reactions by the republicans.

[Redrover666]

Ok then.... You make a fine point, so what's your list of things to deal with the problem, now as apposed to the republican red herring of drilling for more? I don't mean research, nor development of some new amazing alternative energy, not plans for a greener tomorrow, What's the democratic plan to reduce the price of oil and increase the supply?

[leduck]

there is no right or left plan to fix this mess and maintain our current standared of living

it's over as we no it no matter what
unless someone can think of an alternative to oil that packs the same punch

or scale up smaller punches enough to make up the difference

[SouthpawSass]

Did I just hear a McCain "talkie" say that off shore drilling can be done without hurting the environment? Hell, I better vote Republican 'cause if they can do that they're omnipotent!

[Redrover666]

Frankly, it looks like that is precisely what is going to happen. The news today has two thirds of Americans demanding immediate drilling. Obama and the far left prefer we tough it out and wait for something else to come along. It doesn't take a great odds maker to see where this is going to go if the price of gas continues to rise and the candidates hold to their positions.

[brighterside]

Well if you read below some have mentioned that the oil companies have the okay to drill millions of miles of untapped oil in the US on leases -- yet they have failed to something about it.

Obama and the far left did not say we tough it out as what republicans want to assume. He has a better long term plan than McBush. And even though we start drilling it would be years before we can see any of that oil in the mass marketing. Drilling now is not a good short term solution, and frankly, its not even a solution.

Drilling right now as what the republicans seem to emphasize, is nothing more than a red herring. They're willing to feed the people fear on rising oil prices by making false promises of cheaper gas. It ain't happening.

Lastly, I honestly think that its the fault of the republicans and they should figure out a way to fix it. Before Bush took office a barrel was at $20. This was with a republican dominated congress. Bush is still president. If he can enact wars without the approval of congress, why doesn't in do something!

[MACS]

.
the bushie/McSame demand for more drilling will not see any fruit for at least five years.

There are no spare drilling rigs available for use right now.

How long will it take to produce over 1,000 rigs in order to make a small dent in fuel prices???
.

[RedEyes]

This logic is so sophmoric. Nothing we do is going to have an immediate impact. Your sacred alternative energy "solutions" do not and will not have an immediate impact either.

[research]

Rooftop Solar and wind are faster to ramp up because they can be mass produced.

1 trillion dollars, 10 years, solar and wind replace nukes, coal and imported oil

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/users/profile/research

[MACS]

.
Some day this earth MUST exist on the energy received that day. Where has bushie been for 7 years.

His economic and energy policies have resulted in this mess.

Why did it take the 2006 victory by Democrats to increase CAFE MPG???

Jimm Carter was correct way back in the 70's to demand higher CAFE MPG.
.

[k6007]

Well my wonderful reps. voted against higher cafe. Citing 'possible job loss'. So what happened?
The gas guzzling continued and we're still losing jobs. so goodbye din gel, stab us now, lev vin, kill pack trick.....­..

[layman]

Bush gave tax credit to fat arses who bought Hummers as to promote more oil consumption,
ending with GM closing plants cutting jobs.

Now he's promoting more drilling as to have more fat arses to drive big suvs and big trucks, getting them hooked on / addicted to oil.

He's the marketing operative for of Exxon-Mobil.

It's very suffocating energy and econonmic policies

[SWEETPB307]

Mr Bush & Mccaine if we use the engery funds for new drilling what will we use for alternative energy, that is suppose to reduce our dependence on oil? Or anyone who can answer this question? And Mr Guniani, if this is a sercurity issue should not have that been address before now, i guess not we where trying to get to Iraq's oil I forgot . Another question, why is naive or lack of judgement when you stand up to your orginal vote that the 9/11 attacker where not in Iraq but in Afganistan?
I hear Joe on Morning Joe this morning stating we have not been attack since 9/11, that is so true, but the soldiers which I am, are not on the US soil, and we have been attack, and not because of 9/11 but because a lie.The one who are protecting you are not spoke of. That's a program starter...­who are they? Wonderful people!