Thursday, July 17, 2008

Capping Your Energy

The use it or lose it bill died today, but it is very much to the point. Listening to Sen. deFazio, I discovered that there is an area in Alaska where oil wells have been drilled, are productive, and are capped. Waiting for higher prices, our oil companies are holding back supplies.

Democrats did indeed accuse Big Oil of stockpiling resources in order to drive prices up at the pump.

"After all, high gas prices have made them the richest companies in the history of the world," said Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Kentucky. "Instead, they demand the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, presumably so they cannot drill there, too."

The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska also was cited as a case in point.

"Eight years ago the industry got 3 million acres of land leased over a pool of 15 billion barrels of oil," said Rep. Peter Defazio, D-Oregon. "They've drilled 25 wells and capped them. That's it. The Bush administration is going to lease another 4 million this next year. If we don't have this bill, maybe they'll drill some more wells and cap them."

But in pushing the bill to the floor without a committee hearing and disallowing amendments, Democrats had to suspend House rules, which meant they needed a two-thirds vote to pass the bill.


Par for the course, the oil industry is suckingthe life out of the American economy. The GoPervs are solid in denying America the public service they have pledged to give, and are sucking along with the oil lobby.

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1 Comments:

Blogger Jackie said...

While the Republicans are running around like chickens with their heads cut off, shouting, "Give 'em more off shore oil leases," the Democrats are there as usual trying to calm the situation and talk responsibly. It proves some people panic very easily, and thus can be controlled with their thinking. Giving away more oil leases is not the answer, and if they'd be quiet long enough they'd be able to listen to reason.

This is a business move, pure and simple. We've been there before. Remember 1973? The oil companies controlled what was shipped to the United States and how much was refined into gas and heating oil. The oil companies are powerful, and their power was never more apparent than it was during the manufactured "oil crisis" of 1973.
They controlled 90% of crude exports to world markets by controlling every important pipeline in the world.
In the early 1950's, revelations surfaced that the oil companies would pump the oil from the Middle East, then split the profits with the government of the country where the oil was produced. OPEC was formed to make people believe that the Arabian oil reserves were not owned by these non-Arabian oil companies.

A 1973 study by Philadelphia Inquirer reporters Donald Bartlett and James B. Steele revealed that while American oil companies were telling the U.S. to curtail oil consumption, through a massive advertising campaign, the five largest oil companies ( Exxon, Mobil, Texaco, Gulf, and Standard Oil of California) were selling close to two barrels overseas for every barrel (42 gallons) of oil sold here. They accused the oil companies and the Federal government of creating the crisis.

In 1974, Lloyd's of London, the leading maritime insurance company in the world, said that during the three months before the Embargo, 474 tankers left the Middle East, with oil for the world. During the three months at the height of the crisis, 492 tankers left those same ports. During the Embargo, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) (whose President, Thornton Bradshaw, was a member of the CFR) drivers were hauling excess fuel to storage facilities in the Mojave desert. All of this evidence points to the conclusion that there was no oil shortage in 1973.

These non-Arabian oil companies were informally called "The Seven Sisters". They control what is shipped to the United States and how much is refined into gas and heating oil. Originally [the group included:]


Exxon (was Standard Oil of New Jersey, then Esso)
Mobil (was Standard Oil of New York, which merged with Vacuum Oil)
Chevron (was Standard Oil of California)
Texaco
Gulf Oil (controlled by the Mellons)
Shell (Royal Dutch Petroleum)
British Petroleum (Anglo-Iranian)

Do we have a reason in the world to think this isn't happening again? I think not!

2:00 PM  

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