Some Basic Facts About High Oil Prices

From Redstate.com

http://www.redstate.com/vladimir/201...ne-prices-now/

Below the fold is my humble 10-point plan: Things President Obama could (but won’t) do to reduce domestic gasoline prices by November 2012.

1. Commit to a strategic goal of North American energy security. That includes reasonable and responsible domestic drilling. That includes taking the lead on the Keystone XL Pipeline; we could find a way to make it happen while addressing the legitimate environmental concerns of Nebraskans. It includes a commitment to maintaining the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and opening ANWR.

2. Ditch the anti-industry, anti-capitalist rhetoric. It is not the President’s or the government’s place to decide when an industry’s profitability is “high enough”. High oil company profits fund more drilling; more drilling means more future supply and lower prices. Besides, American oil companies are not owned by a cabal of wealthy executives, but by America’s pension funds, mutual funds and private investment accounts. “They” are “us”.

3. Stop targeting the oil industry for punitive tax treatment. States such as Texas and Louisiana have production tax abatement programs that have successfully encouraged new drilling. If you don’t believe that the threat of increased taxes discourages drilling, just ask Governor Perry or Governor Jindal.

4. Realize that Uncle Sam is in the energy business and is a partner in industry’s success. Oil and gas royalties are the federal government’s #2 source of revenue, after the income tax. Offshore slowdowns hurt not only industry and jobs, but government revenue.

5. Recognize that industry does not need to be led by government; industry needs to be unleashed and encouraged to innovate. The resurgence of the domestic energy sector was rooted in the private sector, not matter how much President Obama and Dr. Chu would like to take credit for it. The growth in North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Texas happened in spite of the federal government, not because of it.

6. Trust that no oil operator wants to be the “next BP”. The BP spill cost that company something on the order of $40 billion. Industry safety and environmental commitment is motivated more out of self-interest and less out of fear of the government. When it comes to federal regulation, the nation would be better served by Sheriff Taylor, not Barney Fife.

7. Return offshore permitting to the pre-Macondo pace. Your overreaction to the BP Spill has cost on the order of 500,000 barrels per day of domestic oil production from the Gulf of Mexico. The ridiculous “Worst Case Discharge” calculation as a routine part of offshore permitting is engineering malpractice, in my humble opinion. The professional staff of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is capable of reasoned regulation, but they currently operate in fear of their political masters.

8. Declare hydraulic fracturing & well design to be the regulatory domain of the states, not the EPA. Geology and environment vary widely; Pennsylvania is not Louisiana is not North Dakota is not California. It is insanity to think that one broadly-applied set of rules can be applied to regulate industry without suffocating development.

9. Rescind the recently-enacted royalty rate increase for new onshore Federal oil and gas leases. Secretary Salazar’s stated rationale for increasing the government’s take by a whopping 50% – from 12.5% to 18.75% of gross production – was to equate onshore royalties with the offshore royalty rate. That makes no sense. Higher royalties mean less drilling, poorer economics of production and premature abandonment of wells. Besides, an IHS-CERA Study recently showed that the federal government’s total take of offshore cash flows makes the Gulf of Mexico the second-most punitive fiscal regime in the world, after Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela. [Update: In keeping with the First Rule of Holes, rolling back the royalty rate increase may be the first thing the government should do if it is serious about reducing energy prices. - Ed.]

10. Encourage development of a nationwide distribution system of natural gas as a transportation fuel. Natural gas is clean, abundant and nearly 100% domestic. Its potential as a transportation fuel has scarcely been tapped.

Bonus #11: Get real about the promise of alternative fuels. Recently you said: “You’ve got a bunch of algae out there; If we can figure out how to make energy out of that, we’ll be doing alright.” Maybe so, but I will stick my neck out and say it ain’t gonna happen, at least not in my lifetime, not on a scale that will impact pump prices.

Energy policy will be a President Obama’s key vulnerability in November. His goal has always been to encourage alternative fuels by raising conventional energy prices. Alternative energy may poll well, but the average voter who fills his tank with $4+ gas on the way to the ballot box will certainly “Hope for Change”.

But Obama won't do any of these things. Why? See video in above post. Originally Posted by Whirlaway

*sigh* are you really that f**king stupid. Go re-read what I posted at the beginning about how no matter what the US does, it will have little to NO effect on oil and gas prices.

Let me put it to you in simple terms, the US is already a NET producer of oil and gas and it has had ZERO effect on the price at the pump.

*sigh* are you really that f**king stupid. Go re-read what I posted at the beginning about how no matter what the US does, it will have little to NO effect on oil and gas prices. Originally Posted by BigLouie

QE1 and QE2 have caused gas and oil prices to go up. Doing 'nothing' to encourage gas and oil production, as Odumbo's administration has done for three years, has not hindered the rise in gas and oil costs. Let Odumbo impose new taxes on energy companies and 'pretend' the new taxes will not cause a rise gas and oil prices. What the U.S. does, does have an impact on gas and oil prices. BigLouse, you really are a f**king moron.

NO its China same as the reason college tuition has gone up so much China is taking up all the paces in colleges.

Even Big Louie says that we have a surplus so if supply and demand is the ONLY thin that drives the price and INFLATION does not we should see gasoline at about a buck and a half.
Of course we only have 2 percent of the worlds oil but consume 20 percent of the production so does that mean that we are producing more than 20 percent of the worlds oil.

WE should explore for all we can and buy it form the rest of the world while it is cheap and then when the price is high we use our own resources.

. You're worried about an paltry extra $5 or $10 to fill up your gas guzzlers, Originally Posted by TexTushHog

You always claim to be for the 'under privileged', TexTushHog, yet you ignore too many realities. The truth is, it's the rich who can afford to drive the new hybrid and fuel-efficient cars. It's the poor who are driving used vehicles: the gas-guzzling dinosaurs featuring yesterday's fuel inefficient technology. It's the poor who are paying increased fares to ride fuel-guzzling metro buses. It's the poor who are really hurting from increased food costs associated with increased fuel costs for planting, fertilizing, harvesting and transporting the food for processing and to market. So please take your chuckle-headed nonsense back to France and stay there.

Y'all are like hogs rooting on the ground for acorns that don't realize that they fall from trees. Not one word about the single most significant issue connected with oil -- man made climate change. Just fucking stunning. You're worried about an paltry extra $5 or $10 to fill up your gas guzzlers, yet catastrophic climate issues will confront our children because of our irresponsibility and lack of political will. Just disgusting. Originally Posted by TexTushHog

Well where the fuck are acorns that fall from trees going to be? ON the GROUD STUPID. You ever hear of NEWTONs law.

Mr Clinton you can take that "climate change" and shove it up Gores ASS...

Well where the fuck are acorns that fall from trees going to be? ON the GROUD STUPID. You ever hear of NEWTONs law.

Mr Clinton you can take that "climate change" and shove it up Gores ASS... Originally Posted by IIFFOFRDB

Al Gore's ecological footprint probably ranks in the 99th percentile: typical limousine liberal -- "Do as I say; not as I do."

If he is so all-fired concerned, why did he buy beach front property in California? Isn't it going to flood as the ice-caps melts?

Al Gore's ecological footprint probably ranks in the 99th percentile: typical limousine liberal -- "Do as I say; not as I do."

If he is so all-fired concerned, why did he buy beach front property in California? Isn't it going to flood as the ice-caps melts? Originally Posted by I B Hankering

EK the INBREED could shine Al's shoes. Hell he could be president of the Shoe Shinning Union.

NO he would have to know shit from Shinola for that.