What is your definition of Energy Independence

^^^ Is this where you react to losing the debate by taking an imaginary victory lap? Did you forget to hurl a few homo insults?

Pooooooofttt! What was that noise? Originally Posted by lustylad

Why would I take a victory lap?

You numb skulls still haven't figured out the arbitrary nature of energy independence as it applies in present terms.

Someone needs to put the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band on a bus, drive it to Midland, and have it march through the main dining room of the Petroleum Club to wake everybody up. Oil prices have reached heights unseen since 2014. Not only that, but pumping crude has been transformed in the public eye, practically overnight, from a climate scourge to an act of patriotism in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “We have the ability, and frankly an obligation, to support our global allies to help fuel democracy and energy security,” Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, told me this week.

Yet the Texas oil business slumbers. After President Biden, on Tuesday, announced a ban on importing Russian oil into the U.S., prices topped $123 a barrel, before falling back to $107 as of this morning. And the industry’s response? The number of drilling rigs grinding into the ground in search of hydrocarbons in both West Texas and South Texas has declined by a couple.

This isn’t to say that Texas’s oil output won’t rise in the coming months, especially if the oil and gas crisis unleashed by the war in Ukraine intensifies and the industry’s role as a geopolitical asset grows. We just shouldn’t be surprised by the subdued response. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature of the new energy economy.

For the past few years, the oil industry in Texas has been browbeaten by investors. Wall Street got fed up. No longer did it support piling on debt and outspending cash flow to prioritize double-digit annual increases in production whenever oil prices were high. Investors had learned time and again that an inevitable drop would burn up shareholder value. The new mantras for oil companies are “be sustainable” and “live within your means.” If they make extra money because oil prices are high, give it back to investors.

Look at what happened as oil prices rose steadily from last summer’s dog days, when $62 bought a barrel, to $75 as we rang in 2022, and on up to $88 by February. Then too the reaction in the Texas oil patch was muted. Only a couple of dozen rigs were pulled out of yards and put to work. Many Americans may want the industry to get new rigs up and drilling right now in the name of global security, but you can’t ask the business to change back that quickly. (Well, you can ask, but you won’t like the answer.)


I recently asked Travis F. Thompson about all of this. He’s the 42-year-old chief executive of FireBird Energy, a Fort Worth company active in the Permian Basin. FireBird has been running two rigs for months and is considering adding a third soon, but only because it bought some acreage from Chevron, not because of surging prices. Thompson told me FireBird’s investors—including Canada’s Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and RedBird Capital Partners in Dallas—don’t want it chasing $100 oil. Instead, they want FireBird to reward its investors, yes, but also to meet its environmental goals. Instead of putting more money into drilling, the company has installed infrastructure to recycle its water and a solar project to reduce its carbon footprint. It’s “focused on creating cash flow and sustainable businesses,” Thompson said. “As prices continue to rise, there will be increased pressure to ramp up activity. I don’t think you see companies move too far away from their capital disciplined approach.”

It’s worth listening to him because most of the rigs drilling in the United States, as well as in Texas, belong to private companies such as RedBird. That’s an unprecedented development. According to data compiled by Enverus, an Austin-based energy analytics company, publicly traded Pioneer Natural Resources, based in Irving, has the most rigs running in the Permian Basin, but two privately held companies are close behind: Tyler-based Mewbourne Oil and Midland-based Endeavor Energy—well ahead of industry giants ConocoPhillips, Exxon, and Chevron.

Biden’s ban on Russian oil effectively removed 670,000 barrels a day from U.S. markets, about 7.9 percent of the nation’s imports of crude oil and petroleum products. It’s not clear if the small private companies could make up those missing barrels, even if they suddenly caught a case of patriotic fever. Those kind of numbers need to come from the big public companies.

But don’t expect the Pioneers and other public companies to step on the gas either. Pioneer, which is wholly focused on the Permian Basin, is a standout example of the new reality. In the final three months of 2021, as prices climbed, it gave $1.1 billion back to its investors in the form of dividends. Four years ago, it distributed just $55 million in dividends—for the entire year.

Scott Sheffield, Pioneer’s longtime chief executive, says the company isn’t going back to the old business model anytime soon. Asked about plans to ramp up output last month, he was adamant: “At one-hundred-dollar oil, one-hundred-and-fifty-dollar oil, we’re not going to change our growth rate.” In other words, come what may, they’re sticking to their knitting.


Pioneer is not alone. Most of the big publicly traded companies are in a similar boat. They have been chastised by investors for squandering profits and have promised to genuflect at the altar of capital discipline. At least for now, they have the unflinching fervor of converts. And, looking at the industry’s history, it’s easy to understand why investors don’t care to get burned again. Prices are high now, but what happens if investment flows into the Texas oil patch and within a few months new wells begin producing—just in time to join a tidal wave of new crude from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela that sends prices crashing.

A few days ago, Wayne Christian, chairman of the state’s oil-regulating Railroad Commission, sent a letter to President Biden. “America must unleash our hardworking oil and natural gas producers,” he said. He cited actions he wanted the federal government to take: approving the Keystone XL pipeline and renewing onshore and offshore leasing of public lands. That sounds good and will score political points. But the bottleneck isn’t in Washington, D.C. It’s on Wall Street. Investors bludgeoned oil CEOs into submission long before prices climbed into triple digits.

Why would I take an imaginary victory lap? Originally Posted by WTF

Because that's what you do. It's part of the farce in every thread you start.

You set up a straw man, falsely attribute it to others, knock it down, pound your little chimp chest and declare victory.

And you always act like you made some kind of profound observation or discovery ("I've pulled away the curtain to Oz") when all you did was tell everyone the sky is blue.

NGIAT got it right. Every thread you start is a staring contest between WTF and WTF. Chimp versus chimp. Keep staring at the mirror. When your reflection blinks, congratulate yourself.

It's a game poofters and chimps play whenever they're bored with flinging their poop.

LL sounds like he's describing the Demented Idiot in the WH ... claims he's gonna "fix it" and when he doesn't he blames it on someone else.

WTF just changes the subject while pretending that's what he was mouthing about in the first place. Just burning up bandwidth!

His resource .....

This was your contribution to the definition

But it will help us to withstand "supply shocks" elsewhere in the world. And it obviously increases our leverage in situations where a major energy producer like Russia is misbehaving.



. Originally Posted by lustylad

Which shows your obvious lack of understanding as to how OUR supply chain works.
They quit drilling when prices drop below a certain point.....especially now with their newfound discipline.

For this so called energy independence....we'd have to nationalize our energy sector. And probably pass a bunch of laws prohibiting the export or importing to and from foreign countries.

Is that what you want?


Please be more definitive as to what your idea of energy independence is or should be.

Also try and remember that you just can't tell private energy companies how to run their business.


What part of the Pittsburgh crowd do you relate to....the pitchers or catchers?

LL sounds like he's describing the Demented Idiot in the WH ... claims he's gonna "fix it" and when he doesn't he blames it on someone else.

WTF just changes the subject while pretending that's what he was mouthing about in the first place. Just burning up bandwidth! Originally Posted by LexusLover

He's just running interference for Biden, trying to cover for the Delaware Dope's egregiously bad policy decisions and incompetence.

Think about it. The more WTF pesters us to define "energy independence", the less he thinks we will complain about Biden's role in the near-doubling of gas prices.

And if he can hijack a thread about inflation by steering it into a completely unrelated topic like Taiwan's response to the pandemic, he thinks we'll stop blaming Biden for the soaring prices of everything from pork chops to the Depends they both wear.

Of course, that's all delusional.... but WTF has to do this kind of stuff to justify his weekly paycheck from the DNC's social media disinformation committee.

The DNC thinks it's worth money? Oh, wait! It's in ruples. I forgot.

When he can't control his emotions he stumbles into bancation space.

He struggles to "neutralize" posters by outing them. It works!

He doesn't get to respond to them for awhile ... but it does look like he might have another handle (or two)! Perhaps the mods can check it out!

https://www.eccie.net/showthread.php?t=2835600

He's a contracted piecemeal worker. He gets paid by the DNC based on his post count.

Is he aware that YR is competing with him? I just passed one of these to YR

For this so called energy independence....we'd have to nationalize our energy sector. And probably pass a bunch of laws prohibiting the export or importing to and from foreign countries. Originally Posted by WTF

Why do you keep posting obvious nonsense? We achieved net energy independence (however briefly) without nationalizing anything. And this achievement was facilitated by lifting export bans, not imposing them. The facts disprove everything you post. You really should quit now. I'm starting to feel sorry for you each time I have to smack down your specious unthinking twaddle.

This thread is an absolute joke. No useful infomration anywhere. But I do have a few questions:

WTF apparently knows everything ... well about.... everything. Unteachable he is, and in his mind because he knows well everything. It is the saem old deplorable liberal tactic of"I am better then you, I am smarter than you, I know what is best and your are stupid tactics."

Just look at Biden's tactics to raise prices and yes he is directly at fault for raising gas prices or was that just some all miracle I dont understand magical coinsidence that you know and I could never understand simply because I am not you, that it happened right after he took office? Biden raises energy prices in an effort to get the nation and world to go green. One of his administration said so the other day, "just buy electric cars and gas prices not an issue." Biden raised prices to put pressure on Americans to buy electric cars.

Going green is a good idea, but the democratic moron in the oval office like everything else cannot execute the good idea properly or in a manner which creates the least amount of harm. He harms the poor the most, the ones who cannot afford price increases, then he balmes Trump, blames Russia, blames Putin, and has started baloimng the oil companies now for something he knows and we all know he did.

Poorly executed but good idea. Leaving Afghanistan was a goo didea but very poorly executed. Again Biden is a moron and the worst President this nation ever had. You cannot just overnight raiserices and everyone runs to Tesla. Most Americans cannot on a moment;s notice purchase a $50K asset on a dime. Millions are financing there gas cars still. Also we wants to buy a car without any infrasturcture yet? How do Americans take their families to see grandma in Michigan for the holidays now where to fuel p for electric cars. And we have not even discussed municipalities yet. How do they just abandon millions of dollars in assets in fleets of gas buses overnight to purchase electric transportation. Yes, I know we have electric trams, trains, vehicles in many municipalities, but if there are any cities or towns that do not use some sort of gas transportation please infrom me, I am teachable. ANd if a few exist, great but the majority of cities have to use gas until they gradually flip over to greener vehicles.

Good idea, poor execution. Then he tries to save his ass by blaming everyone else. I am fine with that. Because every time he tells another whopper of a lie he converts that many more liberals or democrats into freedom loving Americans and that many more voters will ban together this fall and in 2024.

Biden is responsible for raising gas prices in America, face reality for once.

WTF apparently knows everything ... well about.... everything. Unteachable he is, and in his mind because he knows well everything. Originally Posted by Computerwise

Not quite everything. He doesn't know what he doesn't know. Or as Rumsfeld would say, he doesn't acknowledge any "known unknowns". He also doesn't know anything about intellectual humility, how to be classy or admit it when he's wrong.

I believe Computerwise addressed the "green power" THEORY ...

.... and right now that's ALL IT IS. "A THEORY"!

Example: Several months ago I stopped at a Walmart in a fairly nice area to pick up some items and I noticed ELECTRICAL CHARGING STATIONS installed in the parking lot. There were four. #1 They were still wrapped in plastic .. a lot of plastic (how is that thick plastic made?) #2: They were labeled ... "Do Not Use" (less than four letter words so it could be read by potential users!) and #3. Because it was installed by a cart storage area there was only enough space to charge one MAYBE two vehicles at a time ON THE FOUR PUMPS!

There is a gas station at the other end of the parking lot ... 24 pumps!

Bitten is President! All you clowns who voted for him .... go buy an electric car! Please!

And hopefully, in the meantime we won't have another winter in the Houston area like we did a couple of years ago that FROZE the windmills producing ELECTRICTY to heat our homes! I can't recall if Bitten had cutoff the oil production YET?

As an aside, but relevant: I keep watching to see if Bitten has the criminal aliens he's allowing to "sneak" into the country gathered at Bush International Airport to be loaded on a plane to send them to an undisclosed location to be deposited to live with money in their pockets ......

like he did in Afghanistan to EVACUATE refugees with U.S. military support and presence that resulted in MANY BEING KILLED AND WOUNDED!

The more this administration pulls stupid, contradictory shit that results in lots of lives being lost, the more I believe it's intentional! Maybe not Bitten or Kumola, who lack the intellectual capacity to do anything intentional that requires cognitive funcstions, but the lunatics they've invited to fuck up this country.

Biden is responsible for raising gas prices in America, face reality for once. Originally Posted by Computerwise

If you could not see gasoline prices rising you were either dumd af on the subject matter or and this is a big ORZ....you were pessimistic SOB who could not see the end of this pandemic! You think we were all gonna die?

Look Compurerwise and commonsenseacking. I know wtf I know.

Care to give me your view of just wtf energy independence means?

You Trump fucks parroting energy independence like it is some be all end all are a joke.