The US Department of Energy's Failing Policy on Oil Domestic Production

EIN News says, "As Days of Easy Oil Fade in Middle East, Firms Turn to Newer Techniques. The days of easy oil for the Middle East are not yet over, but energy companies in the region have recently started testing newer, costlier techniques to enhance oil recovery, as fields show signs of aging. (nytimes.com)."

Easy oil is over about everywhere. We have tapped the oozing oil of California and the shallow-drilled oil of Pennsylvania and Texas. However, technology has significantly improved, and what was previously considered difficult drilling is now considered easy. The major difficulty that the drilling companies are facing is governmental restriction, particularly in the US.

Saudi Arabian oil from present wells will ultimately be mostly exhausted, just as was oil from California, Pennsylvania, and Texas, and the Saudis will find it still profitable to produce some oil through secondary recovery even though more expensive. However, there are new opportunities for primary oil production in Siberia and deep drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Brazil. We have recently proven the existence of gusher oil in the Gulf through the unfortunate incident of the BP oil spill. However that should not detract from the fact that we have made a major discovery and should allow drilling companies to develop technological improvements for greater safety to the environment, as we harvest this oil.

The US Department of Energy under Ken Salazar doesn't see it this way. He likes the current conservative approach. Take no risks. Unfortunately, this automatically leads to no success. We sorely need domestic oil and need to give drilling companies opportunities to develop their techniques in the US, which with continued technological improvement will not be as costly as is now predicted. The highest cost is to be restrictive and be dependent upon foreign suppliers for our domestic needs and unfortunately our military needs.

Lets kick out Ken Salazar and get somebody into our Department of Energy who can see this improved picture.

Catch 22 on Oli Drilling in the Gulf

Open Letter to Rep. Neugebauer:

EIN News says, "Rigs in Gulf Ready to Drill, But There's Little Work. Although the ban on drilling in the Gulf was officially lifted weeks ago, the top regulator for offshore drilling acknowledged that permits have been slower in coming as the government stiffened safety requirements and intensified its reviews. (nytimes.com)".

Middle East suppliers are not stupid. When they see things like this, they naturally take advantage of a marketing opportunity. My gasoline price just increased 20 cents a gallon in the last several days. We sorely need domestic oil production, but the Administration continues to deny it to the voting public. Let's hope for more turnaround in the next election.

For a better explanation to the casual observer, drilling companies are allowed to drill for oil in the Gulf, but they can't drill without permits, which they can't get. This is a typical government Catch 22. Catch-22s are often spoken with regard to rules, regulations, procedures, or situations in which one has knowledge of being or becoming a victim but has no control over it occurring.

I guess the basic question is why do you and other members of Congress allow this stupid situation to exist?

Kill Wind and Solar Subsidies

Senator Baucus has introduced a bill, which would extend subsidies for solar, wind, etc. energy production. In addition, he has included $2.5 billion to cover a 30% investment tax credit.

I don't now know what the cost of extending the present subsidies would be, but let's guess it would be a couple of billion dollars. Is this a time we should be spending $5 billion on a will-o'-the-wisp, which is what solar and wind energy are, compared to standard coal burning electricity plants?

I suggest the House and Senate fight to the death to kill this bill and any others concerning subsidies for wind and solar, which are known losers. Coal and oil drilling should continue to be promoted.

If there is a political need for something new, Congress should start to push small-scale hydroelectric power generation. We have a lot of rivers and streams that could be damned, and the subsequent falling water used also to generate electricity. General Electric will supply the turbines. We have available lots of large earth moving equipment. However, the dams and subsequently formed lakes must be small to avoid displacement of families from flooded land. Small lakes will be environmentally attractive for summer cottages etc.

Note also that we haven't done anything significant in flood control since the Tennessee Valley Authority multi-years ago. We are still plagued with heartbreaking accounts of flood victims, especially this past spring and summer. The TVA was a combination of flood control and electricity production. Let's do it again, with the modifications necessary to be consistent with present needs and technology now available.

Another Ban on Oil Drilling

EIN News says, "U.S. Won't Allow Drilling in Eastern Gulf. The Obama administration reversed course and said it wouldn't allow drilling off the Atlantic coast and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico near Florida, citing safety concerns after the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. (wsj.com)".

This is ridiculous. We are crying for independent energy, of which the most easily available is crude oil and yet we will not allow ourselves to harvest it.

Granted, there is some environmental risk in oil drilling. However, there is always risk in about everything we do. Even the mandatory restriction on Gulf and Atlantic drilling near Florida risks continued dependence on Middle Eastern oil, with it's obvious disadvantages.

What do the people of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi say? Are they willing to take a low-level risk of possible environmental damage with the upside possibility of improving their economy. Don't these people have any rights or is this just another federal government mandate with no consideration of the desires of the people involved?

I doubt that President Obama came up with this idea all by himself. It probably came from Ken Salazar of the Energy Department, who I previously suggested a few times be removed from his job.

I realize that Congress is fairly well tied up with unemployment benefits, budget balancing and tax increases, but there ought to be a little room for Congress to also pay attention to these other aspects of the Administration which continue to reinforce the collapse of US economic power.