So is it time for the federal government to get in the oil business?
I think we all agree that oil is a national security commodity, and right now, we're being jerked around by our enemies and our back-stabbing "friends" and the same sort of greedy monsters who gave us Enron. I think we're headed fast toward drilling on the Continental Shelf and in prohibited shell and maybe Alaska's wildlife preserve. But WHO is going to explore and drill for the stuff, deliver it and refine it? Why not open up exploration to wildcatters and their reward for finding oil would be a percentage of all or part of the oil extracted from their find. The US Oil Company would do the drilling and transport the oil on US-owned ships (no foreign flag ships) to US refineries. How do we sell it to the markets--which, BTW, will be absolutely restricted to the US domestic market? We sell it via the kinds of bids private industry puts in for any government contract: we sell it to the LOWEST bidder after we set a minimum bid based on expenses and reasonable profits to the federal contractors doing the extracting.
And we allow the building of new refineries and not necessarily to the BIG six. And as soon as the law is in place to begin exploration, we can prime the pump with oil from the national reserve.
If we want to affect the market, we can dictate that priorities for the cheaper fuel go to diesel (truckers--because they ARE essential and are driving the price of inflation), to cross-over vehicles and to vehicles that get say over 30 mpg...
A perfect answer? No, but it's patently obvious that we need to have some leverage with this essential commodity, and oil is a bit like uranium, which we don't allow to be sold on world markets and if we can pay millionaire farmers not to farm, then we can certainly justify paying wildcatters to find oil which WE control....no $55 million a year CEO's or speculators necessary.
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That's a good argument, except...
How much oil is there? I hear alot about "We need to drill in ANWR, we need to drill in the gulf". How much oil is there? Someone please tell me. My uncle has spent his entire professional life in the oil exploration business (Texas, Venezuela, and the last 20+ years in Saudi Arabia), and according to him, there is nothing that would make a dent in the amount of oil that this country, and for that matter, the world, consumes on a daily basis. This is a silly argument: "let's just start poking holes all over the place and see what we get". The process of just that would take years and years. And oh, HI, by the way, Toyota just rolled out a hydrogen fuel cell car last week, and it barely got any press attention. And one of the arguments against hydrogen is "well, there's no infrustuctue for that"... Well, you know what? When VCRs first came into our homes there was no Blockbuster video either. And now there is.
Peace out,
Jackalope
Nope. We have MORE than the entire Middle East.....
And it's not just oil; it's also natural gas. And in some cases, new technology can have some reserves pumping within a year, if not less. Also, since it's the speculators who are driving the price since consumption has gone DOWN, it's the future price and supply they're betting on. I've also read several pieces about the oil bubble, which just like the housing bubble, WILL pop. And that will drive down the price of oil, but might also do a job on the financial markets.
And speaking of ethenol--we were weren't we? (grin) That is one of the worst ideas for the survival of the poorest of the poor that anyone has ever had. It will drive starvation and is a perfect example of what happens when a pie in the sky is embraced without proper thought of all consequences, including the unintended ones.
I've heard much praise for the sugar gas in Brazil. I've also read that this sugar-gas is directly responsible for cutting down more and more of the rain forests.
And good for Toyota, but even if the miracle car were developed tomorrow, it would take years and years for the technology to become available to all consumers at a price most could pay. A hydrogen vehicle is not a VCR tape--or even a DVD. Most can afford the initial $9.99 investment for a tape; most can't go out and buy a new $50,000 car. Takes time.
NO. It is NEVER time for
NO. It is NEVER time for governments to be in ANY business.