Personally I'm not for drilling off shore or in ANWR. We got caught short after being put on notice over 35 years ago and are paying the price today.

But I find it very interesting how one statement made by Bush, lifting prohibition on off shore drilling even though our esteemed congress did nothing and is out on vaca, has brought down the price of oil.

I seems to suggest that consumption and supply are not driving the price, but like the stock market, perception and profit taking are!

Imagine if congress actually did something, or like they usually do, make believe they are doing something. No wonder their approval rating is half that of Bush!

But while we might not drill off our shore, China will possibly be drilling 90 miles off our shore. We need to stop feeding the beast that will eventually eat us!

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opponents of drilling have done an excellent job of pointing out all of the above..but the voters have clearly made up their minds at this point...nor are the voters entirely wrong either...markets do tend to react viscerally to announcements of more drilling..etc..for a short time...

but IMAO..the main reason americans is because it has become a rallying point for a far-right backlash that is propelling john mccain to the POTUS even as we speak...in other words..because of pure evil...

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But we are in such a small minority anymore. If big oil wants to do it, big oil will get their way.

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Like it or not, the oil companies will get their way and drill off our coastal shores and annihilate the aquatic inhabitants.
What we need to do is move forward with an alternate energy source, and provide a convenient and efficient distribution network. And, once it is perfected, we need to mass produce so much energy that the price of oil will be so low that nobody can afford to get it out of the ground, let alone distill or distribute it. Then, oil barons can choke on their own stocks.
By "we", I mean U S

Regards,
Marooned, Deep in the Heart of Texas
P.S.: The recent law that allows oil companies to diversify by purchasing electric utilities must be repealed.

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We all know that America isn't going to give up it's oil habit without a 12 step treatment. Using 25% of the world's oil reserves and only producing 3% is not sustainable. The current price escalation trend is hammering lower income Americans and padding the accounts of the one's responsible for the mess.

If we capitulate with off shore leases (even though drilling is happening off shore every day) we should use wisely the opportunity to write the terms in our favor. We can begin by recognizing that domestic oil is much cheaper to deliver and arrive at some reduced price factor that accounts for that. Having a factory next door to your store certainly has it's benefits, no matter what you are making. We should also require that all rigs and equipment be produced in America and that labor be sourced domestically. A time frame for drilling and producing should be established to force the price reduction mantra into reality before the increased production becomes a forgotten non issue.

Off shore drilling in the Gulf is going to happen and Democrats shouldn't throw the election out of denial or unrealistic hopes for our energy consumption. This is where campaigning stops and governing begins. Who does the governing will depend on who offers America the most attractive package for our national embarrassment.

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Please, everyone, let me have your opinion:

1. Given the current situation, would you say that is it ok for oil companies to extract oil from US lands and offshore areas, and sell it to other countries?

2. What would you think about much stricter regulation of the oil companies in terms of what they are allow to charge for oil extracted from US lands and offshore areas?

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It is high time to nationalize all energy sources, resources, refining, distribution and sale. It belongs to all of us not to a few of us. The same is true of the entire planet - it does not belong to the rich, the few and the greedy. It belongs in its entirety to the people. Time to take it back and send them to hell where they belong.

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Unfit McCain exclaims we must "drill now, drill here!" Meanwhile, at the same time, he supports free market economics that say, "The highest bidder will get the new oil."

Newt Gingrich was on C-SPAN the other day promoting "supply and demand" while at the same time, pushing McCain's so-called energy policy. Yeah, right. Exxon Mobil supplies Anwar crude and Red China demands the delivery.

Hugh E. Scott, Vietnam veteran [For the benefit of first-time AlterNet visitors]
Seven Reasons to Vote Against Unfit McCain

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Everyone talks as if oil were nationalized in this country all the while heaping bile on Chavez for nationalizing oil in his. Sometimes you just can't win.

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This article is being ridiculous.

The point is that the US uses far more than its fair share of World oil.

The oil in Iraq does not belong to the US. Why is the US trying to steal it?

Use your own oil don't go stealing other peoples.

If you want to stop using oil - then fine.

If you want to continue using oil then find it in your own back yard instead of dropping bombs on Iraqi kids.

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Good article. Good point.

I remember decades ago when the Alaskan pipeline was being "debated", someone made the point that much of the Alaskan oil would be sold to Japan and other asian markets.

I also remember back in the 60's when Americans were obsessed with the fear that communism would dominate the world (the factor in the American War against the Vietnamese People).

Well it's here, domination of the world not by communism but rather by global capitalism. For this oligarchy, allegiance is to capital- not people, not nation state, not even ideology (they trade with anyone- even the PRC). In decades past- people died for the state, for their religion, even for ideology- but now people are dying so the oligarchy can make money.

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fall for those OILY DOGGY BISCUITS ! As soon as election season is over, the prices will go right back up. In any case, until you end the drug war and allow HEMP to compete with crude oil on the market, you can count on Big Oil to keep their privatization efforts ongoing for another 70 years !

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"BIG OIL CARTEL" has a nice ring to it like Arab Oil Cartel once did when we were blaming our energy troubles on the oil producing NATIONS.
Lets identify where this chicken roosts - in the pockets of the spineless politicians who blame others for the problem while taking campaign contributions and outright graft from the BIG OIL CARTEL.

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Americans feel their precious environment is worth more than the lives of millions of people in the Middle East. They favor killing Iraqis for oil over harming polar bears and their pristine coastlines. Americans should have nice things and if they have to kill Iraqis to get the oil they consume at a staggering rate then so be it.

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would we be comfortable with the Chinese, Germans, Russians or Saudis drilling for oil in this country when this USofA is all over hell's creation drilling for same? As a matter of fact we will pretty much drill for oil anywhere we damn well please, take Iraq for instance we will simply make their oil ours.

Why should we with the free enterprise system and open markets be overly concerned about who gets the oil, they've got the money, they're paying for it and remember it is all about the "so called" law of supply and demand.

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Why does Exxonmobil get to make obscene profits because oil supplies are tight?

Shouldn't the American taxpayer get those profits?

I don't mind the oil being sold on the world market, what I do mind is that Exxonmobil gets all the profit from these contracts.

They should get a small percentage profit off their expense for recovering the oil and the rest of the profit should go to the government where it could be used to lower taxes or directly to the people in the form of direct deposits and checks.


The oil was here a long time before humans or Exxonmobil ever existed. If we are going to decide to extract that resource, then the profits should go to everyone, not the company some stooges in congress pick to extract the oil.

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Oil has folwed the air,the water given us shorter life spans,lung diseases and the war. Why the hell have'nt gotten away from this crap? The Mayans and the Incas knew not to use the crap so what happened to us....we got greedy. Oil was thought to be the 'endless money pit'. It's the endless death goo.
Solar,wind and hydro power is far more effective energy. Nuclear is a quicker death sentence. Coal is a joke. Ethonol is a bust because you get shitty mileage from it.
The best solution for the environment,people's health and ending the wars for oil would be Air powered Cars Trucks and buses. Cellulose fuels can be made from Hemp. Grown for fuel it can be grown and field processed 'before' food crops so there's no drain on the food market. In some states it can be grown before and after food production.
Forget the BS that we don't have the technology to make cellulose fuels,we've known how for centuries. Any oil we may draw from the ground won't make a dent in gas costs. You want cheap gas,cut your usage!!! Low demand equals cheaper prices. We decrease demand by not only driving less,like we're now doing but by we,the consumers,demanding cars and trucks that get 100 miles to the gallon. We get Detriot to comply by not buying their cars and trucks until they do get the mileage per gallon up...way up. All they need to do is reprogram the ECU in our cars.
WE are the ones who can get the mees we're in cleared up,WE can end the wars for oil game,WE can end the record profits for the oil companies and WE can end their hold on our Gov't. By not waiting for the gov't to act.
WRITE-IN Jeffrey7 for Prez '08

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Anyone who has missed this fact, needs to wipe the koolid off their lips Now!
I have no doubt that has been the planned since Bush stole office.
They have blatantly truned a blind eye towards the Saudi' part in 9/11, invaded Afghanistan ( the equivolent of College for the radicals the Saudi' born & raised and a great foot in the M.E Door) Invaded and are Occupaying Iraq, and have their eye focused on Iran....Who still thinks this Gov't gives a shit about US!?!

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Regarding the multinationals we in the UK are in the most idiotic position through lack of foresight by our government.British Gas have just informed all their customers that their bills will be increased by 35%

Why idiotic you may ask. The gas is being pumped from the UKs own gas field reserves and as we have insufficient storage facilities it is bought by German and Dutch companies stored by them then sold back to us!!

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That, our government, allows foreigners, to drill our oil, and buy our corporations, and own our roadways, allowing them to put tolls on them to make us pay, to use our own roads??? Our government sends our troops into foreign lands, to liberate their drugs, like opium in afghanistan, and cocaine in south America, but wages war on Americans, for growing marijuana??? Most mines in America, are on so called federal land ( the only land granted the federal government in the Constitution, was D.C.) many of these mines, are owned by foreigners, the same with all oil on federal lands, of which are called "PUBLIC LAND"!!! Here in Missouri, logging is legal on "federal, and state' land, with the proper permit!!! These lands were stolen, from the people, for a supposed reserve for future generations, but they are being exploited by foreigners, and our government, that only represents foreigners??? This same government, will lock up any American possible for using public lands!!! They can cut down any tree that they wish, but you can't dig herbs, or feed your families!!! On the news yesterday, the "FEDS" were complaining, that people were growing billions of dollars worth of marijuana, on federal/ public land, so they took, the Gaines of our industry, even though the government is growing millions of acres of marijuana, for research, and medicinal uses, and that's just here in Missouri!!! Foreigners,and government have no right, to RAPE, our public lands, or give, or sell them to foreigners, or to deny us the right to use these "public" lands!!! But, whats worse, the government won't even let us use our own lands, as we see fit, for we have to buy our marijuana, from the government, or from foreigners!!! I dare call it TREASON!!!

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When he announced that off shore drilling would be expanded. Anyone who believes this hasn't a clue as to how the commodities markets work.

Traders (and yes, "speculators") make bets on events that affect short term supply and demand. They do this by buying either the "long" or the "short" side of the oil futures contracts. Off shore drilling couldn't possibly affect oil supply in the term of a futures contract.

What does effect futures prices are political events (like an attack on Iran), weather, etc., because these will affect supply. They're also sensitive to inventory data. Drilling in Anwar? Futures traders aren't that dumb.

So how did the Bush announcement happen to come along just before the price of oil took the biggest plunge in Futures market history? Just remember what business that the Bush family is in, and his access to insider information from the White House. Also remember just how corrupt the financial markets in the US are. All he had to do was to coordinate with a massive bear attack in oil futures (through a massive buying of the short side of the contracts, and vola! The king orders the sea to retreat, and it retreats!!!!!

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Yes any oil drilled off our coasts belong to the oil company that drills it, that's the great flaw in this gimmick. Take a look at all the other places that do a lot of oil drilling (OPEC countries like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela) what do they have in common?
National Oil Companies.
There's a lot of whining in the mainstream about "how little politicians can actually do...blah blah blah"
Um...we could say something along the lines of "the natural resources of the United States belong to the citizens of the United States" pass that law and nationalize the "big oil companies" both candidates are now railing against. The results couldn't be worse than our current situation.

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Isn't it apparent that the current push to drill is a matter, not of meeting our immediate petroleum needs - not to mention our long term ENERGY needs - but of using the current energy crisis as background and impetus for W to give one, last, goodbye gift to his oil industry cronies in the form of a pocketful of valuable, new leases? If it were otherwise they'd at least begin - while we were arguing the matter - by opening up the capped wells already drilled and productive which were capped because they weren't profitable enough when prices were lower. They'd also be drilling YESTERDAY, on leases they already held, wouldn't they?
For six years of this administration they interacted with a Republican congress - they could have drilled to Russia by now and 'borrowed' some of their oil! That's simply not what this is about.

The focus on ANWR just seemed like a 'dog on a bone' matter - just Bush stubbornness - until I found that they needed oil from ANWR specifically to keep the Alaskan pipeline adequately full during the winter months. We already know it's not that much oil and will barely help with our energy requirements at all but it's significance is to the pipeline's function. Of course the Gw'chn caribou herd and the indigenous Gw'chn Eskimo who depend on them can go to hell as long as big oil's profit needs are adequately met!

You should know that we didn't just 'pick' ANWR off a map or coz it had purty flowers - nature, animal instinct and the caribou herd picked it over the years of their evolution as the perfect place for their calving ground. It's not a National Park it's the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and it has purpose beyond it's natural beauty!
I was a minor part of and very aware of one of the Bush administration's first anti-science actions over the matter of mapping those calving grounds and I saw the administration insist that a cartographer who worked for a PRIVATE contractor be fired from his position on threat of no more government work should they stand by their man! What sin did Ian commit? A professional, he objectively created a map as the contract called for and a study of the calving grounds and the movement and activity of the herd at calving time and as per their usual procedure he posted it to the mapping company's website before allowing the administration to review the work. - (and change what they didn't like??) It was shocking at the time but the buildup to Iraq soon made it clear that they were going to manipulate intelligence inputs just like they manipulate science - to suit their political ends.
Ian's ANWR maps actually showed something that they preferred the public not know and he paid the price with a huge bump in his career path.

BTW my 'conservative' friends, if you can't see the 'values' of a wild, beautiful place like that and it's function within it's ecosystem, please just cease and desist about instructing the rest of us about 'values'!

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With all the drilling hype I've been hearing lately, and the Paris Hilton retort, though funny and a worthy slap in the face to McCain, the real truth about offshore drilling seems to be lost in the current media circus.
Well it prompted me to devote my latest left of center cartoon to this very topic of who will get this oil we drill off American shores. It's up at my website now
www.whatnowtoons.com
cheers

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I agree with this article, and have pointed this interesting 'nationalized oil' dilemma out to people before. However, does anyone know what percentage of oil Exx-Mob sells to the US market now? I'd love to see some hard numbers on this... the argument basically is just so much hot air without factual data to back it up.

Thanks
-mcslain

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I am glad to see someone asking the right questions.

I remember seeing an article about north sea crude going to American markets a few months ago. That is when I knew that any new oil comming on line for America will be sold in global markets.

The only way to make sure to oil produced in America ends up used here is to nationalize the industry and that will not happen without catastrophic upheaval. That is a reality we need to deal with. The oil industry is not our friend and never has been. Not, here, in Canada or anywhere else on this planet.

Sincerely
Jay Lindberg

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The food that comes from that farming will not be United States property (Republicans aren't suggesting we nationalize the farmers, are they?). It will be the property of whichever farmer got the rights to that contract. They can then sell it to whoever they like -- and they will. They will sell it on the world market, so the Chinese will have just as much access to the food that comes out of the U.S. as we will.

Or how about this?

The autos that comes from that auto manufacutring will not be United States property (Republicans aren't suggesting we nationalize the auto companies, are they?). It will be the property of whichever auto manufacturer got the rights to that contract. They can then sell it to whoever they like -- and they will. They will sell it on the world market, so the Chinese will have just as much access to the cars that comes out of Detroit as we will.

Makes about as much sense as the author's original statement.

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Burning oil and/or coal, or even natural gas is NOT a solution to our energy problems, but part of the problem. We need to get away from the combustion trap as soon as possible if we're to salvage what's left of the natural world.

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http://www.drudge.com/news/110782/us-oil-exports-record-high

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_refineries

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Of course he is right . oil will belong to the oil companies to be sold around the world.Points:
1 Forget nationalizing the oil companies, that is about as far away as a worker revolution.
2 "Foreign" oil ?. The very words "foreign oil" are stupid and only used for the gullible to believe;there is no such reality since the US imports most of its oil for at least 40years now.
3The gas prices will come down to about $2 a gallon by fall because of the election as they did in 2006.Then they will go back to $4. a gallon, no matter who wins This will be further evidence of the elites manipulation of the people.We Americans are getting screwed to the max.....

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Corpirates RUNNING Wild!
12 TRILLION Dollars!
Enough to give:
48 Million People a Quarter of a Million Dollars each.
A National Lotto anyone?
Instead in gets
Sucked into BU__! SH__!s
Black Hole!
Trillions-4-Trillionaires!
The American Dream:
3 Squares of Toilet Paper!

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... because under NAFTA, Canada is obligated to provide you their oil even before there internal interests are met and is why NAFTA will never be revisited!
and is why Canada must import oil for its domestic consumption from US Based refineries while the national supply of crude is pumped to US based refineries for processing, which includes offshore Corporate Capitalization and Profit of the most profitable resource on the planet!

NAFTA Article 605 stipulates that energy exports to the United States as a percentage of total output cannot fall.

Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries
The top sources of US crude oil imports for May 2008 were Canada (1.840 million barrels per day), Saudi Arabia (1.579 million barrels per day), Mexico (1.116 million barrels per day), Venezuela (1.030 million barrels per day), and Nigeria (0.851 million barrels per day).

Greatest Oil Reserves by Country, 2006

Canada is a net exporter of oil, natural gas, coal, and electricity. It is one of the most important sources for U.S. energy imports.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Over 99% of Canadian oil exports are sent to the United States, and Canada is the United States' largest supplier of oil

and this article is outrageous to you how again?

someone somewhere is manipulating OUR resource for gain and a government we can't control is refusing to act to correct this commodity bubble!

Welcome to the real world where US based conglomerates control TAX FREE OUR wealth offshore, courtesy of a government most freedom loving people cant even vote for...

frakk u very much

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It's fungible. Any increase in supply means that the price will go down. Jesus will somebody please teach these guys basic economics?

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I am new here and have noticed that this is a predominantly liberal site. For all of the libs here I just want to say that making money is not a crime nor is it evil. As for oil and the companies that drill and refine it evil would not be the word to describe them. They are capitalists no different from myself or even you. I realize the debate is over drilling. I have read a few posts here and noticed that some people were amazed that the price of a barrel of oil dropped after Bush lifted the ban on drilling which is toothless unless congress and senate follow suit. The oil market is complicated. But many things dictate what the price of a barrel of oil will be day in and day out. The list would look something like this: Middle East Tensions ( Who's saying what on any given day ), current supply of crude and gasoline in the U.S., Supply outlook ( the location of future crude and the ease of getting to it ), value of the dollar ( this affects whether speculators want to invest in oil ), Politics what is the U.S willing to do to become more involved in defining its own energy future. Now that we have an idea what the factors are involved on determining the price of oil lets look at the benefits of why we should drill. For one if we follow market dynamics the first affect would be increased supply equals lower prices as long as the supply outstrips demand. Next if we are drilling here domestically than that means more jobs correct ? I personally see that as a good thing. And my last point for drilling is a maybe, the worlds country's that depend on oil to fund there anti American agenda start to realize there not as important to us anymore. But that's just an assumption. Next the negatives: A. More pollution ( forget global warming I don't buy it.) I do buy into clean air though. B. The possibility of increased accidents that affect the environment. I don't like it anymore than the next guy but that's the reality of oil and right now we are dependent on it. Last but not least the possibility that it will slow the investment into alternative energy's. Personally coal and pebble tech nuclear reactors should power our electricity and only those two and eventually it should be nuclear on a level only imagined at this point. Pebble tech for those of you who don't know u can eat the depleted uranium pebble after its use. Completely harmless. So now you know where a true conservative sits with dril