GOP: Democrats' plan leaves most oil off limits

[Terri]

By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press
September 15, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Republicans attacked a Democratic offshore drilling plan Friday for including a 50-mile coastal buffer that they said would leave untouched most of the 18 billion barrels of oil in waters now off-limits to energy companies.

A Democratic drilling proposal expected to be taken up by the House next week would allow energy development access to waters 50 to 100 miles from shore along almost all of the country's coastlines as long as a state agrees to drilling off its shore.

Waters off Florida's Gulf coast and a nationwide 50-mile coastal buffer would remain out of bounds to energy companies.

But House Republican Leader John Boehner called the plan a "hoax on the American people," arguing that nearly 90 percent of the oil believed to be in the restricted offshore waters still would not be available.

More

[Nicholas]

Waters off Florida's Gulf coast and a nationwide 50-mile coastal buffer would remain out of bounds to energy companies.

No doubt because we have to protect some fragile ecosystem - a coral reef, I suppose. (Same reason why we can't drill in ANWR - a coral reef off Florida's Gulf Coast, caribou in ANWR.)

"Keep in mind, we're opening up millions of more acres (to drilling) at a time when the industry claims they don't have the drills to explore the resources they have," said Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Darn! Somebody fill me in, please - when did the industry claim that? I missed it entirely. I've heard them say that the places where they aren't drilling now in the areas where they already have leases, it's because there is so little oil to recover that it wouldn't pay (according to their seismology studies, etc.) I didn't hear anything in that statement about inadequate drills - just inadequate oil deposits underground.

...data from Interior's Minerals Management Service that show that of the 9.75 billion barrels of oil believed to be off California only 5 percent lies beyond 50 miles. None of the 400 million barrels believed to be off Oregon and Washington is outside the protected buffer.

Mm-hmm. Although I'm no expert on offshore drilling, I wonder about drilling in such earthquake-prone areas - how safe would drilling platforms be there? I'd understand real well if oil companies didn't want to risk their employees' lives that way - yes, even the Evil Oil Companies.

Of the estimated 3.5 billion barrels of oil believed to be recoverable off the Atlantic coast from Virginia to Georgia, 2.8 billion barrels would be available for drilling, but more than half of that would beyond 100 miles of shore where access would be more difficult, according to the Interior Department maps. About 700 million barrels is found within the 50-mile buffer.

Not many coral reefs here - so there must be some other excuse. The Dumbocrats can't risk admitting explicitly that it's simply because they want to keep the American economy held hostage by OPEC.

...inspector general's report described conflicts of interest, drug and alcohol abuse and promiscuity in a federal office involved in the royalty program.

CORRUPTION!?!?! In a government agency?!?!?! Oh, PLEASE, say it isn't so!

One more reason why government screws things up almost every time it gets involved in what should be the private sector.

The silver lining in this cloud is that, if enough Republicans have their heads screwed on straight - ie, if they maintain their backbones and keep pushing for Drill Here, Drill Now - and if enough American voters are paying attention, then roughly 70% of the Capitol Hill seats up for re-election could go Republican. I'm basing this on recent polls that show 75% - 80% of Americans favoring expanded drilling in American territory. (Those up for re-election this year on Capitol Hill include all of the House and one third of the Senate. 70% of those being Republicans would mean that San Fran Nan would have to give up the gavel , and we'd probably have more than half of the Senate, too, so Harry Reid would have to give up his gavel.

[stormy]

Dems' "No Energy" Bill "An Elaborate Exercise to Give Their Members a Heaping Dose of Political Cover"

Dems' Bill Permanently Locks Away 88 Percent of America's Best Oil Resources Below the Outer Continental Shelf



Washington, Sep 15 -

As Democrats put the final touches on their latest “no energy” legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her leadership colleagues continue to tout their proposal as a real “drilling” bill. But it is becoming increasingly clear that this measure is little more than another step in the Majority’s cynical strategy to provide political cover to vulnerable Democrats who have consistently voted against more American energy while promising their constituents back home real drilling and lower gas prices. Don’t forget, Politico highlighted this plan last month, calling it “an intentional strategy in which Pelosi takes the heat on energy policy, while behind the scenes she’s encouraging vulnerable Democrats to express their independence if it helps them politically.”
With this strategy in mind, Roll Call asks this morning whether the Democrats’ bill really is an attempt to legislate – or just “an elaborate exercise to give their Members a heaping dose of political cover”:

[MrJLDoug]

Darn! Somebody fill me in, please - when did the industry claim that? I missed it entirely.

Nicholas,
I believe they are referring to not having enough
Deep Drilling Ships that are needed to drill far out in deep water. That's the point of this smoke and mirror plan of the Liberals. The areas they are compromising on opening up are all far out and contain very little or no oil and are at great depths.

[FromTheTop3]

The Jihads of Islamic countries are financed with seven-hundred billion of taxpayer dollars “We the People…” pay annually for their oil. They continue to spread Islam and Sharia Law, build Islamic Madrassa schools, Mosques and purchase Quar`ans for distribution in our country and round the world using our money. Then we pay more and are taxed again for the gas. Also our prices are increased on everything else we purchase.

America's oil shale reserves are enormous, totaling at least 1.5 trillion barrels of oil. That's five times the reserves of Saudi Arabia! We have vast deposits still sitting right where God left it, buried under the vast landscapes of Colorado and Wyoming. Sarah says, “We have billions of barrels of oil and billions of cubic feet of natural gas to produce in Alaska if Obama and congress will get out of the way.”

The United States desperately needs to drill for oil offshore and wherever it is in our country including ANWR, a mosquito infested swampland in summer and frozen tundra during the winter, where the Caribou and Polar bears do not roam. We need to build oil refineries and Nuclear Power plants. We need to process the abundance of OIL SHALE in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.

The new energy bill reveals more Pelosi and Reid socialist agenda that will raise the price of oil, gas, electricity and heating fuel and lock down drilling and exploration forever inside the 50 mile boundary of our country. Obama votes “NO” on every energy policy. Obama is satisfied with inflating tires and getting tune ups for their energy policy. Obama will definitely vote “YES” on this outrageous Pelosi/Reid energy bill.

Obama is opposed to drilling in ANWR, OCS, shale oil and building refineries and nuclear power plants. Obama will tax corporations into bankruptcy and screams for oil companies to pay the government a windfall profits tax. Roy Blunt, Republican Whip writes MORE>. http://townhall.com/Columnists/RoyBl...ait_and_switch

[oldjules]

The bottom line is , if the Democrats maintain the majority in Congress and win the White House, we will have a cruel race to see if we starve to death or freeze. They will tax big oil and big companies to the point of no jobs and no oil.That is the change they will make.
I back Mac and the fighting lady.

[C Newman]

Since most of the problem with the economy is due to forced energy conservation (forced by the prices) and Democrats have favored forced conservation since the 70s, why would the people want to elect any of them to anything?
Nancy wants to drill the brains of those who oppose her tyranny. She needs to be removed!