I found this post awhile ago on one of the places I frequent. It eloquently sums up every point I've ever wanted to make about dems vs repubs and oil prices.
Someone said: “Oil co's here (US) make about 6% profit, far lower than most other companies, so dont blame them, blame 30 years of Liberals saying NO to new refineries and NO to drilling (as they do now).”
Please allow me to deconstruct that sentence. Let me start with, “Liberals saying NO to new refineries”. It is not a liberal or conservative problem. Or a federal problem. It is a two-part problem.
First: Refineries are large, noisy, stinky, and dangerous. Everyone is in favor of more of them until it is going to be in their town. Then the local populace and their zoning boards go nuts. It’s the, “Not in my backyard” problem.
Second: Refining is the low profit margin part of the oil business. Oil companies do not push very hard against local resistance to a new refinery. They do that for a couple of reasons. First, they are very expensive to build. Somewhere in the region of $5 Billion (US). Second, a new refinery will cut into the already low profit margins on their existing refineries. The question the company directors have to ask themselves is, “Why spend all that money to hurt our own bottom line?”
It also makes it easier to go before Congress every few years and say, “We tried, but the tree hugging local people won’t let us help lower energy costs”. For the oil companies it is a win-win situation. They win both politically and financially.
For facts on this, I refer you to the ‘Refining’ and ‘Future’ Projects sections of the Annual Stockholders Report for Exxon-Mobile: Premium Link Upgrade and Conoco-Phillips: Premium Link Upgrade
“Liberals saying… NO to drilling”. Liberals are not saying that. The big oil companies that hold the drilling rights have not developed huge areas already under lease, which have enormous oil reserves. Of the 91 million on- and off-shore acres currently under lease by oil companies, three-quarters - 68 million acres - is presently not producing oil.
If they really want to drill, why aren’t they doing it? Again, I refer you to the Stockholders reports. This time, look in the ‘Financial Summery’ section. They list those leases as assets. If you divide the declared asset–value by the estimated number of barrels under ground it works out to just under $300/barrel (US). That tells me they have no intention of drilling another well until oil hits $300/barrel (US). The oil company executives have submitted those numbers under penalty of perjury to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Internal Revenue Service. I would have to think those people told the truth in those filings (federal prison sucks). Stockpiling leases may bolster oil company stock prices and profits while they wait for even higher prices, but it is not a policy that benefits the American people.
Then comes the question, “If they aren’t drilling in 2/3 of the leases they already own why are the oil companies, the Republicans in Congress, George Bush, and John McCain screaming for more oil leases in the most ecologically sensitive areas of our country?”
The current push for opening the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling is simply a thinly veiled effort by big oil to lock up the leases to as much public land as possible while the oil man from Dallas and the oil man from Houston are still in the White House. For the oil companies the present panic over energy prices is an excellent opportunity to accomplish what heretofore they could only ***** about.
I **** to introduce politics, but that is a major part of this.
For most of his political career, John McCain fought against expanded offshore drilling and drilling in ANWAR. Then he changed. His new mantra is, “Drill here, drill now”. I had to ask myself why a change in a 20 year stand. Then it struck me, “Follow the money”.
Just before he changed his life-long position against expanded offshore drilling his campaign was broke. He received $2 Million from oil company executives and the Republican National Committee received another $2 Million. It saved his campaign for president. Ref: Federal Election Commission Premium Link Upgrade
Now John McCain keeps saying the coastal governors support him. I can only find one supporter of off shore drilling that actually has untapped oil reserves off his coast and that is Florida.
For many years Jeb Bush, the Republican governor of Florida fought tooth and nail to keep his ******* George Bush, the Republican president, from opening new leases for drilling off the gulf coast of Florida. Now Charlie Crist is the Florida governor and wants to drill. You have to ask yourself why? Could it be as the national press speculates he wants to be John McCain’s running mate?
The only other governor with untapped oil off the coast is Arnold, the Republican governor of California. His answer to offshore drilling is not just no… it is hell no!
Contrary to the belief “… blame 30 years of Liberals saying NO…” we liberals want the oil companies to drill. The oil companies have held leases on 68 million acres of proven reserves for over 20 years and have drilled no production wells in them. Last month the Democrats introduced legislation mandating that those companies "use it or lose it" by requiring them to produce on a lease within a specified time or turn it back. As soon as it was introduced, Republican President Bush threatened to veto it. The Republicans in the Senate, led by Mitch McConnell, filibustered and the bill died. So please stop blaming liberals for all your problems at the pump. It was a Republican President and a Republican filibuster in the Senate that keeps you broke at the pumps.
Then you have to ask, “Why would Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader want to hurt hard working Americans by keeping oil prices high?” Once again, “Follow the money”. 64% of Mitch McConnell’s campaign money comes from oil executives, oil company lobbyists, or Oil Company PAC’s. Ref: Federal Election Commission Premium Link Upgrade
The U.S. Mineral Management Service estimates that 80 percent of the 86 billion barrels of projected oil reserves on the Outer Continental Shelf occurs in areas already open to leasing. In Alaska, the National Petroleum Reserve/Alaska, directly to the west of the National Wildlife Refuge, has over three times as much projected oil reserves as the Wildlife Refuge, and has close access to current pipelines. The 24-million-acre NPR/A is completely open to leasing, 4 million acres are already leased, but the oil companies have yet to produce a drop of oil there. Clearly, oil companies already have more acreage under lease than they choose to develop, and their record profits certainly allow them to invest in equipment and refineries they might need. Instead, they want to hoard more leases and drive prices even higher.
They say, “Oil co's here (US) make about 6% profit”. I am an average working American. I have a 401K and IRA (note to non-US citizens: they are tax-exempt retirement accounts). My mutual funds hold oil company stocks. I read the Annual and Quarterly Reports. They are proud of the fact that it costs less than $2 (US)/barrel to pay for the lease, explore, develop the oil field, drill, and bring each barrel to the wellhead for delivery. The tax laws in the US determine what is reported in profit. As a stockholder in the corporations, I know what shows up in the dividend column.
They blame the problem on liberals and democrats. The decision to drill or not on leases already owned is at the discretion of the Corporation’s Board of Directors. If you want to know who they are, I again refer you to the above links to the Annual Reports. Take your blame where it really belongs. They are all lifelong registered Republicans.
Then along comes T. Boone Pickens. Probably the most famous oilman since John D. Rockefeller. He is 80 years old, and one of the world’s richest people. He is a life-long Republican. He brags about how he financed the “Swift Boat” ****** that sank Democrat John Kerry’s bid for president in 2004.
He has now spent $58 Million (US) on TV, radio, and newspaper advertisements to say, “The US has 6% of the world’s population, uses 22% of the world’s oil, and has 3% of the world’s oil reserves. We cannot drill our way out of this problem”.
They demand, “DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW!” The only time I hear that is FOX News, Rush Limbaugh and the lips of John McCain. May I humbly suggest you turn off the TV and radio? Maybe do a little reading and research? You might be amazed at what you learn.
“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”
Charles de Gaulle, President of France, 1890-1970
Someone said: “Oil co's here (US) make about 6% profit, far lower than most other companies, so dont blame them, blame 30 years of Liberals saying NO to new refineries and NO to drilling (as they do now).”
Please allow me to deconstruct that sentence. Let me start with, “Liberals saying NO to new refineries”. It is not a liberal or conservative problem. Or a federal problem. It is a two-part problem.
First: Refineries are large, noisy, stinky, and dangerous. Everyone is in favor of more of them until it is going to be in their town. Then the local populace and their zoning boards go nuts. It’s the, “Not in my backyard” problem.
Second: Refining is the low profit margin part of the oil business. Oil companies do not push very hard against local resistance to a new refinery. They do that for a couple of reasons. First, they are very expensive to build. Somewhere in the region of $5 Billion (US). Second, a new refinery will cut into the already low profit margins on their existing refineries. The question the company directors have to ask themselves is, “Why spend all that money to hurt our own bottom line?”
It also makes it easier to go before Congress every few years and say, “We tried, but the tree hugging local people won’t let us help lower energy costs”. For the oil companies it is a win-win situation. They win both politically and financially.
For facts on this, I refer you to the ‘Refining’ and ‘Future’ Projects sections of the Annual Stockholders Report for Exxon-Mobile: Premium Link Upgrade and Conoco-Phillips: Premium Link Upgrade
“Liberals saying… NO to drilling”. Liberals are not saying that. The big oil companies that hold the drilling rights have not developed huge areas already under lease, which have enormous oil reserves. Of the 91 million on- and off-shore acres currently under lease by oil companies, three-quarters - 68 million acres - is presently not producing oil.
If they really want to drill, why aren’t they doing it? Again, I refer you to the Stockholders reports. This time, look in the ‘Financial Summery’ section. They list those leases as assets. If you divide the declared asset–value by the estimated number of barrels under ground it works out to just under $300/barrel (US). That tells me they have no intention of drilling another well until oil hits $300/barrel (US). The oil company executives have submitted those numbers under penalty of perjury to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the US Internal Revenue Service. I would have to think those people told the truth in those filings (federal prison sucks). Stockpiling leases may bolster oil company stock prices and profits while they wait for even higher prices, but it is not a policy that benefits the American people.
Then comes the question, “If they aren’t drilling in 2/3 of the leases they already own why are the oil companies, the Republicans in Congress, George Bush, and John McCain screaming for more oil leases in the most ecologically sensitive areas of our country?”
The current push for opening the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling is simply a thinly veiled effort by big oil to lock up the leases to as much public land as possible while the oil man from Dallas and the oil man from Houston are still in the White House. For the oil companies the present panic over energy prices is an excellent opportunity to accomplish what heretofore they could only ***** about.
I **** to introduce politics, but that is a major part of this.
For most of his political career, John McCain fought against expanded offshore drilling and drilling in ANWAR. Then he changed. His new mantra is, “Drill here, drill now”. I had to ask myself why a change in a 20 year stand. Then it struck me, “Follow the money”.
Just before he changed his life-long position against expanded offshore drilling his campaign was broke. He received $2 Million from oil company executives and the Republican National Committee received another $2 Million. It saved his campaign for president. Ref: Federal Election Commission Premium Link Upgrade
Now John McCain keeps saying the coastal governors support him. I can only find one supporter of off shore drilling that actually has untapped oil reserves off his coast and that is Florida.
For many years Jeb Bush, the Republican governor of Florida fought tooth and nail to keep his ******* George Bush, the Republican president, from opening new leases for drilling off the gulf coast of Florida. Now Charlie Crist is the Florida governor and wants to drill. You have to ask yourself why? Could it be as the national press speculates he wants to be John McCain’s running mate?
The only other governor with untapped oil off the coast is Arnold, the Republican governor of California. His answer to offshore drilling is not just no… it is hell no!
Contrary to the belief “… blame 30 years of Liberals saying NO…” we liberals want the oil companies to drill. The oil companies have held leases on 68 million acres of proven reserves for over 20 years and have drilled no production wells in them. Last month the Democrats introduced legislation mandating that those companies "use it or lose it" by requiring them to produce on a lease within a specified time or turn it back. As soon as it was introduced, Republican President Bush threatened to veto it. The Republicans in the Senate, led by Mitch McConnell, filibustered and the bill died. So please stop blaming liberals for all your problems at the pump. It was a Republican President and a Republican filibuster in the Senate that keeps you broke at the pumps.
Then you have to ask, “Why would Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican leader want to hurt hard working Americans by keeping oil prices high?” Once again, “Follow the money”. 64% of Mitch McConnell’s campaign money comes from oil executives, oil company lobbyists, or Oil Company PAC’s. Ref: Federal Election Commission Premium Link Upgrade
The U.S. Mineral Management Service estimates that 80 percent of the 86 billion barrels of projected oil reserves on the Outer Continental Shelf occurs in areas already open to leasing. In Alaska, the National Petroleum Reserve/Alaska, directly to the west of the National Wildlife Refuge, has over three times as much projected oil reserves as the Wildlife Refuge, and has close access to current pipelines. The 24-million-acre NPR/A is completely open to leasing, 4 million acres are already leased, but the oil companies have yet to produce a drop of oil there. Clearly, oil companies already have more acreage under lease than they choose to develop, and their record profits certainly allow them to invest in equipment and refineries they might need. Instead, they want to hoard more leases and drive prices even higher.
They say, “Oil co's here (US) make about 6% profit”. I am an average working American. I have a 401K and IRA (note to non-US citizens: they are tax-exempt retirement accounts). My mutual funds hold oil company stocks. I read the Annual and Quarterly Reports. They are proud of the fact that it costs less than $2 (US)/barrel to pay for the lease, explore, develop the oil field, drill, and bring each barrel to the wellhead for delivery. The tax laws in the US determine what is reported in profit. As a stockholder in the corporations, I know what shows up in the dividend column.
They blame the problem on liberals and democrats. The decision to drill or not on leases already owned is at the discretion of the Corporation’s Board of Directors. If you want to know who they are, I again refer you to the above links to the Annual Reports. Take your blame where it really belongs. They are all lifelong registered Republicans.
Then along comes T. Boone Pickens. Probably the most famous oilman since John D. Rockefeller. He is 80 years old, and one of the world’s richest people. He is a life-long Republican. He brags about how he financed the “Swift Boat” ****** that sank Democrat John Kerry’s bid for president in 2004.
He has now spent $58 Million (US) on TV, radio, and newspaper advertisements to say, “The US has 6% of the world’s population, uses 22% of the world’s oil, and has 3% of the world’s oil reserves. We cannot drill our way out of this problem”.
They demand, “DRILL HERE, DRILL NOW!” The only time I hear that is FOX News, Rush Limbaugh and the lips of John McCain. May I humbly suggest you turn off the TV and radio? Maybe do a little reading and research? You might be amazed at what you learn.
“The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.”
Charles de Gaulle, President of France, 1890-1970
