Want to drill offshore? Obama is mandating you hire a sea turtle observer...

 Photo of green sea turtle courtesy Flickr Commons/NOAA.

You can't make stuff this stupid up...

(CNSNews.com) - The Department of Interior (DOI) is requiring private oil companies to hire marine mammal and sea turtle monitors if the companies are granted a lease to drill offshore. A marine mammal observer’s job is to watch for whales, dolphins, and similar sea creatures and to advise on minimizing the underwater noise created by offshore drilling, which can affect the sea mammals.

The DOI announced in a press release last week that it will open up 20 million acres in the Western Gulf of Mexico for an oil and gas lease sale to be held Nov. 28, which is part of the administration’s “Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012–2017 (Five Year Program).”

The terms of the sale, which were finalized by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), include several environmental safeguards.

“These terms include measures to protect the environment, such as stipulations requiring that operators protect biologically sensitive features and provide trained observers to monitor marine mammals and sea turtles to ensure compliance and restrict operations when conditions warrant,” the release said.
Keep reading…

Obvious: Obama's Energy Secretary admits they are 'strict' and denying more drilling permits (video)

 The Obama administration would deny all drilling permits if they thought they could get away with it.

'Drill, Baby, Drill' President Poses in Front of an Oil Well

Does President Obama really think voters are stupid enough to think he supports more drilling?

Via NY Post:

“We are drilling all over the place right now,” insisted Obama, as he stood in front of a stack of massive pipes for a new pipeline that will run from storehouses in Cushing, Okla., to refineries in Texas.

That will be the southern leg of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to Texas, which Obama blocked just weeks ago, citing environmental concerns.

Reuters

PRIMING THE ELECTION PUMP: President Obama puts himself in front of a well in New Mexico on his multistate “pro-energy” tour.

The oil company TransCanada decided to build the southern leg anyway because it doesn’t cross an international border and, therefore, doesn’t need Obama’s approval.

The president, on a two-day trip to promote his energy policies, still tried to grab credit.
He announced that he would “cut through red tape, break through bureaucratic hurdles and make this project a priority.”

Obama’s action won’t shorten the timeline for the project, which already was scheduled to start as soon as June, according to TransCanada.

A solid majority of Americans — 57 percent — said they believe the government should approve construction of the entire Keystone pipeline, according to a Gallup Poll released yesterday. Read more here...

Obama: Drill, Baby, Drill or Something

 

After seeing the negative public reaction from $4 a gallon gas, President Obama is moving to open up domestic oil production. This is likely a public relations ruse. President Obama reopened offshore oil drilling last Fall, but, as of February, had only issued one permit due to the stringent new safety requirements. Don't look for there to actually be a lot of new drilling.

(The Hill)- The White House will take a series of steps — including expediting drilling plans on government lands in Alaska — designed to show that the administration is serious about expanding domestic oil production and lowering gas prices.

President Obama announced Saturday the government would hold annual onshore lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve; extend the life of leases in the Gulf of Mexico and in some areas off the coast of Alaska for one year; speed up ongoing Interior Department testing in the mid- and south-Atlantic to gauge the level of resources; and establish an interagency task force to coordinate permitting for offshore drilling in Alaska.

5 months after officially ending drilling ban; Obama Administration approves a deepwater drilling permit

It only took 5 months after the drilling ban and a $1.46 per gallon increase to get Team Obama to approve a deepwater drilling permit.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US government has awarded its first permit for deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico since a moratorium was lifted after the BP oil disaster last year, a senior official said Monday.

Michael Bromwich, head of the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy, said the permit was approved for US firm Noble Energy after a thorough vetting process and marked "a significant milestone" for Gulf operations.

"Noble Energy's application has met the requirements of our new safety regulations and information requirements," Bromwich said in a conference call with reporters.

Higher gas prices are causing worry of a double-dip recession. If the economy tailspins back into recession, President Obama's reelection chances are dismal and none.

Citing Uncertainty About Drilling Policy- Drilling Company Abandons American Waters

That gurgling sound you hear is thousands of U.S jobs going down the toilet as Drilling companies face reality and set sail for friendlier countries.

The Houston Chronicle reported:

WASHINGTON — Diamond Offshore announced Friday that its Ocean Endeavor drilling rig will leave the Gulf of Mexico and move to Egyptian waters immediately — making it the first to abandon the United States in the wake of the BP oil spill and a ban on deep-water drilling.

And the Ocean Endeavor's exodus probably won't be the last, according to oil industry officials and Gulf Coast leaders who warn that other companies eager to find work for the now-idled rigs are considering moving them outside the U.S.

Judge Who Overturned Obama's Drilling Moratorium is Now Receiving Death Threats

No surprise here.

New Orleans–While many Americans undoubtedly agree with the decision of U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman to overturn the Obama administration’s moratorium on deep water drilling, not everyone is happy. In fact, the Judge is now receiving death threats in the aftermath of his bold ruling...

Judge Strikes Down Drilling Ban Order. Team Obama Yawns and Prepares a New Ban Order

Yesterday, a federal judge overturned the drilling ban issued by the Obama administration. The Judge rules there wasn't enough justification for the ban. The ban has cost tens of thousands of Gulf Coast jobs. In a show of contempt for the law, Team Obama will change the language in the order and attempt to reset the clock on the legal process.

MSNBC reported:

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday he will issue a new order imposing a moratorium on deepwater drilling after a federal judge struck down the existing one.

Salazar said in a statement that the new order will contain additional information making clear why the six-month drilling pause was necessary in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. The judge in New Orleans who struck down the moratorium earlier in the day complained there wasn’t enough justification for it.

Seven Experts Claim Obama "Fudged" Their Report To Justify Drilling Moratorium

President Obama has imposed a six month drilling moratorium that is costing tens of thousands of jobs. The moratorium was justified by a report by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that was allegedly "peer reviewed" by seven experts. That claim was a lie. The drilling moratorium recommendation was added to the report after the experts reviewed and signed it. This made it look like they were endorsing the drilling moratorium when they actually oppose it.

FOX News reported:

The seven experts who advised President Obama on how to deal with offshore drilling safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion are accusing his administration of misrepresenting their views to make it appear that they supported a six-month drilling moratorium — something they actually oppose.

The experts, recommended by the National Academy of Engineering, say Interior Secretary Ken Salazar modified their report last month, after they signed it, to include two paragraphs calling for the moratorium on existing drilling and new permits.

Salazar’s report to Obama said a panel of seven experts “peer reviewed” his recommendations, which included a six-month moratorium on permits for new wells being drilled using floating rigs and an immediate halt to drilling operations.

“None of us actually reviewed the memorandum as it is in the report,” oil expert Ken Arnold...

Does Obama Really Want to Drill, Baby, Drill?

If you listen to the hoopla on network and cable news you might get that impression. A closer examination reveals there isn't a lot of immediate change in President Obama's position. Here is a NYT's report of the announced change.

The Obama administration is proposing to open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time, officials said Tuesday.

The proposal — a compromise that will please oil companies and domestic drilling advocates but anger some residents of affected states and many environmental organizations — would end a longstanding moratorium on oil exploration along the East Coast from the northern tip of Delaware to the central coast of Florida, covering 167 million acres of ocean.

Opening up 167 million acres of ocean to drilling certainly sounds like a huge change in Obama's position. Less than a month ago, the Obama administration quietly killed new offshore drilling for the next three years by continuing a moratorium on new leases. Has President Obama really become concerned about America's energy costs and foreign dependency? What is the real effect of this change? Power Line has this analysis.

When you cut through the hoopla, here is what Obama's announcement added up to:

* Cancelled five lease sales off the Alaska coast that were planned over the next 2 years. One of the areas is estimated to hold up to 77 billion barrels of oil, or more than 3 times US reserves.

* A study of the southern Atlantic OCS, with the findings due back next year....no leasing.

* Delayed a planned lease sale off Virginia until at least 2012.

It doesn't look like much of anything is going to happen until the next Presidential election cycle. By then, Obama will be a 'lame duck' or we will have a Republican President. If Obama is a 'lame duck,' he can flip-flop on the issue again without worrying about voter repercussions. If he loses, a Republican President will likely open up more areas for drilling anyway. Since this angered his base, why did President Obama make this announcement when it will have so little effect over the next two years? Raw politics is behind this move. New CAFE regulations raising average mileage to 35 miles per gallon by 2016 and costing consumers $1300 a vehicle are going into effect. The CAFE increases step-by-step starting next year. Also, President Obama is going to press for Senate passage of Cap and Trade. He needs a couple GOP Senators to break a likely filibuster. The potential of additional oil drilling is the carrot.

Obama Quietly Kills Any New Offshore Oil Drilling for Next Three Years

When gas was $4 a gallon and Senator Obama was campaigning for the Presidency, he said was willing to support new offshore oil drilling. Now that the election is a year behind us and gas is under $3 a gallon, Obama is quietly banning new offshore drilling for the rest of his term.

The Obama administration’s six-month delay in approving new offshore drilling leases in federal waters will become a new three-year ban, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar quietly told reporters last Friday.

Which means that no new oil and gas leases will be approved during President Obama’s term even though two –thirds of the American public supports such activity, according to a December 2009 Rasmussen poll.

Democrats Obstructionism Costs US $2.36 Trillion in Oil Money

The above map of no drilling zones says it all. Most of the best places to drill for have been put off limits by democrats. This 'no drilling' policy will cost the US $2.36 trillion over the next two decades.

Bloomberg reported:

H/T Gateway Pundit.