Guess who is about to become the world's biggest oil producer!

 It's the U.S. I wonder if they will let us join OPEC?

Via FT:

The US is overtaking Saudi Arabia to become the world’s largest producer of liquid petroleum, in a sign of how its booming oil production has reshaped the energy sector.

US production of oil and related liquids such as ethane and propane was neck-and-neck with Saudi Arabia in June and again in August at about 11.5m barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency, the watchdog backed by rich countries.

With US production continuing to boom, its output is set to exceed Saudi Arabia’s this month or next for the first time since 1991.

Russia discovers huge new oilfield in Arctic...

You can be sure they won't let environmental concerns keep them from developing it.

Via Bloomberg:

Russia, viewed by the Obama administration as hostile to U.S. interests, has discovered what may prove to be a vast pool of oil in one of the world’s most remote places with the help of America’s largest energy company.
Russia’s state-run OAO Rosneft said a well drilled in the Kara Sea region of the Arctic Ocean with Exxon Mobil Corp. struck oil, showing the region has the potential to become one of the world’s most important crude-producing areas.
The announcement was made by Igor Sechin, Rosneft’s chief executive officer, who spent two days sailing on a Russian research ship to the drilling rig where the find was unveiled today. The well found about 1 billion barrels of oil and similar geology nearby means the surrounding area may hold more than the U.S. part of the Gulf or Mexico, he said.
“It exceeded our expectations,” Sechin said in an interview. This discovery is of “exceptional significance in showing the presence of hydrocarbons in the Arctic.”

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…

Obama's "All The Above" Energy Policy Does Not Include 11.5 Million Acres Of Alaska’s Petroleum Reserve…

Perhaps when gas prices hit $6 a gallon...

Via WSJ:

President Obama is campaigning as a champion of the oil and gas boom he’s had nothing to do with, and even as his regulators try to stifle it. The latest example is the Interior Department’s little-noticed August decision to close off from drilling nearly half of the 23.5 million acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

The area is called the National Petroleum Reserve because in 1976 Congress designated it as a strategic oil and natural gas stockpile to meet the “energy needs of the nation.” Alaska favors exploration in nearly the entire reserve. The feds had been reviewing four potential development plans, and the state of Alaska had strongly objected to the most restrictive of the four. Sure enough, that was the plan Interior chose. [...]

The problem is almost no one in the energy industry and few in Alaska agree with him. In an August 22 letter to Mr. Salazar, the entire Alaska delegation in Congress—Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski and Representative Don Young—call it “the largest wholesale land withdrawal and blocking of access to an energy resource by the federal government in decades.” This decision, they add, “will cause serious harm to the economy and energy security of the United States, as well as to the state of Alaska.” Mr. Begich is a Democrat...
.
Keep on reading…

Shocking Admission: NY Times Gives Bush and Cheney credit for US energy production surge

 I never thought this admission would come from the New York Times.

Not only has the United States reduced oil imports from members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries by more than 20 percent in the last three years, it has become a net exporter of refined petroleum products like gasoline for the first time since the Truman presidency. The natural gasindustry, which less than a decade ago feared running out of domestic gas, is suddenly dealing with a glut so vast that import facilities are applying for licenses to export gas to Europe and Asia.

National oil production, which declined steadily to 4.95 million barrels a day in 2008 from 9.6 million in 1970, has risen over the last four years to nearly 5.7 million barrels a day. The Energy Department projects that daily output could reach nearly seven million barrels by 2020. Some experts think it could eventually hit 10 million barrels — which would put the United States in the same league as Saudi Arabia.[...]

The Bush administration worked from the start on finding ways to unlock the nation’s energy reserves and reverse decades of declining output, with Mr. Cheney leading a White House energy task force that met in secret with top oil executives. [...]

The Bush administration also opened large swaths of the Gulf of Mexico and the waters off Alaska to exploration, granting lease deals that required companies to pay only a tiny share of their profits to the government.

Video: Obama Says, “Do Not Tell Me That We’re Not Drilling, We’re Drilling All Over This Country”

 Drilling the wallets of Americans...

Sen. Charles Schumer wants to pump more oil...in Saudi Arabia

 Wikimedia Commons

Instead of increasing drilling here in America and building a pipeline to bring in oil from Canada, Sen. Charles Schumer's energy plan is for Saudi Arabia to pump more oil.

Via The Hill:

Senate Republicans are bashing Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) call for increased Saudi Arabian oil production to help ease prices, alleging it shows that Democrats are weak when it comes to boosting North American energy supplies and jobs.

Schumer on Sunday urged Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to press Saudi officials to expand production, noting that the kingdom is producing well below its capacity of 12.5 million barrels per day.

Republicans are hopeful that the letter provides a political opening to undercut Democratic and White House energy policies.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office on Monday circulated a press release headlined “Top Democrat Senator Demands Increased Energy Production, Jobs In Saudi Arabia Rather Than Increasing American Energy And American Jobs.”

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, also doesn’t want Schumer’s letter to go unnoticed.

“Rather than approve the Keystone pipeline, the Democrats’ energy plan now calls for the most powerful nation in the free world to politely ask other countries for more oil and cross our fingers,” he said in a statement. Keep on reading...

Chart of the Day: Oil and Gas Production Declined on Federal Controlled Land Last Year

President Obama and Democrats may be correct when they claim oil and gas production are up in the U.S.A. It is very hypocritical of them to imply they deserve any credit. The opposite is actually true. President Obama and his democratic administration have been thwarting new drilling permits. Oil and natural gas production actually declined on Federal Land in 2011. The increase was on private and State controlled land.

From IER via CFP:

Sources: Department of the Interior, Office of Natural Resources Revenue, and onrr.gov

Deception: Obama claims credit for oil production increase

President Obama is touting an increase in oil production as one of his accomplishments. Here is the chart and info from barackobama.com. (accent is mine)

Since taking office, President Obama has called for an “all-of-the-above” approach to reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil, including an increase in safe and responsible oil production here at home.

Today, America’s oil production is at its highest level in eight years:

Does Obama deserve any credit for this or is it all those oil drilling permits former President G. W. Bush issued? Bush increased oil drilling permits 70% from the Clinton era. Let's see how Obama is doing issuing new offshore oil drilling permits.

The truth is there has been a 69 percent reduction in the number of offshore drilling plans approved under President Obama. It also takes 52% longer for the lucky few to get a permit approved.

 Even former President Bill Clinton thinks Obama's oil drilling permit delays are ridiculous.

Charts via Institute for Energy Research.

Flashback Video: Obama's failing promise to end Middle East and Venezuela oil imports within 10 years

It has been about for three and a half years since Obama first made this promise. He also said something similar in his 2011 State of the Union Address. Watch this 2008 campaign video.



Let's see how President Obama is doing.

Chart via EIA:

You can see oil imports were trending down in the last years of the Bush Administration and the first year of the Obama Administration, but they headed back up in 2010. Some of this may be related to the economy, but we have to consider Administration policies. Bush was drilling friendly. President Obama issued a ban on much new drilling. His strategy was to dump billions of our taxpayer dollars into green energy and electric cars. After the bankruptcy of Solyndra (and others) and poor Chevy Volt sales, this has proven to be a failed strategy so far. President Obama had an opportunity to recover by approving the Keystone Pipeline from Canada. This pipeline would have supplied up to 590,000 barrels per day of Canadian oil to the U.S. Instead of opting for Canadian oil, President Obama has opted to keep buying oil from his Arab buddies and despots like Hugo Chavez. Here is a great video explaining Obama's insanity on the Keystone Pipeline.

Obama's Oil Drilling Duplicity

In May, President Obama wanted to fast-track oil drilling in Alaska.

(May 14, 2011) – President Obama will open Alaska’s national petroleum reserve to new drilling, as part of a broad plan aimed at blunting criticism that he is not doing enough to address rising energy prices.
The plan, unveiled in Obama’s weekly radio address Saturday, also would fast-track environmental assessment of petroleum exploration in some portions of the Atlantic and extend the leases of oil companies whose work in the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean was interrupted by the drilling moratorium after last year’s BP oil spill.

Of course, it's June now and oil prices have subsided a little.

(June 16, 2011) – The Obama administration today said a proposal from House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) to expedite oil and gas leasing and energy infrastructure permitting in an Alaska reserve could force federal regulators to flout environmental laws and includes a costly, redundant resource assessment.
Mike Pool, deputy director of the Bureau of Land Management, also announced the agency will hold lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve, known as NPR-A, in December 2011 and each year after, making good on the administration’s mid-May promise to expedite development in the 23-million-acre reserve.

So Team Obama's idea of expediting something is to take action seven months later? Only a government bureaucrat would believe that is a fast-track. In private industry, it would get you fired for laziness or incompetence.

Clueless Demo Rep. Rob Andrews: More oil drilling is a problem not a solution

Here is a newsflash for Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J.). When Americans pull up to the pump and have to pay $4.00 a gallon for gas, that is a problem. Higher gas prices are not a solution. Andrews doesn't believe drilling for more oil here will create more jobs? The truth is more drilling would create thousands of jobs and reduce our national trade imbalance.

(CNS News) — Rep. Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) said that increasing oil drilling “off the coast” is “a problem, not a solution” to creating jobs in the United States. Andrews recommended that House Republicans bring legislation to the floor if they think more drilling will create jobs.

Appearing at a press conference with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) on job creation, Rep. Andrews said, “I agree with my colleague and friend that drilling for oil off the coast is a problem, not a solution, but let’s get back to the main point here that if the Republicans really believe that was really a job-creating idea, why don’t they put it on the floor?”

Bill Clinton: Obama's anti-drilling policies "ridiculous"

Former President Bill Clinton agrees with former President Bush on oil and gas issues. He called President Obama's anti-drilling policies "ridiculous."

(Politico)- Former President Bill Clinton said Friday that delays in offshore oil and gas drilling permits are "ridiculous" at a time when the economy is still rebuilding, according to attendees at the IHS CERAWeek conference.

Clinton spoke on a panel with former President George W. Bush that was closed to the media. Video of their moderated talk with IHS CERA Chairman Daniel Yergin was also prohibited.

But according to multiple people in the room, Clinton, surprisingly, agreed with Bush on many oil and gas issues, including criticism of delays in permitting offshore since last year's Gulf of Mexico spill.

"Bush said all the things you'd expect him to say" on oil and gas issues, said Jim Noe, senior vice president at Hercules Offshore and executive director of the pro-drilling Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition. But Clinton added, "You'd be surprised to know that I agree with all that," according to Noe and others in the room.

Clinton said there are "ridiculous delays in permitting when our economy doesn't need it," according to Noe and others.

Obama reinstates Gulf drilling ban- for seven years

Gulf Americans employed by the offshore oil drilling industry can expect a seven year drought on new jobs.

Via Hot Air:

The Obama administration won’t allow any new oil drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least the next seven years because of the BP oil spill, a senior administration official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The area that includes the waters off Florida’s coast had been considered for drilling as part of the management plan for the OuterContinental Shelf. Just a month before the April spill, the Obama administration had announced plans to allow drilling in the eastern Gulf.

Demo Senator Mary Landrieu Loses The Hopey-Changey Feeling

Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu joined the hopey-changey team for for the vote on health care reform. Of course, it took the "Louisiana Purchase" to get her on-board. Now, President Obama has shown his appreciation in his usual fashion. He is throwing Senator Mary Landrieu under the bus now that he no longer needs her. After having a judge strike down his last offshore drilling moratorium, President Obama has had his Department of the Interior issue an even more severe ban. Senator Landrieu has become concerned about the hopey-changy teams anti-oil stance and lack of concern for Gulf Coast jobs.

“About an hour ago, Secretary Salazar announced ‘new deepwater drilling suspensions.’ Unfortunately, this new plan does not address many of the concerns expressed by the experts, the court system, and families and businesses along the Gulf Coast.

“I am particularly alarmed by the Department of the Interior’s continued insistence that allowing deepwater drilling to move forward ‘would pose a threat of serious, irreparable, or immediate harm or damage to the marine, coastal, and human environment.’ That claim contradicts testimony given by drilling experts and ignores the history of oil and gas operations in the Gulf.

“If this Commission and our nation are to learn the right lessons from the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, we must put this accident into perspective. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, more than 42,000 wells have been drilled in the Gulf from 1947 to 2009, producing 16.5 billion barrels of oil. It is important to note that in the last 10 years, non-hurricane related spills only totaled about 7,000 barrels. Right now, this rouge well in the Gulf is gushing an entire decades’ worth of oil spills every six hours. While more effective regulations and greater transparency are a must, the record is clear that the Deepwater Horizon accident is the exception rather than the rule.

“As residents of this working coast, we want – as much as anyone – for this drilling to be safe for our people and our environment. But we also know full well what a prolonged suspension of deepwater drilling until November 30th will mean for hundreds of oil service companies, other small businesses, and families across the region. In today’s announcement, the Administration has left the door open to resume drilling operations sooner, but Gulf Coast businesses and investors still lack the certainty they need to move forward with future plans.

“Whether you call it a moratorium, a suspension, or a pause, the result will still be a substantial loss of jobs. Even the revised moratorium will force thousands of hard-working Louisianians and others along the Gulf Coast into the unemployment lines.

“I strongly urge this Commission to take the quick and decisive action to recommend immediately lifting the moratorium to save our businesses, our economy and our way of life.

“Secretary Salazar’s announcement today seems to indicate the new suspensions require the collection and analysis of key evidence before deepwater drilling can start again. The work of your Commission will be a critical element of that process, which means the Commission must complete its work in a more expedited manner.

“We know what these suspensions will do to Gulf Coast families and to our economy. Yet, it seems that the Administration has ignored this data and failed to conduct its own economic analysis.

President Obama's Moratorium on Oil Drilling is Costing Tens of Thousands of Jobs

There are several unreported effects of President Obama's reaction to the Gulf oil spill. One is the cost to British pensioners of Obama's verbal attack on BP and the subsequent price meltdown of that companies stock. The other unreported effect is the thousands of Gulf jobs lost by the 6 month drilling moratorium and the subsequent expected drop in oil production.

Energy Tomorrow reported:

Several organizations have offered estimates of the drilling moratorium’s impact on consumers, the U.S. oil and natural industry, and the nation’s energy security:

* Adam Sieminski of Deutsche Bank predicted that U.S. oil production could fall by 160,000 barrels of oil per day by next year. (Financial Times)

* Bernstein Research said delays from the moratorium and rising costs stemming from new safety regulations are likely to raise the marginal cost of deepwater production by about 10 percent. (Financial Times)

* Paul Cheng of Barclays Capital warned that the higher costs could eliminate small independent companies...