Donald Trump is right about stopping ISIS. Cut off their oil sales...

ISIS is making $50 million a month selling stolen oil...

Via WaTi:

The Islamic State terrorist group is raking in up to $50 million a month from the sales of crude from oilfields under its control in Iraq and Syria, according to Iraqi intelligence and U.S. officials.
The militant group’s oil boom, highlighted by the Associated Press on Friday, demonstrates a well-run terrorist industry that U.S. diplomacy and airstrikes have so far failed to shut down.
The oil sales are the extremists’ largest single source of continual income and are a key reason the group has been able to maintain their control over their self-declared “caliphate” over Iraq and Syria.
Islamic State militants sell crude to smugglers at prices that vary between $10 and $35 per barrel, Iraqi intelligence officials told the Associated Press. The international price of oil is about $50 per barrel.
The smugglers then sell the oil to middlemen in Turkey, or, according to one Iraqi official, to individuals in Kurdish areas of Iraq, as well. A Kurdish politician denied the claim.
The extremists were believed to have extracted about 30,000 barrels a day in Syria, and about 10,000 to 20,000 barrels per day in Iraq, according to AP.

Amusing: Venezuela forced to import light crude oil.

Venezuela claims to have the largest oil reserves in the world.



Miami Herald:

It turns out that Venezuela’s own production of light crudes has plummeted since the late President Hugo Chávez took office in 1999, and the country desperately needs light crudes to blend with its Orinoco Basin extra heavy crude oils. Without such a blend, the Orinoco Basin’s extra heavy crude is too dense to be transported through pipelines to Venezuelan ports and exported abroad.

Venezuela’s oil production, which accounts for 95 percent of the country’s export earnings, should be used in world classrooms as a textbook case of what happens when a populist government starts distributing a country’s wealth in cash subsidies, without investing in maintenance and innovation. Much like happened with Cuba’s once flourishing sugar industry, Venezuela’s Chávez-inspired populism has destroyed the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Change: Canada to build pacific pipeline to send oil Obama doesn't want to China...

Currently,  97% of Canadian export oil is sent to the U.S. That is going to change since Obama won't approve the Keystone XL Pipeline. A significant portion of that oil will now go to China. We can buiy our oil from the Arabs. that has worked out so well for us.

TORONTO (AP) - Canada's government on Tuesday approved a controversial proposed pipeline to the Pacific Coast that would allow oil to be shipped to Asia, which would be major step in the country's efforts to diversify its oil exports.
The approval Tuesday was expected but whether Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline ever gets built remains in question as there is fierce aboriginal and environmental opposition in British Columbia and court challenges are expected.
Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has called Canada an emerging energy superpower and he has been a staunch supporter of the pipeline after the U.S. delayed a decision on TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline that would take oil from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Enbridge's pipeline would transport 525,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta's oil sands to the Pacific to deliver oil to Asia, mainly energy-hungry China. About 220 large oil tankers a year would visit the Pacific coast town of Kitimat and opponents fear pipeline leaks and a potential Exxon Valdez-like disaster on the pristine Pacific coast...
Harper has said Canada's national interest makes the pipelines essential and it is a legacy issue for him. He was "profoundly disappointed" that U.S. President Barack Obama delayed a decision on the Texas Keystone XL option, and spoke of the need to diversify Canada's oil industry. Ninety-seven percent of Canadian oil exports now go to the U.S.

Sad: We saved Irag from despotism and China is getting all the oil...

Remember when liberals claimed the invasion of Iraq was about us getting the oil? That hasn't happened...

BAGHDAD — Since the American-led invasion of 2003, Iraq has become one of the world’s top oil producers, and China is now its biggest customer.

China already buys nearly half the oil that Iraq produces, nearly 1.5 million barrels a day, and is angling for an even bigger share, bidding for a stake now owned by Exxon Mobil in one of Iraq’s largest oil fields. 

“The Chinese are the biggest beneficiary of this post-Saddam oil boom in Iraq,” said Denise Natali, a Middle East expert at the National Defense University in Washington. “They need energy, and they want to get into the market.” 

Before the invasion, Iraq’s oil industry was sputtering, largely walled off from world markets by international sanctions against the government of Saddam Hussein, so his overthrow always carried the promise of renewed access to the country’s immense reserves. Chinese state-owned companies seized the opportunity, pouring more than $2 billion a year and hundreds of workers into Iraq, and just as important, showing a willingness to play by the new Iraqi government’s rules and to accept lower profits to win contracts. 

“We lost out,” said Michael Makovsky, a former Defense Department official in the Bush administration who worked on Iraq oil policy. “The Chinese had nothing to do with the war, but from an economic standpoint they are benefiting from it, and our Fifth Fleet and air forces are helping to assure their supply.”

The good news is a mega oil field has been found..

The bad news is it' around 1,300 light years away

Have our wishes been answered? Scientists have found an oil field which contains 200 times more hydrocarbons than there is water on the whole of the Earth.

Time to wave peak oil goodbye forever … but before you do I should probably inform you of the tiny hiccup in any plan to develop this oil field.

It is around 1,300 light years away.

The scientists work at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and using the 30m-telescope of the Institute for Radio Astronomy they discovered a vast cloud of hydrocarbons within the Horse Head Nebula galaxy in the Orion constellation.

It has begun. Obama to close 1.6 million acres of federal land to oil shale development because of some bird.

The poor hoot owls  sage grouse.

Via The Hill:

The Interior Department on Friday issued a final plan to close 1.6 million acres of federal land in the West originally slated for oil shale development.

The proposed plan would fence off a majority of the initial blueprint laid out in the final days of the George W. Bush administration. It faces a 30-day protest period and a 60-day process to ensure it is consistent with local and state policies. After that, the department would render a decision for implementation.

The move is sure to rankle Republicans, who say President Obama’s grip on fossil fuel drilling in federal lands is too tight.

Interior’s Bureau of Land Management cited environmental concerns for the proposed changes. Among other things, it excised lands with “wilderness characteristics” and areas that conflicted with sage grouse habitats.

This is an area over twice the size of Rhode Island. 

Good News: Green River Formation contains about 3 trillion barrels of oil

If half of it is recoverable, it equals the rest of the world's proven oil reserves.

(CNSNews.com) – The Green River Formation, a largely vacant area of mostly federal land that covers the territory where Colorado, Utah and Wyoming come together, contains about as much recoverable oil as all the rest the world’s proven reserves combined, an auditor from the Government Accountability Office told Congress on Thursday.

The GAO testimony stressed that the federal government was in “a unique position to influence the development of oil shale” because the Green River deposits were mostly beneath federal land.

It also noted that developing the oil would pose “socioeconomic challenges,” which included bringing “a sizable influx of workers who along with their families put additional stress on local infrastructure” and “making planning for growth difficult for local governments.”

“The Green River Formation–an assemblage of over 1,000 feet of sedimentary rocks that lie beneath parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming–contains the world’s largest deposits of oil shale,”Anu K. Mittal, the GAO’s director of natural resources and environment said in written testimony submitted to the House Science Subcommittee on Energy and Environment.

“USGS estimates that the Green River Formation contains about 3 trillion barrels of oil, and about half of this may be recoverable, depending on available technology and economic conditions,” Mittal testified.

Keep on reading…

Administrator of the EPA claims they are "crucifying" oil and gas companies

President Obama most pleased....

Via Foundry:

A video surfaced on Wednesday showing a regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency comparing his agency’s philosophy with respect to regulation of oil and gas companies to brutal tactics employed by the ancient Roman army to intimidate its foes into submission.

EPA’s “philosophy of enforcement,” said EPA’s Region VI Administrator Al Armendariz, is “kind of like how the Romans used to conquer little villages in the Mediterranean: they’d go into little Turkish towns somewhere, they’d find the first five guys they’d run into, and they’d crucify them.”

“That town was really easy to manage for the next few years,” Armendariz added.

Keep on reading…

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper: No Turning Back On Selling Oilsands Crude To Asia

President Obama is an energy policy idiot. No one who really cared about the U.S.'s energy supply would have rejected the Keystone XL pipeline.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Even if President Barack Obama approved the controversial Keystone XL pipeline tomorrow, at least some Canadian oil would still flow to Asia, according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In a public one-on-one interview here with Jane Harman, head of the Wilson Centre think-tank, Harper said Obama’s rejection of the controversial pipeline — even temporarily — stressed Canada’s need to find other buyers for oilsands crude.

And that wouldn’t change even if the president’s mind did.

“Look, the very fact that a ‘no’ could even be said underscores to our country that we must diversify our energy export markets,” Harper told Harman in front of a live audience of businesspeople, scholars, diplomats, and journalists.

WH Spokesman Carney Struggles to Explain Obama's Hypocrisy on Tax Breaks for Oil Companies

It seems Obama was for tax breaks for oil companies before he was against them.

Ed Henry (Fox News): Why did the President vote for the energy bill in 2005 as a Senator that had over $2 billion in tax breaks for the oil industry. They were making a lot of money then too.

Carney: What I can tell you Ed is that the oil and gas companies in this country are making record profits, now, in 2012. The price at the pump is very high and that is plenty of incentive for these companies to continue drill, to continue to explore, to continue to develop energy sources here in the United States and abroad. There is no reason for the American taxpayer to subsidize that activity.

Henry: So why’d he vote for it?

Carney: I haven’t examined the vote, or what the prices were at the time, or the whole bill it was attached to. What I know and what the President knows is that this year, 2012, when we are seeing high prices at the pump, high prices in the international oil markets and high profits for the oil and gas companies, there is no reason to continue these kinds of subsidies. Take that argument to the people, I don’t think they’ll go along 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...

Chutzpah: Iran turns off oil spout to British and French

The net effect is negligible. EU countries have already committed to stopping Iranian oil imports on Jule 1sy of this year. The Saudi's have committed to increasing production.

(CNBC)- Iran has stopped selling crude to British and French companies, the oil ministry said on Sunday, in a retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions on the Islamic state's lifeblood, oil.

 "Exporting crude to British and French companies has been stopped ... we will sell our oil to new customers," spokesman Alireza Nikzad was quoted as saying by the ministry of petroleum website.

The European Union in January decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its disputed nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at building bombs. Iran denies this.

Iran's oil minister said on Feb. 4 that the Islamic state would cut its oil exports to "some" European countries. The European Commission said last week that the bloc would not be short of oil if Iran stopped crude exports, as they have enough in stock to meet their needs for around 120 days.

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.

Misinformed Dem Congressman: We’re Attacking Libya For Their Oil

The Associated Press

Someone should tell Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) the U.S. gets virtually no oil from Libya.

(The Hill)- The United States military action against Libya is motivated by a desire for affordable and accessible oil, a top Democrat on environmental issues said Monday.

Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said that he agreed with President Obama’s decision to launch, along with allies, attacks against Libya and its leader, Moammar Gadhafi. But Markey said the attacks were primarily motivated by oil.

“We are in Libya because of oil,” Markey said on MSNBC. “It all goes back to the 5 million barrels of oil we import from OPEC on a daily basis.”

Former President Bill Clinton Wants Obama to Hold off the Blame Game and Focus on "Fixing the Leak"

Former President Bill Clinton wants President Obama to put "fixing the leak" before finding out who to blame. He is willing to take extreme measures to do it.

From Freedom's Lighthouse:

Clinton also said it may become necessary for the U.S. Navy to "blow up the well" to stop the leak on the floor of the Gulf. He said that can be done without using a Nuclear Weapon.

Let's hope President obama is able to take time out of his busy golf schedule and follow Bill Clinton's "fix the leak" advice.

The Gulf Oil Spill is BP's Dick Cheney's Fault

Blaming big oil wasn't good enough for the left. They need a personal face to put on the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. President Obama's slow response should have earned him that honor, but he is on the left's team and they don't want to demonize "their guy." Fortunately, they have found someone they want to blame. It's Dick Cheney!

From DailyKos:


From Salon:

DNC Uses Oil Spill to Raise Funds

Eleven Americans died in the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig. Team Obama responded very slowly and allowed the oil to spread over a large area of the gulf. Somehow, Democrats think this is good for fund-raising. They brag about "Keeping a boot on the throat" of BP. Here is the DNC letter.

(click image for larger view)

Obama's Katrina

The Obama administration took 9 days to respond to the gulf BP oil rig spill. It was 12 days before President Obama visited the area. This video from NOAA proves the government had the information to understand the seriousness of this spill. Burning should have started immediately. Instead, Team Obama twiddled their fingers.

Bill Maher Asks: 'Why Isn’t Barack Obama Getting More S--t For This' Oil Spill?

I never thought I would agree with Bill Maher, but...



Most liberals are still in denial about Team Obama's failure to take quick action to contain the gulf oil leak. Here is a good rundown of the shortcomings of Obama's oil spill response.

Obama Sending SWAT Teams to Gulf Oil Rigs?

A SWAT Team? He must be expecting some more grandmas to hold a Tea Party protest.

Earlier today, DHS Secretary Napolitano announced that this incident is of national significance and the Department of Interior has announced that they will be sending SWAT teams to the Gulf to inspect all platforms and rigs. And I have ordered the Secretaries of Interior and Homeland Security as well as Administrator Lisa Jackson of the Environmental Protection Agency to visit the site on Friday to ensure that BP and the entire U.S. government is doing everything possible, not just to respond to this incident, but also to determine its cause. And I've been in contact with all the governors of the states that may be affected by this accident.