Obama Finally Admits: Oil Suppy Affects Price

[Mad Scientist]

Will all the Liberals fall in line behind him?
From the L.A. Slimes:
Energy prices: Obama to open Alaska petroleum reserve to new drilling - latimes.com

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.

Is he admitting now that supply affects price? Is he now admitting that solar, windmills and Unicorns that fart rainbows are having no effect on keeping energy costs down?

Two senior administration officials said in a teleconference Friday that the plan was meant to signal the president's willingness to listen to a range of ideas, regardless of partisan politics, to improve oil and gas production in an environmentally sound way.

"Listening" doesn't equate with "Doing" but it's a start. Plus he still has the option to have the un-elected EPA quash the whole deal.

 

[Mr. H.]

Encourage new drilling while taking away investment incentive?
Won't work.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

No! Oil is the one and only commodity impervious to the laws is supply and demand!! The EnviroMarxists say so!

 

[Sallow]

The Oil biz is pretty gamed. Speculation and a complicit US government keeps prices fluctuating wildy.

There isn't a supply problem right now.

 

[Mr. H.]

Not a supply problem, but a domestic supply issue.

Drilling activity is almost directly correlated to the price of crude, and drilling requires massive investment. Investement that will be seriously hampered if Obama gets his budget including over $40 billion in taxes on the industry. I've seen figures as high as $90 billion.

Very very few companies finance projects internally, and they must be able to attract capital.

 

[kiwiman127]

Yep, when someone is so married to their ideology. they sometimes fail to see the obvious. Some finally do see the error of their ways after a slap to the back of the head. I think reality finally slapped Obama in the back of the head.
Now if more Washington politicians would react to the proverbial slap in back of the head, maybe something might get accomplished with all the issues America is facing today.

 

[percysunshine]

This is working out well. Dick Cheneys' strategy of first getting the libs to adopt his foreign policy, and then getting the libs to adopt his economic policies...heck...it's Christmas!

 

[LilOlLady]

Production of oil have no effect on the price of gasoline at all.

Increasing Domestic Oil Production Would Have Little Effect on Gas Prices
By Zach McDonald ·
April 26, 2011
But while “drill baby, drill,” continues to be a popular refrain for administration critics and some Democrats hailing from oil-producing states, the argument's relevance to gas prices has recently come under greater scrutiny. A growing consensus of energy experts and analysts have lately come out against the idea that increasing the balance of domestically produced energy could yield significant relief to consumers struggling with high pump prices.

Increasing Domestic Oil Production Would Have Little Effect on Gas Prices | PluginCars.com


And our dependence on oil will never go away. Oil is still the cheapest way to go or we would not done something else years ago. We can bring down price by lower consumption. Maybe.

 

[waltky]

And as long as there's a stalemate in Libya, gas prices will continue to stay high...

Official: Libyan oil won't flow until war is over
5/15/2011 - Biggest crude producers cites security concerns it, other companies share

Libya's biggest oil company will not resume production until the war ends, and that probably holds good for producers across the country, the firm's information director told The Associated Press on Sunday. Abdeljalil Mohamed Mayuf said that the Arab Gulf Oil Co., responsible for more than a quarter of Libya's former production of 1.6 million barrels a day, stopped pumping for fear of further attacks by the forces of embattled leader Moammar Gadhafi.

"Everything depends on security. We can produce tomorrow but our fields would be attacked," Mayuf said in an interview. "We cannot put an army around each field. We are not a military company and the forces of Gadhafi are everywhere." He said they were within 40 kilometers of the southeast fields at Messla and Sarir. "We cannot say when we will restart because it depends on this military operation and when Gadhafi leaves."

He said the decision was made after rocket attacks April 4 seriously damaged a pumping station and production facilities at southeast Messla oilfield, followed, a few days later, by hits on a pumping station halfway along the 317-mile (510-kilometer) pipeline from Messla to Tobruk port. Eight rebels serving as guards were killed in the second attack, he said.

Gadhafi struck after the rebels had just begun exporting oil, following a weekslong hiatus due to fighting. The rebels had sold 1 million barrels of oil with the help of Qatar. The exports were intended to raise funds to battle the leader of 42 years, who still controls the western half of the country. After the attacks, rebel oil chief Wahid Bugaighis said repairs to Messla would be completed in about three weeks and they would resume pumping oil. Mayuf said Bugaighis "doesn't know what he is talking about."

More Official: Libyan oil won't flow until war is over - Business - Oil & energy - msnbc.com

 

[SFC Ollie]

Don't give Obama too much credit. Even if he goes through with the talk this time.

Remember he is in full campaign mode and the price of Gas can hurt him.