The Rape of Iraq's oil.

[Gunny]

And that same guy sitting in a 100 room mansion has a hard time feeling sorry for the family sleeping in a car because all the jobs were sent overseas.

And that same guy sitting in a 100 room mansion has a hard time feeling sorry for that overseas worker being used as a slave which is why that guy with the 100 room mansion sent the jobs oversea.

I am all for empowering the individual sleeping in the car by providing him with an education and a job. I'm not for just giving him handouts which only perpetuate his dependency. Nor am I especially advocating taking only form the wealthy to set him up.

However, currently, the middle class is footing the bill amd I don't agree with that. The wealthy don't need tax shelters and kickbacks half as much as we do.

Overseas exploitation of workers to increase profits is just wrong. No only is it a form of slavery, and a dodge of US employment laws, but it takes jobs away from Americans.

 

[boedicca]

I'd be perfectly happy to see a flat tax put in place. The savings to the economy in time and expense that is now wasted on compliance would be enormous - and it would take a way one method politicians have to dole out pork via tax breaks.

 

[Bullypulpit]

Why should he slam the troops - Kerry, Kennedy, Durbin, Murtha, and the peace niks are doing just fine without him

Cite specific examples please. Direct quotes and the context in which they appeared.

 

[Bullypulpit]

The Us has huge reserves of oil, and oil shale - but because of the enviro wackos oil companies can not tap them



U.S. Oil Reserves Get a Big Boost
Chevron-Led Team Discovers Billions of Barrels in Gulf of Mexico's Deep Water

By Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 6, 2006; Page D01

An oil discovery by Chevron Corp. has bolstered prospects that petroleum companies will be able to tap giant reserves that lie far beneath the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil analysts and company executives said newly released test results from a well 175 miles off the coast of Louisiana indicate that the oil industry will be able to recover well more than 3 billion barrels, and perhaps as much as 15 billion barrels, of oil from a geological area known as the lower tertiary trend, making it the biggest addition to U.S. petroleum reserves in decades. The upper end of the estimate could boost U.S. reserves by 50 percent.

"This looks to be the biggest discovery in the United States in a generation, really since the discovery of Prudhoe Bay 38 years ago," said Daniel Yergin, chairman of the consulting firm Cambridge Energy Research Associates Inc. "There's been a lot of anticipation about what's called the Wilcox formation, and this is the validation of the theory and of the technology," he said, using another name for the area of the Gulf.

Cambridge Energy forecasts that the deep-water area of the Gulf of Mexico will produce 800,000 barrels of oil a day within seven years and account for 11 percent of U.S. oil production. That would not solve the world's energy problem or eliminate U.S. reliance on oil imports, but it would help stabilize U.S. oil production, which has been declining, and cover some of the world's rising demand for petroleum. Prudhoe Bay, in northern Alaska, produced about 1.5 million barrels a day at its peak.

Although oil companies have been exploring the deep-water area of the Gulf of Mexico for the past five years, there have not been any previous production tests from the older tertiary trend, which is made largely of Eocene era sediments more than 35 million years old. Chevron and its partners said the test showed that the oil deposits in the older rock formations were technologically and economically viable.

"The big question for everybody has been whether these rocks would flow and at what rates," said Paul Siegele, head of Chevron's deep-water Gulf exploration unit. "These are older rocks than have been explored before. While everyone was excited about the amount of oil in place, the question was whether it would flow at rates that would be economic, and that's why the test was so important."

Chevron said yesterday that 6,000 barrels a day of crude oil flowed through a test well from the tertiary trend more than 20,000 feet beneath the sea floor in 7,000 feet of water. Chevron's partners noted that the oil flowed from just 40 percent of the more than 350 feet of oil-bearing sediments. Siegele said that the oil was high quality and low in sulfur and that it flowed through an opening less than an inch in diameter. But he said the company would not divulge the exact size of the opening, an important detail for analysts.

Still, John P. Herrlin, an oil analyst with Merrill Lynch & Co., said the production test announcement was "meaningful because it opens a new fairway" in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico oil area, which also includes other geological prospects. Herrlin said the lower tertiary trend alone could hold 3 billion barrels to 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves.

That's a figure Chevron used earlier this year to describe the size of the tertiary trend prospect. In an interview yesterday, Siegele said the new test results reinforced that estimate. But separately, Stephen J. Hadden, senior vice president for exploration and production at Devon Energy Corp., a partner in the Chevron exploration well, said the 3 billion barrel figure was too low. Cambridge Energy's Robert W. Esser said the Eocene or Wilcox sediments could hold 10 billion barrels.

Exploration and production in deep-water areas have become more important to world oil production as production from older fields on or close to shore begins to decline. And technological advances have made it easier to work in the difficult deep-water conditions. Companies are also searching in deeper waters off places such as the west coast of Africa.

But the costs of exploring for oil in deep water far from shore run high, which makes it important to find bigger fields. Chevron's Siegele said the test well, called the Jack No. 2, cost more than $100 million. Devon Energy's Hadden said a production facility in the area could cost between $250 million and $500 million, plus a series of production wells at a cost of $80 million to $120 million each. It isn't clear whether the companies would build a floating platform and put the oil directly into tankers or a platform would connect to pipelines that would run to shore.

"What's really happening is the opening up of a whole new horizon in the ultra-deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and it looks like the upside is very significant," Yergin said. "But it will take time and billions of dollars to get there."

Chevron operates and owns 50 percent of the Jack No. 2 well. Devon Energy and Statoil ASA each own 25 percent of the project.

Hadden said Devon's share of the reserves in the lower tertiary trend could more than double the company's reserve base of about 2 billion barrels of oil and oil equivalents, such as natural gas. It vindicates a strategic decision the company made in 2001 to invest heavily in the deep water of the Gulf of Mexico, he said. The company expects to begin production from another deep-water area in the Gulf, called Cascade, in 2009, Hadden said. The company's stock jumped 12.5 percent yesterday to close at $72.14 a share.

Chevron is the company with the most leases in the lower tertiary trend, which Hadden said is a couple of hundred miles long and 50 to 70 miles wide. Devon is next, followed by Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC.

Last week, in another indication that big reserves lie in deep-water Gulf of Mexico, BP said it had found more than 800 feet of oil-bearing rock in its Kaskida discovery well in the Keathley Canyon area about 75 miles north and west of Chevron's Jack well. It is part of the same geological trend.



Print This ArticleE-Mail This Article
RSS Feed
Permission to Republish

placeholder
» Related Topics & Web Content

Most Viewed Business Articles
Get It All on Paper
Making Sure Opportunity Knocks for Clients
Natural Pet Foods Grab Attention
Subprime Bust Forces Families From Homes
» Top 35 Most Viewed


View all comments that have been posted about this article.

Post a Comment

View all comments that have been posted about this article.

Your washingtonpost.com User ID will be displayed with your comment.
Comments: (Limit 5,000 characters)

Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.

© 2007 The Washington Post Company

When all you do is cut-and-paste, you miss the finer points. Like economics, which has more to do with the lack of investment in oil shale refining than any environmental issues.

You remember the "oil crisis" in the '70's, don't you? Well, at that time, folks were expecting that proven reserves had peaked, or would soon do so. Accompanying that forecast, there was the expectation that oil would remain at $70 per barrel, or higher for the foreseeable future. As a result there was a huge investment in oil shale refining. But, as history has since shown us, oil prices crashed resulting in the loss of those huge investments in oil shale refining.

With spot prices of crude oil hovering around the $60 a barrel mark, there is still little interest in investing in oil shale refining until there is a fairly broad certainty that prices will stabilize at, or above, the $70 mark for the foreseeable future.

The environmental concerns that accompany the development of oil shales are very real, from the open-pit mining techniques required to the toxic and known carcinogenic mine tailings.

As for Chevron's oil field discovery, (50% x 3%) + 3% = 4.5 %. When the US uses 25% of the world's oil production, having 4.5% of the world's proven reserves is irrelevant. Better to develope alternative and renewable energy sources and wean ourselves off oil.

 

[red states rule]

I have a real hard time feeling sorry for a guy sitting in a 100 room mansion lamenting the fact he can't have a 200 room mansion because he has to pay taxes.

I am sure Gore and Edwards think about the poor constantly as they sit in their modest mansions

 

[red states rule]

And that same guy sitting in a 100 room mansion has a hard time feeling sorry for the family sleeping in a car because all the jobs were sent overseas.

And that same guy sitting in a 100 room mansion has a hard time feeling sorry for that overseas worker being used as a slave which is why that guy with the 100 room mansion sent the jobs oversea.

With a 4.5% unemployment rate and rising incomes, the US economy is doing well

 

[red states rule]

It's only fair. If you want to lower the tax rate on the rich then take away their tax shelters and close ALL the tax loopholes. When the playing field is fair and they end up paying taxes on all their income and capital gains, a flat tax rate still doesn't drastically reduce the overall amount of taxes they pay.

Since a small minority of tax payers are paying the majority of taxes - how much more do you want them to pay?

In fact, after the Bush tax cuts, the "rich" are still paying more of their income in taxes since they are making more more in the growing economy

 

[red states rule]

I am all for empowering the individual sleeping in the car by providing him with an education and a job. I'm not for just giving him handouts which only perpetuate his dependency. Nor am I especially advocating taking only form the wealthy to set him up.

However, currently, the middle class is footing the bill amd I don't agree with that. The wealthy don't need tax shelters and kickbacks half as much as we do.

Overseas exploitation of workers to increase profits is just wrong. No only is it a form of slavery, and a dodge of US employment laws, but it takes jobs away from Americans.

Since the the top 1% pay about 35% of all Federal Imcome taxes, how much more do you want them to pay?

I would say they are paying MORE then then their fair share

 

[wiggles]

And that same guy sitting in a 100 room mansion has a hard time feeling sorry for the family sleeping in a car because all the jobs were sent overseas.

And that same guy sitting in a 100 room mansion has a hard time feeling sorry for that overseas worker being used as a slave which is why that guy with the 100 room mansion sent the jobs oversea.

Thus increasing the 100 room mansion owner's profit margin by 0.2%.

 

[red states rule]

Thus increasing the 100 room mansion owner's profit margin by 0.2%.

Al is making alot more then 0.2% profit by buying his carbon offsets from himself

John Edwards, I am not sure about - must be making money somewhere to build a 30,000 sq ft mansion

 

[wiggles]

Al is making alot more then 0.2% profit by buying his carbon offsets from himself

John Edwards, I am not sure about - must be making money somewhere to build a 30,000 sq ft mansion

How big is that Crawford Ranch?

 

[LuvRPgrl]

Don't start slammin' the soldiers. They were, and still are, being told by the civilian leadership that they're going to win this. My brother-in-law just finished a tour in Iraq, and tells me most of them aren't buying the BS anymore. But being the professionals they are, they're doing their jobs as best as they can under the delusions of the Bush Administration.

LIAR

 

[red states rule]

How big is that Crawford Ranch?

Pres Bush is not lecturing us on WE need to live our lives or how WE need to reduce OUR energy consumption

 

[sitarro]

How big is that Crawford Ranch?

A pretty simple google search gets you this info from Wikipedia. 1500 undeveloped acres that allow an open home for wildlife and an area where the ecosystem can work. Bought for less than 1.5 million it cost less than Edwards indoor basketball court.....tells volumes about the difference between the two's value systems.

Prairie Chapel Ranch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


"Bush at his ranch
Prairie Chapel Ranch is a 1583 acre (6.4 km&#178 estate located seven miles (10 km) northwest of Crawford, Texas. It is the home of President George W. Bush. Then-Governor Bush bought the land, which was a former turkey/hog farm, in 1999 shortly after earning a $14.3 million profit from the sale of the Texas Rangers. Based on fair-market land prices at the time the deal was closed for an estimated $1.3 million. When Bush, still President, stays there, the estate is known as the Western White House and it has also been called the "Texas White House".[1]
President Bush uses the compound for vacations, occasional meetings, and entertaining foreign dignitaries. In the less formal setting, dress code for meetings calls for an open collar and no tie. Guests are typically treated to meals of Southern cuisine. When not holding meetings or briefings, Bush spends his time mountain biking, jogging, fishing, bird hunting, and clearing brush.
President Bush has made clear his preference for spending time away from his official residence at the White House in Washington, DC. In 2001, he said, "I think it is so important for a president to spend some time away from Washington, in the heartland of America." President Bush is frequently criticized for spending so much time away from the White House, especially (particularly retrospectively) for the amount of time spent there during the spring and summer of 2001, prior to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
[edit]Description of house and grounds

The land includes seven canyons and three miles (5 km) of frontage along Rainey Creek and the Middle Bosque River. It is a part of land settled in the mid-19th century by German immigrant Heinrich Englebrecht, who raised turkeys and hogs there and donated some of it to found the Canaan Baptist Church (the "Prairie Chapel").
Buildings on the land built by the Englebrechts were refurbished for new uses, such as Secret Service quarters and guest houses. Bush and his wife had David Heymann, then an associate professor of architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, design a 10,000 ft² (930 m&#178 honey-colored native limestone single-level home on the site. Over half of that area is from a 10 foot (3 m) wide limestone porch that encircles the house. The house was built by members of a religious community from nearby Elm Mott, Texas and wasn't completed until after his inauguration.
The passive-solar house is positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet (100 m) deep in the ground. A 40,000 US gallon (151 m&#179 underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home. Photographs of the interior of the house indicate a sophisticated take on rough-hewn living, with generous English-style club chairs covered in what appears to be printed Fortuny linen.
Bush added an 11 acre (45,000 m&#178 man-made pond that he stocked with 600 largemouth bass and 30,000 bait fish. There are also shad, bluegill, and yellow perch, though it's unclear which of a dozen possible types of "perch" is present. The pond reaches a maximum depth of 17 feet.
In 2002, the ranch was wired for what Bush described in a 2003 tour of the ranch as "real time, secure videoconferencing" to be used for his briefings from the CIA and Dick Cheney. "

Passive solar design, rain water collection, waste water naturally filtered and used for irrigation..... and a home that has an interior space that is half of Algore's and a third of Edwards..... who is the real environmentalist here?

 

[boedicca]

Sounds like Bush has a very environmentally conscious set up - and I thought the Lefties liked wide open undeveloped spaces (which is what most of the Crawford Ranch is).

 

[LuvRPgrl]

Pres Bush is not lecturing us on WE need to live our lives or how WE need to reduce OUR energy consumption

Yea, minor detail there eh? Fits the bill for libs, leave out a piece of the puzzle.

 

[red states rule]

Yea, minor detail there eh? Fits the bill for libs, leave out a piece of the puzzle.

Libs love to tell the rest of US how WE need to lower Our standard of living, how WE need to drive small golf carts with bucket seats, and how WE need to use less energy - while they never lower THEIR standard of living, how THEY never give up their limos, and how THEY do not reduice THEIR energy consumption