Oil Company Leases: “Use It Or Lose It”
That’s the name of a bill that the House voted on last week. The official name is the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act — H.R. 6251.
Either the “media” has been awfully quiet about this bill, or I’ve just looked in all the wrong places; and I read several news sites regularly. The only mention I ever saw was in our small-town paper. Once a week they list the major bills wending their way through Congress.
Last week they listed the “Use It Or Lose It” law — it got a majority of votes in the House. The rest of the “media” was dead silent about it, so I did a Google News search. Yes, it did get a majority of votes.
Unfortunately, it was a piece of emergency legislation so it needed a two thirds vote to become law. Without a two thirds vote, it was doomed in any case, since the Oil King was planning to veto it.
Basically this law, as the name indicates, would have told the oil companies to fuckin’ USE the leases they already have before they start tearing up oceans and wildlife sanctuaries. Who could possibly be against this???
You’d think the people who are screaming the loudest about drilling in wildlife refuges — NOW! — would be the most infuriated that the oil companies are not using the leases they already have. HELLLOOO!!!!
As we speak, the oil companies have leases on seventy million acres of federal lands, which they are NOT using. Again, that number is seventy million acres. This is land where the oil companies could have already been drilling!
Apparently there are a lot of people with a very limited intellect who think this is just fine. Oh, the oil companies are just sitting on seventy million acres that they’re already leasing? Huh. OK. But meanwhile, the only solution to the energy crisis is to Drill! Everywhere! Now! We don’t need no steenking endangered species! Get that oil! NOW!
This law would have required the oil companies to either use this land that they’ve already leased — what the fuck did these assholes lease it for if they weren’t planning to drill on it?!?!? — or give up the leases. And they wouldn’t be allowed to seek any new leases (i.e. offshore drilling, ANWR) until they’ve exhausted the leases they already have.
DUUUHHH!!! Talk about a No-Fuckin'-Brainer!
Let’s see, I have several dogs that I just can’t seem to take care of. They’re starving because I keep forgetting to feed them, some of them are sick because I can't be bothered to take them to the vet, and they shit all over the house because I can’t remember to let them out. And I don't have time to clean up after them. I know — I’ll go out and buy a few more dogs.
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) is one of the co-sponsors of the “Use It Or Lose It” bill. He said:
“When we sit atop only 2 percent of the world’s oil supply, but consume a quarter of the world’s supply, it’s clear we can’t drill our way out of the fuel crisis. However, we can encourage drilling on the land we’ve already leased to oil companies, much of which they aren’t currently using. There is no reason to expand drilling to new areas – areas that could suffer devastating environmental consequences – when oil companies aren’t using the land they have.”
Bingo!
Congress might vote again on “Use It Or Lose It” when they return from their July 4th recess. Good luck.
cross-posted at Bring It On!
Labels: Congressman Mike Thompson, HR 6251, oil companies 70 million acres unused leases, Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act, Use It Or Lose It
posted by Tom Harper @ 6:38 PM
25 Comments:
Tom,
I am going to click, and paste in a second; because I hate repeating myself!! We are all being distracted! Research Putin's Speech February 10, 2007.
There are no fly by night anythings. They plan this crap out, and sell it to we the serfs as no other choice.
Oil Leases??? My ex-wife's family have the oil rights to six sections of land in Oklahoma. I believe that's around 3,800 acres of land. Now these six section due have 5 wells on them. In the early 80's Reagan labeled it all strategic reserve. Before closing these private wells; just off the 5 operating my ex-wife's grandmunster was making just under 30,000 a month. Now the Govt. didn't leave the family in the dark. Now we the tax payer's subsidize them for around 10k a month.
Peace and Freedom/unfortunetely The Truth Does Set You Free!!
AHB: You probably have a lot more inside knowledge than I do about this. It sure seems to me like there are a lot of fishy things going on. I think you summed it up with "there are no fly by night anythings. They plan this crap out, and sell it to we the serfs as no other choice."
I think I'm going to start drilling for oil in my backyard. If I disappear from the intertubes, you'll know I'll have found some that the feds will have grabbed as I sit in a cell in an undisclosed location.
Randal: I didn't know your backyard had endangered species or protected forests. That seems to be the only places where the oil companies want to drill.
Tom, SSSSSSSSSSSSHhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! don't give away our comrad's secret intel.
Peace and Freedom
AHB: Oops.
I don't know why Obama isn't pounding on this. Drilling is the 2008 wedge issue, and the shitbags ought not be allowed to get away with it.
JR: Damn right, oil is gonna be the big wedge issue this election. If the Democrats don't get out in front of this, they're gonna get defined and straitjacketed and painted into a corner, just like they did in 2000 and 2004. Oil speculators, and these unused oil leases, are two issues that the Democrats need to bring front and center and just keep pounding away.
American Genius: Yup, screwy is the word.
I think the whole stinking gas price increase has been a calculated thing by the administration, which wants to sock it to the environmentalists just to show they can.
Drilling the ANWR has been one of Dumbya's big things probably since before he took office. I think the administration has overseen the raising of gas prices to the point that enough Americans will complain to their congresspeople that we need to drill the ANWR that such measures will pass in Congress and Dumbass Dumbya can get his wish. This will be just another one of his gifts to the USA that will define his "legacy".
How stupid has America gotten?
Take a look here:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/884/gas-prices
We're all being buffaloed. There is no need, no reason, to drill anywhere anyway, but if they have to do it, by all means they should do it on the lands they already lease and are not using. The only reason I can see for them wanting to do the ANWR thing is to tell all the lefties "Ha ha, in your face."
Obama and the Democrats have brought this up! How Vigorously is up to you!
Until Hill Billy's posing I assumed those leases were the ones got dirt cheap when Gingrich and the Contract with American gave away all those Government Oil,Mineral and Land rights at Bargain Basement Prices. This may go in line to my earlier post about all those good domestic wells still capped up.
No Obama did day these leases have yet to be drilled so I think he meant new sources.
So the only reason I can think of (unfortunately) is they want it all.
Prediction: Even newly pumped Taxpayer subsidized Domestic Oil will be sold at Market rates.
Erik
Come on, Tom! Once again: you *know* the Iraq war was *never* about oil!
Tsktsktsk
Btw: the surge is wokring!!!
;-)
It would appear that the oil companies are going for a total monopoly of the world's remaining supply (look at the oil law in Iraq), and if you think a monopoly means lower prices, you've never played the game, or weren't very good at it.
Snave: I think the whole purpose of these price increases is to get the public to favor drilling offshore and in ANWR. And thanks to millions of gullible dumbfucks, this tactic is working.
Thanks for the link, as depressing as it is. People are no smarter than lab rats in a maze. Push a few buttons and the scientist knows exactly how they'll react.
According to that survey, conservation and energy exploration are two opposite things. Somebody forgot to tell them that increasing fuel efficiency by 3 miles per gallon would save more petroleum than ANWR contains (and that's the highest estimates).
Erik: I agree with your prediction. No matter how much oil we end up drilling, the price isn't going to come down. The oil industry has seen how much they can get; why would they lower the price?
Mentarch: Ah yes, the surge is working, the insurgency is on its last legs, and we invaded Iraq so we could bring democracy to the Middle East :)
Lew: Yup, a monopoly is what the oil companies are after. And I do remember that lower prices are never the result.
I'm still trying to figure this one out. We are getting some coverage over here on this side of the pond, albeit sparse coverage.
The oil company response has been one of "so you want us to drill where we know there is no oil." If that is the case, then why not give up the leases?
I'm going to do some research and see what I can dig up. If you get some more information, please re-post or update.
Thanks,
PT
Here is a good article on the subject written 4 years ago before all this came up.
It is much clearer to me now....bastards.
These oil drilling bills from both parties are silly. They would be small increases in oil production by a fairly minor oil producer, the US. They aren't going to make a difference that anyone will notice in lowering gas prices.
Stopping the war in Iraq, on the other hand, would make gas prices plummet.
Prague Twin: If they know there's no oil in this leased land, then why did they lease it? As a layman with no knowledge of the oil industry, that's my question.
Excellent link you provided. That's exactly what I suspected; the oil companies just want to expand their turf, just like any criminal gang. I didn't even think of some of the other facts in that article, that a company looks like a better investment the more oil leases it holds, whether these leases are producing anything or not.
And I had no idea how cheap these leases were. Talk about welfare.
Libhom: Yup, stopping the war on Iraq is step one. The 2nd biggest difference is conservation. The tiniest gas mileage increases would save the amount of oil that we might be able to get from ANWR during the next ten years.
I suspect (no proof, I admit) the oil industry is getting nervous about the impending day when we reach what's known as "peak oil." That is, the time when new finds can't add enough to output to keep up with current demand.
There are already nervous murmurs about Saudi Arabia's reserves being less than the industry has long assumed they were. The Saudis keep their reserves a state secret.
I suspect Big Oil sees a lot of handwriting on the wall to the effect something's going to come along sooner rather than later to make gasoline-burning vehicles as obsolete as iceboxes — the ones you had to put blocks of ice into for cooling.
As oil prices go up and up, now mostly due to speculators but inevitably later on due to increased world demand, high-cost alternatives become more economically viable and politically and environmentally desirable. Maybe it will be fuel from coal, from oil-shale, from biofuels, hydrogen or a combinations of those things. Time will tell.
But what Big Oil does not want is to be stuck with huge amounts of oil infrastructure and land investments if gasoline and diesel fuels are no longer going to bring in billions. These industries are big and can't turn on a dime.
So, methinks they want to use up their infrastructure soon, as much as possible where oil is available in quantity for sure and the cheapest and easiest to get out of the ground.
As I understand it, most of those millions of acres mentioned don't have proven reserves. The oil companies don't have drilling rights on all of them, either, just exploration rights for some.
So, they have reasons for wanting to go offshore and to ANWR instead of all those acres of land. They may also figure some of the untapped land would raise bigger environmental and NIMBY hassles than offshore and ANWR locations.
SW: There's a rumor that peak oil was already reached, and the Powers That Be (governments, oil cartels) are keeping it top secret. They don't want billions of people in a panic, and most of all Big Oil doesn't want to lose its tremendous clout. It's not easy to blackmail your customers when you're selling a product that's about to be replaced.
It's way past time to develop and expand renewable energy sources. The first energy crisis was 35 years ago, and every time another crisis flares up it's like a bolt out of the blue.
I'm sure Big Oil doesn't want to be stuck with an unneeded infrastructure, or productive drilling areas that didn't get dug up. But the rest of the world doesn't revolve around what's convenient for one industry. With our current excuse for a president and administration, the oil industry has a totally unwarranted stranglehold on the country. This needs to change.
Tom, I completely agree. I hope you don't think I endorse what I suspect Big Oil is up to because I don't. In fact, I've long thought these megacorporations should have to struggle bravely without incentives from taxpayers to do what they're in business to do, very lucratively at that.
Even if the incentives cease, we'll all still be paying to protect the sea lanes for their product movements, and fighting wars every few years to their immense benefit.
Must be nice.
SW: I could tell we're basically in agreement about this. And yes, being an 800-pound gorilla means that millions of peons have to keep funding your expenses and fighting your wars for you. Nice work if you can get it.
LOL at the dog analogy. Is it me or will we someday see oil companies with the power to annex all land everywhere for the sake of "drilling?"
The whole thing is ridiculous. the media is ignoring it because Britney Spears is not in it.
And AHBs story about subsidizing is stomach turning.
Ricardo: I don't think it's just you. If oil prices go high enough, the public will probably be in favor of giving the oil companies everything they ask for, no matter how absurd. Bulldoze Mount Rushmore to look for oil? Go for it. Start using eminent domain to seize people's private property and drill for oil in their backyards? Done.
people seem to forget that the oil companies want access to wildlife ares.....not that part, but this:
like was said why don't they drill in the 70 million acres?
because it puts pressure on us to allow them access to places they want but we dont want to protect
that's why
it just tactics
they pay people to do that
the oil companies have planned for years to level the price of oil worldwide
they have planned for a long time to make americans pay the same price europe pays
does 25 billion ring a bell?
those oil companies are just as unscrupulous as the character in the movie "the will be blood". he was charming on the surface, but a dirty rotten unscrupulous in reality (shown at the end)
wanna see the oil companies?
there they are !
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