OVERWHELMED BY OPPORTUNITY

[Daddieo]

 

 

Overwhelmed with Opportunity

March 25, 2011

The Truth About Oil and Gas Drilling Access vs. What the Industry Would Like You to Believe

Although the oil and gas industry and their allies have criticized Obama
Administration policies for allegedly restricting the industry’s access
to federal lands for drilling, the facts clearly paint a much different
picture. Just last week, the American Petroleum Institute (API) tried
to spin the conversation again. Instead of answering the question of WHY they are sitting on millions of acres they have leased but have not drilled,
and thousands of permits to drill they are not using, they turned the
debate back to their wish to lease even more land. It’s a stubborn fact
they cannot ignore – they don’t need any more federal permits or leases
to ‘drill here, drill now.’

The Facts About API’s “Factsheet”

• What They Fail to Dispute: API does not dispute that oil and gas companies have 29 million acres of onshore
  federal lands under lease that are not being used – an area the size of
  the state of Pennsylvania.
• Ignoring that Their Permits Are “Ready to Go”: API’s factsheet also ignores the fact that thousands of Bureau of Land
  Management drilling permits were issued and were not used. Issued
  permits are not subject to administrative protests and appeals— they
  have met all legal requirements and are ready to go.
• API’s Attempt at “setting the record straight” Certainly Cleared One Thing Up: America cannot drill its way to energy independence or to lower gas
  prices. In reality , the House Natural Resource Committee’s own
  witness, Richard Newell (Administrator of the Energy Information
  Administration) stated, “we do not project additional volumes of oil
  that could flow from greater access to oil on federal lands to have a
  large impact on prices...”
• Turning off the Spigot to Jack Up the Price: As API pushes for more drilling permits, it’s worth noting that oil and
  gas companies intentionally idled nearly 12,000 natural gas wells in
  Wyoming alone, to be brought back into production when the price of
  natural gas rebounds. In other words, industry is refusing to drill so that the price for consumers will increase. Read more here.

A Few Questions to Ponder

1. Why is the industry spending BLM time and resources by asking for permits that they don’t ever use?
2. How can the industry claim that they are trying to reduce prices at the same time as they are shutting in wells to drive prices up?
3. Aren’t profits really the driving force behind leasing and drilling decisions – not concern for the rest of America as industry would like you to believe?
4. What types of incentives would a corporation add to an oil‐gas lease to encourage more prompt production?
5. Would a successful business continue to offer leases when industry is not producing revenue from already existing leases?