Chode

I recently read a couple of editorials about what the actual policies of Saudi Arabia may be vs. some of their public avowals. Even though these are from very different sources and a few days apart, they're worth a read.
http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,169923,00.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...d=opinionsbox1

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Sweet!

Fox

I can see this getting ugly - as middle eastern investors begin buying up American assets, I wouldn't be surprised to see a push to tighten regulations for property ownership, possibly even seizure. Seems familiar... Cuba anyone?

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Klart Skepp!

sobeit

history is repeating itself. in the past we were friends with Saddam Hussein's Iraq before we decided to overthrow him because of so called wmds. Alot of the weapons he had, the US gave. The same with Iran, most of the basis for their nuclear program was given to them by the US in the 70's.

Who knows, maybe in a few years, we will be invading Saudi Arabia for the some made up reason also.

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EnglishPaul

I think Saudi Arabia may prove too much of an opponent for American political appetite.

Fox

I think we'd be doing the saudi people a favor if we cut ties to their government. I don't think they're very popular there.

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Klart Skepp!

yustr

What do you mean they're not our friends? We're practically going steady.

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jcgriff2

The answer to all of this can be found in our most northern state.

ANWAR or ANWR, whichever your preference. Drill now.

.

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bry623

as support by AK gov. Palin

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yustr

Have you really thought this one through? Have you done any research on how much oil is there compared to how much we use? Clearly not.

My (very quick) Google search showed that 1) there is no oil known to be had in the 1002 Area. 2) The (educated) estimate of what's there is roughly 10B barrels. Assuming they're close to right, and given that America uses about 21M barrels per day. Do the math. It's about 15 months depending if its a leap year.

Also consider that the multinational companies that will do the drilling are under no obligation to sell it to us. If China or Indonesia offer more - sorry Charlie.

Also consider how important that oil might be 100 years from now. What if that's the only oil left unexploited? Because unlike most other resources once oil is consumed it cannot be turned back into oil.

Also consider that the US uses more oil than the next 5 largest consumers combined.

So as the author says in the link below: "Tell me again what it solves?"
LINK

Face it. We're not going to pump our way out of the mess we've made.

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jcgriff2

Not only have I done research, but have some pratical experience as well. Read on. . .

Geology surveys are conservative estimates at best. I have worked for a Fortune 10 Corporation that bought its own oil company in the 1980's for nearly USD $7B and I quickly learned while in Corporate Finance that those geology surveys can involve smoke and mirrors.

Look at Prudhoe Bay. I don't know what the original estimates were in the 1950's/1960's, but in 1974, reserves were estimated at 10 billion barrels - yet total output from 1977 through 2005 was 13 billion barrels. Just two years ago, new figures released estimated reserves at 50 billion barrels.

Prudhoe Bay had a peak output capacity of 2 million barrels/day in the late 1990's. I would bet given current conditions, we will see that figure again - or more.

China is already buying up every oil lease they can get their hands on. My guess is that the US Gov't will be very picky as to whom the leases are given to.

Hydrogen Fuel Cells.

True, as of 2004, the US consumed 24% of the world's oil. What are those figures now with China finally becoming industrialized as the US did in the 1800's?

Regards. . .

JC

.

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yustr

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jcgriff2

No, I don't see President Bush or future President McCain turning towards the policies of Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías of Venezuela.

JC

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Chode

By an amazing coincidence, I have some newer figures right here. Looks to me like U.S. oil consumption is still about 25% of world usage. For those of you who may nod out before the end of the page I linked to, figures are drawn from the CIA World Factbook 2007.

Geological surveys aren't inherently conservative. Sometimes they are just plain wrong. I've spent nearly 30 years of my life in the Texas Panhandle, and I've seen plenty of drillers go bust drilling in areas with good surveys.

Even if we opened the ANWR and the Continental Shelf to drilling, that isn't going to be a short term solution to oil prices. It may not even be a long term solution. In fact the Department of Energy estimates that drilling in the ANWR would only lower oil prices by 21 cents to $1.44 per barrel. Here's the story from U.S. News and World Report.

The only thing certain about expanding oil exploration is that it would result in billions of dollars more in profits for the oil companies with no guarantee of relief for American consumers. Now, here's a thought: how about we open the ANWR to production with the stipulation that 100% of the production was for domestic consumption only. How about we further stipulate that say 10% of the revenues (not profits) should go to a national fund to explore alternative energy sources.

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jcgriff2