Comments on: Drill Baby Drill-A Second Reality Check

By: Robert Spoley

Robert Spoley — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:22:51 +0000

Ah Yes! Relative permeability! This set of facts is what keeps a large difference between “oil-in-place” and “recoverable oil”, exclusive of any price inputs. Most discoveries, globally and of late, appear to be “heavy sour”. Not good news. If this trend keeps up, the recovery factors will go down, not up or flat.
There are 7 billion souls on this planet with more on the way, all wanting more and better. Who do we see about that? Yes!!! We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us!

By: Jerry Hogan

Jerry Hogan — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 15:05:35 +0000

Interesting yet we still won’t go to nuclear for electricity and here in Colorado the legislature just voted to force conversion of coal fired power plants to natural gas. Wind and Solar are only marginal alternatives, take up vast amounts of land and destroy the landscape. No one wants to use coal yet jet fuel from coal is very efficient. Hybrid and fully electric cars are great in urban areas but what do you do with the batteries when they are no longer viable. In the country or in the mountains I need my truck.

Denver builds light rail systems with marginal ridership. And they build them where they do not serve the people that would most use and benefit from them. Somewhere there needs to be some sanity in planning.

I have yet to see anything that lays out a plan that addresses a comprehensive and workable approach to dealing with the US energy needs, short, mid and long term. Clearly the current administration is clueless and the government is not going to solve the problem. As a conservative I do not want more government. As an environmentally aware citizen I have been working to conserve and moderate my energy and water use and the natural beauty of this country for over 40 years.

Bottomline is that we need a comprehensive approach to energy and one that is economically viable. There are alternatives to oil which will yield diesel and gasoline and there are small companies which are attempting to bring those to a point where they are economically viable, yet there are those who would oppose this expansion. Even though it brings jobs and can be located away from the concentration of petrochemical plants in the central Gulf Coast. We need to use nuclear energy, natural gas for automobiles is viable but the delivery system is not there and it is not as efficient as gasoline currently.

While you state that we can only get a fraction of the potentially available oil, and I won’t argue that, what are the alternatives? I fully accept that resources are finite and that we need alternatives. I also believe that the alternatives will come, they are just not mature enough yet to be commercially viable at this time.

If your point is to underscore that there are limits to what we can realistically expect by expanding the use of domestic oil resources you did present your argument. From the tone of your closing statements I have to assume that you have another agenda. If you believe there is a problem, then state your solution.

By: Neal Burns

Neal Burns — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 04:06:35 +0000

I have no doubt that we will explore everywhere when push finally comes to shove. So it’s just a question of when.

By: Dag Johansen

Dag Johansen — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 07:06:42 +0000

I fully agree that these areas will not produce a significant amount of oil. However, there is a large portion of our population that believes the USA could be oil independent if it were not for some cabal of college professors, environmentalists, and Hollywood stars that are trying to destroy America. So the only way we will be able to make the big decisions needed is to kill off these nutty conspiracy theories. Just make sure that the government gets good royalties and uses them to pay down debt or support renewable energy projects.

By: Bill Simpson in Slidell

Bill Simpson in Slidell — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 07:39:05 +0000

Gas sure beats nothing. At least some people may find work looking for the oil and building all the equipment to get it, if any is found. Not everyone can be a chemist or computer programmer.
I would rather start suffering later, than sooner.

By: Robin Datta

Robin Datta — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 06:05:36 +0000

NPR-A at 9.3 billion barrels = 465 days’ uS consumption.
5% of that found = less than a month.

The eastern GOM has 4 billion barrels = 200 days (loss than 7 months) and about $100 per barrel, as will be the East Coast oil.