These are amazing statistics- 400 billion barrels! Oil may not be the future but the future is not yet. Responsible drilling with proper care for environmental considerations is a must. Now!!!
Conservative Party of New York State
Press Release ~ June 12, 2008
corrected version: (400 Billion Barrels)
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For Immediate Release Contact: Shaun Marie Levine
June 12, 2008 518-356-7882 http://www.cpnys.org
CONSERVATIVE CALL FOR OIL DRILLING
GRASS ROOTS EFFORTS MAKE A DIFFERENCE
WE CHANGED ELECTED OFFICIALS REGARDING
DRIVER’S LICENSES AND IMMIGRATION
NOW WE MUST DO THE SAME ON DRILLING FOR OIL
Ft. Hamilton Station, NY – Today the New York State Conservative Party launched a grassroots effort to have New Yorkers contact their federal officials to demand an end to the political bickering in Washington, DC and begin drilling for American oil.
Chairman Michael R. Long stated, “Energy prices are hurting our economy and apparently, there is no end in sight. But we can make a difference as we have in the past…New Yorkers and all American’s must let Congress know that the time to drill for oil here in America is long past.” And yes, we also have to explore additional avenues available for our energy consumption, nuclear, wind, solar, natural gas and coal.
Until we convert to these alternative methods, we must drill for oil in oil rich America. The Bakken fields beneath North Dakota, Montana and Canada hold an estimated 400 billion barrels of oil. In comparison, Saudi Arabia’s biggest field, Gahawar, has an estimated 55 billion barrels. ANWR has an estimated 10.4 billion barrels. (Thanks to Townhall.com contributor, Lawrence Kudlow’s article of June 9 for these figures.) Also cited in the same article is the fact that a Bureau of Land Management study showing 279 million acres under federal management where oil and gas could potentially be extracted. But it is off-limits. Offshore, where another 86 billion barrels lie in wait, is also restricted. However, China, already one of our biggest competitors, drills for oil just 60 miles south of Florida.
We have the power and responsibility to do what is right, NOW.
Contact your Congressman and Senator. Remind them they work for US and we demand an end to political bickering. We must give drill for oil NOW. We must build the necessary refineries. We, the people, must remind our federal elected officials that their responsibility is to PROTECT AMERICAN INTEREST by drilling for American oil.
Click Here to Contact Senator Schumer and Senator Clinton: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=NY
Or call them at:
Senator Charles Schumer: (202) 224-6542 Senator Hillary Clinton: (202) 224-4451
Click here to find your Congressman:
http://www.house.gov/house/MemStateSearch.shtml#ny
Or Call (202) 224-3121 and ask for your representative.
State Headquarters:
486 78th Street
Ft. Hamilton Station, NY 11209
718-921-2158
400 billion barrels sounds nice, until you realize the costs and logistics of getting it out. It’s going to require horizontal drilling technology that’s either a very high cost to operate or not yet developed, plus the rock formation is porous and permeable. They’re likely to recover only a small fraction of that 400 billion (15% would be good). Then when you realize that the U.S. consumes 7.6 billion barrels a year, it doesn’t look like all that much.
Yep, that 7.6 billion a year. At that consumption rate and given the reserves you cite, assuming we can use them all, we’re still not even close to being “oil rich America.” That’s in spite of the recent media blitz about this subject.
For how long can we really be “energy independent”? A decade or less?
We’re not forcing the companies to drill it, we’re merely opening it up for exploration. Why are we against letting the free market deal with the problem just because we think we know exactly what will happen?
It’s possible that companies are investing in oil as a hedge because they know the global supply is getting locked up. Having a huge unknown amount of American oil sitting in the ground ready to be tapped if the market conditions are favorable may possibly drive away the hedge funds.
It’s also quite possible that at some point the hedge fund algorithms will cause the perfect storm and ultimately crash the global oil market, bringing back sanely priced gasoline. This happened in early 2007.
Excellent. Let’s start drilling in Canada.
MarkPele, to my knowledge, no government entity is restricting drilling in the Bakken field (the 400-billion barrel field).
And as it turns out, there aren’t 400 billion barrels.
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewBusiness.asp?Page=/Business/archive/200806/BUS20080618a.html