Oil Issues Article: THERE IS NO PLAN "B"

[Nordmadr]

The oil crisis has arrived in the United States. This summer’s storm season exposed the Achilles heel of the U.S. economy: OIL. We have reached what system analysts refer to as ”a single point of failure.” It is the one item that if it breaks down, it brings the entire system down with it. Like it or not the U.S. economy runs on oil—cheap oil—and we are running out of it. Oil powers our economy in manufacturing, transportation, and agriculture. Without it, our economy would cease to function. There is no other commodity other than water that can have such an effect on how and what we do. Oil is the lifeblood of our economy.

For three decades the energy infrastructure in the U.S. has been neglected and allowed to decay. Now those chickens are coming home to roost. Politicians can bluster and pontificate all they want, but this will not solve the predicament that we now find ourselves in. The plain fact is we are running out of oil and natural gas. Oil production in the U.S. peaked in 1970. Since then, the United States has not been able to supply its own oil needs. As a result of this failure, it lost control in its ability to influence the world price of oil. This has led to a loss of control over an important part of its economic destiny.

Today the U.S. economy is now totally dependent upon foreign sources of oil and natural gas. Our country has also moved to dependence on refined oil products such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel due to a lack of refinery capacity; a problem that will only grow worse with time. Since reaching a peak in 1970 energy production has declined each and every decade. On land in the lower 48 states oil is tapped out. Production in the lower 48 is less than half of what it was in 1970. Production in the North Slope of Alaska peaked in 1988 at 2.017 million barrels per day (mbd).<1> Alaskan production is now down to less than half of that. Oil production on the North slopes is expected to have fallen 4% in 2004 and by another 1% this year.


Much more at link:

“The oil crisis is very, very near. World War III has started.
It has already affected every single citizen of the Middle East.
Soon, it will spill over to affect every citizen of the world.”
Ali Samsam Bakhtiari, Vice President of the National Iranian Oil Company

http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/2005/1014.html

Olaf

[Nordmadr]

1. Self-kicking before it drops so people can see. N/T

[maxsolomon]

2. don't worry, be happy

we'll just invent our way out of the crisis & drive off into the sunset! we're the greatest country in the world! USA #1!

:sarcasm:

[robertpaulsen]

3. kick

:kick:

[yurbud]

4. kick & nom

[Porcupine]

5. The pig doesnt' want to sing but it's sing or be pork chops

Hey, even the otherwise overeducated people here on DU are only vaugely interested in making huge sacrifices in order to have less goodies than they have now.

Lots of good liberal folk I know ski, kayak, rock climb or otherwise engage in sports that involve a three hour drive before you can start. They use their Prius to make highly efficient weekend runs to Tahoe, or music festivals or Monterey. We all want to put aside the idea that weekend vacations 200 miles away will have to stop.

We're going to burn the oil until we just can't anymore. Until people start killing us just for burning oil regardless of any other sins. We are going to cook the globe until megastorms take not just one city but a dozen.

Party On!!!

[depakid]

6. For a site that calls itself "financial sense"

They sure don't demonstrate much sometimes:

"We’re still stuck on stupid. With 12 refineries and 21 gas processing plants still out of commission, 90% of our Gulf oil production shut in, 72% of our natural gas production offline, 503 oil platforms destroyed, heavily damaged, or abandoned, energy imports soaring, and a rapid decline in non-OPEC oil production it would be time to be putting “Plan B” into effect.

Instead our politicians dither. Last week the House of Representatives narrowly approved an energy bill aimed at encouraging construction of new refineries. With close to 50% of the US refinery capacity concentrated in the Gulf States in the direct path of hurricanes, supporters said the recent storms demonstrated that the country needed more refineries, including new ones outside the hurricane belt. The bill passed 212-210.

Not one Democrat voted for the bill and several Republicans broke rank in opposing it. The prospects of the bill passing in the Senate are uncertain. Maybe another hurricane season is needed to convince our fiddlers. Not having built a refinery in over 30 years one might think it would be time to add capacity, especially given the fact that gasoline consumption has increased by 45% since the last time one was built in this country."

The reason no refineries have been built, smartass- is because the oil companies ARE WELL AWARE that there's not going to be enough future supply to justify thier costs.

Furthermore, so long as stupid "energy" bills keep coming out of the Cingress- and so long as Republicans (and DINO regulatory types like Clinton) fail to agrressively stop market manipulation and force these corporations to disgorge fraudulent profits (or tax their windfalls)- there NO INCENTIVE to increase capacity.

This is econ 101 stuff. Makes me question the author's motives (if not their comprehensive understanding of the issues).

[Nordmadr]

7. While I posted the article, this is definitely a prt of the article I

disagreed with. This is often the kind of slant a mainstream source attempts to slant the issue. As you point out, the author seems reluctant to even attempt to tackle the idea that refineries aren't being built, tankers aren't being built, less exploration is taking place, because the oil companies know something. Our ability to supply more than we have now is going to be limited in the future, so that kind of investment does not make financial sense to them. The growth you see in the industry is related to mergers and high prices and demand, not new supply. Environmental rules and democrats make a handy whipping tool.

Olaf

[mrcheerful]

8. Its caled de-regulation and free trade.

Though you'll never get the real picture of whats really going on as its the oil execs that are behind the numbers of how much oil is actually out there. I got a feeling we will find out sooner or later that the oil business has pulled what DeBeers pulled with diamonds. Remember all of these oil production studies have been bought and paid for by the oil businesses. Also, if you check back in the oil history, it is amazing how many times the oil business has used ''we are running out of oil'' to jack up the price of oil products. The first time they said that was in 1901 to rise the gas price from a penny to 3 cents a gallon. Its funny how around the states the oil companies have capped oil wells saying they went dry, only to find out 10 years later they ''discovered'' that the wells weren't dry. We the people tend to accept what businesses tell us with little or no questions about how they came up with these ideals. Why do you think there is no plan B? Because there is no need for a plan B, theres more oil out there that we don't know about. Think it out people, if oil was that low don't you think that the oil companies would be findig another energy source? Greed is a driving force for oil execs and they would be the first ones to fnd another sorce to make up for the loss of oil.