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Info on our oil reserves

rph9168

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I have read conflicting information on oil speculators in the commodities market being responsible for driving up the price of crude. I am not sure if this is the case but one article said that speculation could be responsible for as much as $50-$60 of the cost per barrel. Another recent article said that the recent decrease in demand in the US due to reduced driving should also cause at least a slight reduction at the pump.

Hopefully market conditions will improve the situation rather than depending on the government. We all know that all the government will do is hold committee meetings, point fingers as to who is to blame and talk the problem to death.
 
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pitzerwm

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The reason that it isn't speculators, is that there are 85M barrels a day moving around the world and to effect the price, you would have to pull out some of those barrels and "hide" them. That isn't happening and you can see how difficult it would be to do that. As usual, when someone that has no clue wants to blame someone else, they find someone that "is easy to blame". During every economic problem, some minority has been blamed. If congress would open up the known US areas where there is oil, we would have oil. I don't know who is really to blame for our problems, but there are solutions and Washington don't have the balls to take action.
 

mac

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Bill, thanks for bringing this up. There is also just recently another very large oil deposit somewhere up in the Dakatos or Montana. Billions of barrels. Why our stupid politicians won't allow to drill it is beyond me. The governments solution is to just tax us more. Neither of the two candidates has a plan for this. Really disgusting. Drill now. Drill here. Pay less.
 

Jony82

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I know an owner of some oil transport ships in the gulf. I've been told by that person that oil companies make money so long as a barrel of oil can be sold for $25 or over.

With oil trading at 5 times that, they are making a killing.
 

Ben's Car Wash

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So tell me this guys; we only import 14% of our oil from the middle east. Most of our oil comes from Canada and Mexico and the US. In 1970 the US and South America dam near ran out of oil (Texas & Ok). The only "big" oil find is in the Gulf of Mexico and in the frozen section (until these last two summers) of the Artic ocean of the Northen pass which has created a huge race of Russia, US and England to stake claims on the bottom of the ocean there.

Yet Friday oil surged over $11 a barrell! it's not on just "speculation" (I'll Include charts for what that part has driven prices up in a BEAR MARKET in oil) but a WEAK DOLLAR creating an enviornment were oil and commodities are a better investment than the dollar.
 

Waxman

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Then why do news reports consistently state that "growing concern over supply vs demand" is the reason for higher per barrel prices?
 

mac

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You have to keep in mind that what you hear on the big three networks is from people that hate Bush &Co, and want people to think everything is their fault. We truely are treated like mushrooms. I am hearing all the time of large new fields being discovered in this hemisphere. China is drilling within 50 miles of the Florida coast, but our politicians, beholding to the environmentalists, won't allow anything of the FL or Calif coasts. Much less in Alaska, where the terrain looks like Mars.
 

rph9168

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We are also getting squeezed by our "good friends" in Saudi Arabia and the members of OPEC. They restrict their drilling to keep the oil supply where they can keep the price on the rise. Domestic drilling is somewhat of a long term solution along with building new refineries. I understand Brazil has become self sufficient using ethanol but again, it would take time to get auto manufacturers to respond to the need. I see that GM is coming out with a practical electric car that uses a generator and can also be charged in a standard outlet. It claims to get over 400 miles on the generator alone which would be about 60-65 miles per gallon. It is supposed to be in full production by 2010 but they have not announced the cost or other details.

Short term we need to try to pressure OPEC to try to get them to understand that undermining the global economy is not in their best interests either. Theoritically they could almost price themselves out of existence by destroying it. Since there is no easy solution don't expect our government to solve this problem soon but expect a lot of rhetoric in the coming months during the election.
 

mac

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Here's a classic example of why not to trust the major news organizations. While growing up in the 50s as a kid, we were always bombarded with stories of the evil empire, the USSR, and of the competition between us and them. One story told of an auto race between the US and the USSR. It was for fastest or something. We beat them hands down and reported it as such. The commies ran the headline that during a recent international auto competition, the USSR, despite having much less resources, came in second place, while the Americans came in next to last. Both versions are factually correct. You can report something in a manner to reflect your views of how you think the world should be, and that is what ours news people do now.
 

Washmee

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Here's a classic example of why not to trust the major news organizations. While growing up in the 50s as a kid, we were always bombarded with stories of the evil empire, the USSR, and of the competition between us and them. One story told of an auto race between the US and the USSR. It was for fastest or something. We beat them hands down and reported it as such. The commies ran the headline that during a recent international auto competition, the USSR, despite having much less resources, came in second place, while the Americans came in next to last. Both versions are factually correct. You can report something in a manner to reflect your views of how you think the world should be, and that is what ours news people do now.
Mac, you are so right about this. Just today there was an article in our local paper about life expectancy. The average US citizen will now live to age 78, a new high. http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/19814254.html But on AOL the same story is presented with the following headline"US Life Expectancy Lags Behind Other Nations". Its all in how its presented and that is affected by the agenda of the presenter. Wasn't it Goebels who said if you repeat a lie often enough eventually it becomes the "truth".;)
 

Ben's Car Wash

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Actualy Mac, he only want's to repeal Bush tax "cut" onthe top 1-2% earners that Bush gave and cut taxes on the middle calss and make those cuts permenant on incomes below $50K. That's not a tax increase. That repealing what was unfair to the majority of Americans and placed the burden of this War, the economy and the increasing cost of fuel on the middle class. The "rich" can afford what they were paying before Bush big gift. And unless you make over $200K.... it won't effect you.
 

Ben's Car Wash

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and incase you missed it Mac, on that WSJ link, the poll result for McCain vs Obama tally of polls shows Obama up by 4.3%.

But as for the oil reserves in the Gulf. That should be off limits. Stategicly speaking, no drilling should occur for many more years. We need to work to raise CAFE standards, move toward mass tansit, go back to urbanization and work closer to our communities in "planned communities" or no commute communities. Making electric cars that "plug in" will only increase coal use unless we build more Nuke plants. So we are left with other types of sources, Hydrogen, regen power hybirds, biodiesel WVO. But new drilling should be put off for last until we milk the middle east dry, Russia dry, China dry and every other region of the World uncapable of producing ANY OIL! It would be stupid now to open up own reserves to satify our greed now when the future of our survival in 50 years depends on keeping potential Armies away.... when we have the only large oil reserves left.

Why else would we put up with this $hit from the Saudi's for all these years? Cheap oil? No.... we are sucking them dry and making clear strategic plans. Our reserve are not only in oil tanks on the surface.
 

Ben's Car Wash

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For Mac from Business Week... 6 hours ago comparing TAX PLANS (winner goes to OBAMA?)

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily...top+news_top+news+index_dialogue+with+readers

First Round to Obama
So where does the reality lie? According to a new analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, two Washington think tanks, this round goes to Obama. The TPC took a look at the various tax proposals put forth by the two candidates and estimated that Obama's plan would lead to a boost in aftertax income for all but the highest earners, while taking a smaller bite out of government tax revenues than would McCain's plans.

Len Burman, a former Treasury tax official who is now a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, says if Obama's proposals—which include plans to rescind the Bush tax cuts on couples making more than $250,000, close corporate tax loopholes, and tax private equity earnings known as "carried interest" as ordinary income—were adopted in 2009, for example, married couples with earnings in the lowest quintile of the population would see their aftertax income rise 5.8%. Those in the next quintile would see an increase of 4%. Those breaks would be paid for by those with high incomes: the top 1% of taxpayers would see aftertax income fall 8.4%.

Under McCain's proposals, by contrast—including an extension of the Bush tax cuts for all taxpayers, a corporate tax cut, and a larger reduction in estate taxes than Obama would support—far more of the benefits would go to the top. If his plans went into effect in 2009, married couples in the bottom fifth of the population would see aftertax income go up just 0.2%, while those in the next quintile would see a 0.7% hike. But those in the top quintile would see a bump up in aftertax income of 2.7%.
 

rph9168

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Doug,

For someone who seems to want to punish anyone with any money who do you think is suffering most while we are "sucking up dry" the Middle East and Russia? I say we compete with the bastards rather than filling their pockets. We should drill for and produce oil from shale and go on the open market.
 

mac

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Doug, I am going to break my personal rule of responding to your ramblings this last time. Obama , at least when I heard him on TV, said he wants to put a "windfall" tax on the oil companies. You may not realize this, but companies just pass any additional cost along to the consumer. So he would collect more taxes, increase the price at the pump, and give the tax money to people too lazy to work. Maybe the Katrina bums need some more money. Post to your hearts content about this, but you've heard the last from me. It isn't worth discussing something with someone whose mind is made up. BTW, keep praying for me also.
 

Ben's Car Wash

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Mac, will keep praying for you... it's my pleasure. And you don't have to feel that you need to respond either. But please let me correct your incorrect post AGAIN about CHINA drill off of Florida's coast!

Read below, Dick Cheney was wrong (again like being greated as liberators and that oil $ would pay for the war):

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/40994.html

News: Cheney admits error, this one about Chinese oil drilling
More on this Story
Story | GOP claim about Chinese oil drilling off Cuba is untrue
By Lesley Clark | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney's office has acknowledged that he erred when telling an audience this week that China is drilling off the coast of Cuba.

Citing columnist George Will, Cheney on Wednesday told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that "oil is being drilled right now 60 miles off the coast of Florida. We're not doing it. The Chinese are in cooperation with the Cuban government."
''Even the communists have figured out that a good answer to high prices is more supply,'' he added. "Yet Congress has said . . . 'no' to drilling off Florida.''

The claim was immediately repudiated by U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., an independent congressional report, industry experts and other observers, who said there is zero evidence that China is drilling in Cuban waters. China doesn't even hold a lease to drill offshore.

Cheney's office has since backtracked, issuing a statement that says "It is our understanding that, although Cuba has leased out exploration blocks 60 miles off the coast of southern Florida, which is closer than American firms are allowed to operate in that area, no Chinese firm is drilling there."
 
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