Is That a Load of Crap in Your Pocket?

There May Be Oil Offshore, But…

Or are you just happy to see me?

…How much oil and natural gas is there offshore? No one really knows. According to estimates from the Interior Dept.’s Minerals Management Service [MMS], the U.S. has roughly 18 billion undiscovered and technically recoverable bbl. of oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Eric Potter, associate director of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin, says that if these areas are opened up now, by 2025, 1 million additional bbl. per day could potentially be added to the market. Using International Energy Agency demand forecasts, by 2030 this production would equal less than 5% of U.S. daily consumption, and less than 1% of global daily consumption. “It would certainly help,” says Potter. “But it won’t make us energy-independent.”

I thought “dang! That’s gloomy! It’s almost like they’re saying it’s not worth drilling.” Well, the last oil “expert” they spoke to ~ after noting that our crude would probably wind up summers else anyway ~ says flat out it’s not.

…Former Vice-President Al Gore, who opposes lifting the moratorium, raised that point at a July 17 news conference on energy policy. “You take an oil deposit right off the coast of California — that’s more likely to be sold to China, — said Gore.

Well, dang! That’s gloomy, especially if that’s ALL the news that’s fit to print about oil independence. Drilling sounds like a big waste of dead fishes and carbon emishes, even if we act now. Al Gore says so. And I’m sure that’s how he means it to appear to the uninitiated in Goreschpeak. As my favorite pitchman would say:

“But WAIT!!!! There’s MORE!!!!”

Moseying on over to Instapundit, what to my wondering, wandering eyes should appear?
A headline ’bout 800 BILLION barrels under here!! Well, shee-it HOWDY!
It’s a shame no one reads the BLM releases and then asks Al Gore about those.

2 Responses to “Is That a Load of Crap in Your Pocket?”

1. The_Real_JeffS says:

   July 22, 2008 at 10:26 pm

   The Canadians are WAY ahead of us on this one, and are already exploiting the shake oil in Alberta.
   Yay, Congress, squatters in their home.

2. Kate P says:

   July 23, 2008 at 9:32 am

   You’d probably have to beat them over the heads with the releases, THS, for them to take notice.
   Using Billy Mays was masterful! I can just hear him shouting at me now.