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 McCain’s Oil Drilling HoaxPosted on Jul 30, 2008By Joe Conason Forced to cancel a visit to an oil platform off the Mississippi coast last week because of inclement weather—and the untimely leaking of hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil from a damaged barge in the area—John McCain finally got his photo op at a California derrick on July 28. Speaking at the Bakersfield site, the Arizona senator delivered extraordinarily good news to the beleaguered gasoline-consuming public as he explained why we must drill offshore. McCain, basing his remarks on briefings he received from “the oil producers,” said: “There are some instances [that] within a matter of months they could be getting additional oil. In some cases, it would be a matter of a year. In some cases it could take longer than that, depending on the location and whether you use existing rigs or you have to install new rigs, but there’s abundant resources in the view of the people who are in the business that could be exploited within a period of months.” The prospect of significant new petroleum resources that could be available so soon would be excellent news—aside from the obvious impact of burning still more oil—if only what the senator said was true. But what he said actually made no sense whatsoever, as a statement about the future development of domestic oil, the alleged need to increase drilling off our coasts or the resources that such drilling might produce. So let’s unpack that McCain statement (which was overshadowed by the news that his dermatologist had just removed a small lesion from the 71-year-old melanoma survivor’s right cheek). It may be true that “existing rigs” could produce additional barrels of domestic oil immediately, whether on land or in the ocean, as McCain suggests. If so, he might want to ask his friends in the oil business why those rigs aren’t producing more oil now, at prices above $120 a barrel. An existing rig by definition is a rig that is operating legally on property already leased for exploration—and can produce oil unencumbered by any environmental constraints on drilling. In case the senator doesn’t understand, an existing rig is where someone has already drilled a well. Where companies would have to install new rigs, the question is whether a lease already exists or whether the government would have to grant a new lease. New drilling on the outer continental shelf would mean new leases that are now illegal. Advertisement Perhaps McCain should ask his friends in the industry why they aren’t exploring or producing on the leases they already control. A truthful answer would be that those leases count as financial assets whether productive or not—and adding to them enhances an oil firm’s bottom line. The senator should also ask an oil company executive to step forward and explain how any new offshore oil lease can produce petroleum within the next few months or even a year. If that is possible, then the Department of Energy analysis of future domestic oil production is scandalously wrong. The department’s Energy Information Agency released a study last year predicting that granting access to new offshore leases would not begin to produce any actual oil until around 2020, and would have no “significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030,” if ever. As the Republican presidential nominee—and a putative environmentalist—he suddenly seems eager to exploit voter discontent over high gasoline prices to promote offshore drilling. He may even think he can ride the energy crisis into the White House. Voters may or may not believe the senator’s silly claims about his “briefings” from oilmen, which mainly seem to have involved handing over a fat check. Indeed, so far the only beneficiary of his offshore drilling offensive is the McCain presidential war chest. The Washington Post recently reported that the oil industry “gushed money after [his] reversal on oil drilling” last month. The oilmen never gave him that kind of money when he talked straight. Joe Conason writes for The New York Observer. © 2008 Creators Syndicate Inc. Elsewhere: . CommentsAre you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig. Add Your Comment
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By Marshall, August 2, 2008 at 3:38 am #
AP: Obama shifts position on offshore oil drilling
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/washington/AP-Obama.html
So much for the partisan spin on this subject.
Report thisBy Marshall, August 2, 2008 at 3:36 am #
AP: Obama shifts position on offshore oil drilling
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080802/ap_on_el_pr/obama;_ylt=AlmnTzejYHkv8.69QMp7Kjys0NUE
Report thisBy Donald Diedrick, August 1, 2008 at 12:51 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
All this stupid dance of greed does is delay the obvious conclusion,we have to get away from fossil fuels,period.(Jim C July31st.)
Report thisThis is precisely the long term solution,and we must begin funding & research of alternative energy developement soon-not waste time winning political points!
By moineau, August 1, 2008 at 12:47 pm #
elegant, elegant posts by people who are evidently seers. purple girl, excellent, excellent. you’ve opened my eyes even more. ~laura
Report thisBy Outraged, August 1, 2008 at 3:11 am #
Re: rowman
Your comment: “Ready for that spare oar yet. Rough waters ahead.”
Truthfully, I’ll take eight. Thinking about getting myself a whole rowing team….you know what I mean…? I’ll just be that teammate up front that yells, “mush…,mush…, mush…!” or whatever the heck it is they say….
“Boom chukalugaluga…boom chukalugaluga…boom chukalugaluga…” or whatever my team prefers, I’m not picky…
Report thisBy Joe Neri, August 1, 2008 at 2:44 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
If the government opens up the outer shelf for drilling, oil prices will go UP not down because it will be too expensive to drill out there unless oil is priced at $200.00 a barrel…that’s $8 gasoline, if you’re interested. The reserves are under the ocean, below sediment that is highly pressurized and where temperatures exceed hundreds of degrees due to that pressure. The explorations off the coast of Brazil provide an example of what the challenges are.
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/38218
http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/casey/2008/0109.html
Report thisBy ocjim, July 31, 2008 at 11:50 pm #
The only way were going to get action against global warming is to label anyone who gets in its way as immoral. McCain should be labelled as immoral not just dismissed as Obama did in calling McCain’s energy posturing as “the same old politics.”
Report thisBy Jim C, July 31, 2008 at 11:01 pm #
Rowman , here’s how you can tell them apart . The republicans are the ones commiting crimes and violating the constitution . The democrats are the ones letting them get away with it . I hope that helps , sometimes it is all a bit confusing .
Report thisBy rowman, July 31, 2008 at 10:47 pm #
And theyre about to take a 5 week break? Yeah tell me they are really concerned. They have zero interest in addressing this problem and are determined to leave this as an election issue and collect the tax in the meantime for some other pork project. You must represent the .001 % of the population that benefits from their nonsense.
And btw, the government 401k I Fund is loaded with oil.
Ready for that spare oar yet. Rough waters ahead.
Report thisBy Inherit The Wind, July 31, 2008 at 10:44 pm #
John McCain says that Barack Obama is supporting our dependence on foreign oil instead of a (phony) renewed effort to drill here.
All Obama has to say is: “That’s like telling an drug user that he can cure his addiction by growing his own opium and cutting out the pusher!”
Report thisBy rowman, July 31, 2008 at 10:31 pm #
Um Hello? The Democrats control this do nothing congress. Republicans are no better. In fact, I have a very hard time distinguishing one from the other. Reality is Pelosi and crew control the agenda and have done nothing but remodel their gym. Unless of course the steroid issue was of real importance to you.
The way this congress is trying to send us up the creek, im glad I at least have an ore in the water. Hope you enjoy the ride they send you on
Report thisBy JimM, July 31, 2008 at 7:27 pm #
and so EXXon-Mobil makes 12 billion in three months.
Report thisThey certainly dont get any from me as I never get gas there.
The oil-greed syndrome is profound in power worldwide, and we really do need five dollar gas to smarten us up. Watch the prices go down a bit and the big pickups and suvs will return in force. Watch the price go up and then we shall certainly see long-supressed technologies become more prevalent, including natural gas, solar and fuel cell.
By Jim C, July 31, 2008 at 7:14 pm #
Jim Yell , I second your post .
Report thisBy M, July 31, 2008 at 7:12 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Based on Rowman’s comments regarding the Dem’s fault for the fuel costs , it appears he is the one with only one oar in the water.
Report thisBy rowman, July 31, 2008 at 6:45 pm #
Meanwhile, natural gas could be brought to market quickly for vehicle use. You can even refill in your own home if you currently have natural gas http://www.myphill.com/
(get one with your new Honda
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___HONDA-CIVIC-CNG-PHILL-REFUELING-DEVICE_W0QQitemZ150271565611QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150271565611&_trksid=p3756.m14.l1318)
So what is the problem?
Much cheaper, much less pollution and face the reality- neither solar or electric will be able to power as many cars as CNG could in less time. CNG would have a far greater impact when compared to any other option.
Congress has created a huge bureaucracy to get a conversion kit to market. This has artificially inflated the cost so as to slow adoption http://www.cngchat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1767
Why? They are against us here and only want to use this for election mongering. So however you want to politicize it, its all b.s. The problem is not McCain. The problem is Pelosi, Reid and the Dem leaders in control of congress.
Report thisBy William Newman, July 31, 2008 at 5:31 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
The current rants about the off-shore leasing is what we used to call a “red herring”. It has nothing to do with the current price of oil, but rather has to do with the Oil Companies acquiring the leases that they want to exploit sometime in the future. They know that the handwriting is on the wall. The Congress is going to be Democratic for at leas the next 4 years and probably longer and there will be no new leases then. They need these leases while GWB is still in office because they won’t be able to find a President to approve the leases for at least 8 further years. It’s all about the leases, not the oil.
Report thisBy cyrena, July 31, 2008 at 4:43 pm #
Re: by M, July 31 at 7:03 am #
)
Cyrena, the real problem is that 75% of the US population does believe the BS being spread regarding drilling on offshore and other environmental sensitive areas.
~~~~
You’re probably right M, even though it pains me to realize it.
I don’t know if Congress is poised to allow this (as either you or someone else suggested) since it seems that for once, the democrats are putting up a fuss, well aware of the leases the OIL industry already has locked up. According to Jim C’s post, they are only using 6% of those fields, and the remaining stuff they want to control (21 %) are in highly sensitive eco environments that would amount to killing off the rest of what keeps us alive)
And I agree, the larger percentage of the US population doesn’t get that either.
Report thisBy Jim Yell, July 31, 2008 at 2:29 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Repeatedly for decades any movement to force focus onto alternate and more efficient use of energy has been defeated, usually under the leadership of Republicans.
Thirty years of improved use of energy has been lost as we have been encouraged by industry to ignore the problems with petroleum supply and petroleum’s effect on environment.
This extra drilling will not help even in the short term. Nationalize Energy and execute the CEOs if found guilty, I am tired of their stealing and lying. All of this could have been avoided if it hadn’t been for their lies.
Report thisBy Purple Girl, July 31, 2008 at 12:39 pm #
Mac isn’t able to keep up with the lies and scripted message to begin with. He only knows and recalls what is written down infront of him by the staff that has just confessed they are not working for Him. Thanks for the insight, actually the confirmation that this campaign has nothing to do with McCain- it’s CheneyCorps shadow Gov’ts most recent Front man. Just like Ronny, HW and Georgie- DICK’s the Puppet master again. mac is as senile, as Ronny; As much of a Pussy as HW and as Arrogant and mentally challenged as W.-the perfect manchurian Candidate.
Report thisMac has not had an original thought in years- he is spoon fed his alotted lines by the handlers hired by Dick & fiends.
McCains Hoax.. You give him far too much credit, kind of like calling divisive political tactics ‘Rovian’- Turd blossom did not invent those tactics, he was in diapers shittin ghimself when Cheney,Rummy & Wolfie first put them to work during the Nixon Admin.
Teh media must stop perpetuating this Charade- Mac does not represent th ePeople, he represents the Corps!
By M, July 31, 2008 at 11:03 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Cyrena, the real problem is that 75% of the US population does believe the BS being spread regarding drilling on offshore and other environmental sensitive areas. Big money has them right where they want them. They will go along with any plan that promises lower gas costs. Only some of us (not enough) realize the falicy of those plans.
Report thisBy Sang Ze, July 31, 2008 at 10:07 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
It doesn’t matter, folks. Whether we think it a good idea or not, Bush has decided to sell off our oil to his friends, and the dems are poised once again to give him all he wants. What the people want or think is not an issue because, as we have seen repeatedly over the past eight years, the people don’t count.
Report thisBy Jim C, July 31, 2008 at 9:51 am #
There’s another minor little detail that gets far to little attention . We only have about 3% of the worlds oil in total , of which we are already accessing about half . We could pump out every drop and it wouldn’t make a wits difference . Our beloved oil companys already own leases on 79% of that but are only developing 6% of those leases . The remaining 21% they are lusting over is located on very eco sensitive lands . I have heard this mentioned very little when they ( the democrats ) should be pounding that point home . The real point of this game is lock up all of our resources for the profit of the oil companys . No matter what they do there will be no significant increase in supply or relief in price from allowing them to hoard the rest of our resources . All this stupid dance of greed does is delay the obvious conclusion , we have to get away from fossil fuels , period . The fact of the matter is we are dealing with an industry run by individuals that would literally destroy the planet we live on for short term profit .
Report thisBy jackpine savage, July 31, 2008 at 7:41 am #
According to the government’s numbers, the US has about 21,000,000 bbls of proven crude reserves. (the lands that some politicians want to open up may push that figure significantly higher, i don’t know). Unfortunately, we use about 21,000,000 bbls/day.
Now i didn’t go to Annapolis or Yale, so my math skills might be lacking…but does anyone else see a problem with these new, starry eyed dreams of bringing down prices at the pump by drilling for more oil?
New finds in the the Dakotas, Colorado, etc. are being hyped as increasing our reserves by 10X. So instead of one day, we might get eleven. Unfortunately, the new finds are mostly shale deposits like those in Alberta. That means it isn’t quite like Saudi Arabia where you just pump the stuff up out of the ground.
As a side note, in ‘06, Saudi Arabia’s production was about 11,000,000 bbls/day…or just over half of what we use.
The American voter is rarely persuaded by facts, but the fact is that we’ll either have to drastically change our ways or find some new sources that make Saudi Arabia look like a kiddie pool to end our dependence with a drill bit.
Report thisBy PatrickHenry, July 31, 2008 at 6:36 am #
Maybe these oil companies who drill offshore and on public lands should keep the product in the U.S.
http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/07/03/2008-07-03T184028Z_01_N02435397_RTRIDST_0_USA-OIL-EXPORTS-ANALYSIS.html
Report thisBy cyrena, July 31, 2008 at 5:32 am #
Well thanks Joe. This is an excellent ‘unpacking’ of yet another big lie.
I just don’t understand how these guys (like McCain and his republican partners in crime) think that even the dumbest among us, even the next to politically comatose among us, haven’t been able to figure this out by now.
We have.
So, who’re the dummies?
Report this