So even if they lift the drilling ban, it will be many years before they ever get any oil. And there is no guarantee, there will even be that much oil until they explore?

I'm all for exploring and drilling, but it seems to me that some people are making this seem like a sure thing when there are no guarantees that much oil will be found.

 

Absolutely--there are no guarantees. If they hit oil, it helps the US economy and the US government gets billions of dollars of oil revenue. If they don't hit oil, the US government gets hundreds of millions of dollars through oil leases sold on the free market. The oft-despised oil companies are the ones taking the risk!

In any case, my last post was just to address the anti-drilling talking point about the millons of unused lease land.

Grim

 

Back in the 80's, they drilled several test wells in Kaktovik (village in ANWR). The test results are confidential, but some guys I know who used to work for BP- (Arco at the time) say it's bigger than Prudhoe.

BTW, I was in Kaktovik a few years ago, and a member of the village council was telling us that the only reason the tribe is opposed to drilling is that the compensation package was unacceptable (i.e. they weren't being paid enough). Back in the 70's, several tribes made billions off of the trans-alaska pipeline, and the alaska native settlement act, and kaktovik feels left out.

They are smart enough now, to go on TV, and pull at the heartstrings of the environmentalists, talking about how it would destroy the caribou herd. They know damn well that the caribou could give a crap less about the wells, they just want their money like everyone else got.

 

Ok. How about you start?

So, there isn't an alternative that has been tested and is ready for the market. What should we do in the interim? Just pay high prices for gas, heating oil and all other things oil derived, not to mention food and virtually everything else? Eventually we will have viable alternatives. It's going to take a while for the entire country to be able to afford to switch. Don't rush us. We can't afford to stop oil right now.

Thanks for the link Grim. It is a good read.

 

you see where everyone is trying to to claim the land in the arctic because there may be oil there? nobody wanted the north pole now EVERYONE wants it lol...

heck i'm going up there with my shotgun to claim my own part of it.