RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: RE: The Threat of Oil Drilling

Steve Brenneis responds to Behethland B. Clark:

Did you really mean to quote a four-year-old article?

Aside from the dearth of actual facts in the article, there is some hysterical nonsense from the queen of hysterical nonsense, Barbara Boxer about saving the same amount of oil by forcing auto makers to meet the same fuel efficiency standards in SUVs that they do in cars. In a moment, you will see why Senator Airhead is as full of dung as a Christmas goose. It was a nice try though: cut off drilling in ANWR and force automakers to quit producing those vile SUVs.

Please note the mention in the article of the 700,000 barrels per day from Iraq. Obviously an old figure, but still useful. The article quotes a total amount of oil available based on an economic feasibility factor. This isn't aprticularly useful since the availability of oil on a day-to-day basis is more of an economic factor. Oil Analytics, an oil watchdog organization, says that the ANWR oilfields will produce around one million barrels per day in about eight years, then it will produce around two million barrels per day for about twenty two years. After that, production will decline for the next eight years, averaging around one million barrels per day during the period. The economic feasibility figures given in your article are based on a market price of $24 per barrel and a production cost of (minimally) $13 per barrel. They quote the capacity of the oilfields at a little over 5 billion barrels. Oil Analytics estimates that at a market price of $40 per barrel, ANWR could produce as much as 19 billion barrels. Oil is currently at about $54 per barrel.

Drilling in ANWR will produce more oil than we used to get from Iraq and Libya combined for thirty years. It will produce more oil than we currently get from Saudi Arabia. By any objective criteria, that amounts to reducing dependency on foreign oil.

With regard to the jobs reference, keep in mind that the 750,000 job number was actually produced by the Teamsters as a way to corral Democrat Senators into voting for the bill. The issue is not jobs, the issue is oil.

Finally, a tribe of Eskimos who live in the reserve are strongly in favor of drilling. They live in abject poverty, melting snow to drink and bathe. They will become quite wealthy when they are able to lease drilling rights.

Oh, and as for Senator Dipstick: Light trucks (SUVs, small pickups, minivans) account for a little under 3 million barrels per day of US oil consumption. The average (EPA mandated) fuel efficiency of these vehicles is 18 miles per gallon. The average fuel efficiency (EPA mandated) of cars is 22 miles per gallon. SUVs account for less than 25% of all sales in the light truck category. Forcing auto makers to increase the fuel economy of SUVs to 22 miles per gallon would result in a net savings of about 200,000 barrels per day. I realize the good Senator is a victim of California public schools, but any sixth grader should be able to figure out that 200,000 is only ten percent of 2 million, the low-end figure from Oil Analytics. Even if you count the entire light truck category, you only save 750,000 barrels per day, nowhere near the output of the ANWR fields.