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Norton

Bush and McCain have reversed their position on off shore drilling and are now calling for Congress to lift the ban, claiming it will ease dependence on foriegn oil and reduce prices at the pump.

"Senator McCain, the Republicans' presumptive presidential candidate, is opposed to opening up Alaska and had previously backed the moratorium on drilling in coastal waters.

But speaking in Houston on Tuesday, Mr McCain called for the ban to be lifted to help counter US dependence on foreign oil.

"We must take control over our own energy future and become once again the master of our fate," he said.

Mr McCain said the US had enormous energy reserves and was acquiring methods of using them in clean and responsible ways.

Senator Obama dismissed Mr McCain's call as "political posturing".
"His decision to completely change his position and tell a group of Houston oil executives exactly what they wanted to hear today was the same Washington politics that has prevented us from achieving energy independence for decades,"

Mr Obama said.

He called for conservation and the search for alternative green energy supplies.

Analysts say drilling for offshore oil and developing alternatives will both prove slow to reduce US dependence on imported oil."

BBC NEWS | Americas | Bush calls for offshore drilling

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Texpat

Save the krill! Impeach McCain!

Hey hey, ho ho
Offshore drilling's gotta go!



All we are saying~
Is give krill a chance

President McCain has oil in his veins and blood on his hands!

Well, more like tiny chitenous exoskeletons and rudimentary nervous systems. If you look closely, you can see the krill crying through it's adorable little compound eyes.

smeden

look at aker drilling they are building 2 state of art drilling rigs in norway they have a video cllip on ther weeb site

Begbie

How about "yes and no"

Obama is correct, political posturing. Opening up the beachfront to oil rigs won't drop the price of oil in the near term. Better to look at clean coal technologies.

Norton

Now that's a novel idea.

Milkman

I'll vote when I get more info.

But as for offshore drilling, how will it help?

Will the offshore MPB (millions of barrells per day) alleviate rising gas? I'm doubtful.

More drilling and more exploration is just putting a band-aid on a bullet wound.

Norton

As will I. The issue is much more complex than just environmental concerns as I see it.

Airportwo

As someone who has made their living from offshore drilling for the last 35 years hard for me to vote anything but yes.
There are about 100 new rigs being built at this time with more planned for the future, will it make a difference? It will to the oil companies that drill the wells, dont forget Bush was put into power with oil company money!

sabang

Theres plenty of offshore drilling going on. In this ban just in US Territorial waters?

Bugs

I have a bit of a split presonality on this issue. I am not really opposed to opening up Alaska and allowing more offshore drilling (though I am not so much in support of it either - might not be a bad idea to be one of the last countries on the planet to have untapped reserves at some stage in the game). But at this stage I don't really trust the Federal government to properly control things if they are opened up for drilling - in many cases the EPA is a joke.

For the sake of the poll I voted yes, lift the ban. But that yes comes with qualifiers that very strick rules and regs must be put into place to protect the envoironment and the interests of the American people (which probably won't happen).

If I recall correctly McCain has proposed lifting the federal ban with the caveat that control then reverts to the individual states.
McCain would lift drilling moratorium - First Read - msnbc.com

Not sure if this is just some kind of cop out to push the responsibility and potentially the eventual blame down river or if there is some other kind of justification for such a stance (placing control in the hands of the individual states).

Also I think McCain also proposed something like $2 billion a year for clean coal research (coupled with saying he supported building many more new nuclear plants).
McCain calls for 45 new nuclear reactors - John McCain News - MSNBC.com

In regard to the effect on price, I am not so sure there would not be some kind of short-term effect that lowers the price. Commodity prices are tied to much more than simple supply and demand. While there is no doubt that lifting the ban would do nothing in the short-term to change either, speculation runs rampant and I can see a possible impact when the announcment was made that the ban had been officially lifted (in much the same way oil prices can change when OPEC simply announces it will increase or decrease supply at some point in the future). There could then also be subsequent effects as announcement were made in regard to not only rigs officially going on line, but just basic announcements of intentions to build X number of rigs.

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Norton

Yes. Except for the Gulf of Mexico where it is currently being done.

Jet Gorgon

Lots of oil and gas coming out of Alberta and the Canadian Rockies. It's the markets that are setting the dam prices, not where the product is deriving from.

Milkman

MBP output has decreased worlwide, and demand has increased. Yes, I do agree that speculation is also driving up the price of crude and therefore gasoline.

blackgang

Offshore might make a lot more BPD inventory, but it will do nothing to lower the price of crude or refined products to the consuming public.
The dirty bastards have got you right by the short hair now and they will ever drop the price one cent as long as you will buy it at the going price,, they know you will bitch, but they also know you will buy pay it.
Only way for the prices to drip is for oil and refined products become a vast surplus on the market and a drag on refinery profits, then it will drop, not as long as even most of refined products are sold.

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Begbie

The price will drop shortly due to a major drop in demand. India has stopped subsidising the price at the pump as has Malaysia.

Dumb politicians too little too late.

Norton

So your vote would be no? Also, don't understand you Yes and No comment above?

Begbie

^Don't agree with a blanket ban on offshore drilling. Nowadays on responsible offshore work zero toxic crap or garbage goes in the sea. Of course the reality is that some spillage always occurs so places like Florida that rely on tourists should be out of bounds. Offshore of the east coast I don't see the problem.

That said it takes at least 5 years to find develop and bring to market. So McCain is in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks handing out licenses for offshore drilling today will make a whit of difference.

Norton

How about I add a "Yes, with conditions".

sabang

I don't think offshore drilling will have any tangible effect on the oil price, although it might well be good for the US balance of trade long term.

If decent environmental guidlines are followed, I don't have any objection on a case by case basis. Areas of ecological importance, or great natural beauty excluded.

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Milkman

A couple of you posters worked in the oil industry. The lack of ships is interesting, and seems to be a part of the reason I don't think offshore drilling will do much for lower gasoline prices.

I read somewhere that the oil rigs that do drill are old.

And to do offshore drilling that has to be banned, they have to build new oil driling rigs (riggers?) correct?

This takes time. All the while, demand will continue to increase with China and India and other areas of the world.

To me, this offshore drilling will get more oil on the market - eventually - but it seems to be too little (MBP), too late.