Pump gas, Newt? No thanks

[TwoWheelsDC]

Originally Posted by Terpfan View Post
Ah, ok- I was presuming he meant more of natural gas.

@baiskeli 34970 wrote:

Ah, okay. Nope, that would make some sense. This is Newt Gingrich, no sense is involved.

I do have to add though, that our increased natural gas drilling comes at a pretty steep environmental cost, particularly as fracking becomes all the rage…between high levels of water use, potential groundwater contamination, and surface contamination from highly toxic fracking compounds, it really shouldn’t be our go-to means of weaning ourselves off oil. I’m not a huge greenie or whatever, but I think we tend to lose sight of the externalities of fossil fuel exploration. Sure, we have lots of natural gas and can get it for a reasonably low price, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t extremely costly on a larger scale. I think if more people considered that, the high initial startup costs of long-term sustainable energy wouldn’t seem so bad, but right now we’re so focused on “cheap gas is a fundamental right” that we can’t see that cheap fossil fuels are waaaaaay more costly in the long-term.

[baiskeli]

@Certifried 34979 wrote:

We need to take over Venezuela, since taking over Iraq didn’t pan out.

Is your real name Dick Cheney by any chance?

[Certifried]

@baiskeli 34985 wrote:

Is your real name Dick Cheney by any chance?

half right!

[baiskeli]

@TwoWheelsDC 34981 wrote:

I do have to add though, that our increased natural gas drilling comes at a pretty steep environmental cost, particularly as fracking becomes all the rage…between high levels of water use, potential groundwater contamination, and surface contamination from highly toxic fracking compounds, it really shouldn’t be our go-to means of weaning ourselves off oil. I’m not a huge greenie or whatever, but I think we tend to lose sight of the externalities of fossil fuel exploration. Sure, we have lots of natural gas and can get it for a reasonably low price, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t extremely costly on a larger scale. I think if more people considered that, the high initial startup costs of long-term sustainable energy wouldn’t seem so bad, but right now we’re so focused on “cheap gas is a fundamental right” that we can’t see that cheap fossil fuels are waaaaaay more costly in the long-term.

Quite true.

[baiskeli]

@Certifried 34992 wrote:

half right!

So you’re a Dick?

[Dickie]

@baiskeli 35006 wrote:

So you’re a Dick?

Hey Hey Hey… easy now!

[jnva]

@baiskeli 34969 wrote:

Perhaps – my figure is proved reserves. I think that includes more than technically feasible and/or economically feasible extraction, but I could be wrong.

But remember, that new drilling technology is available worldwide, so if our extractable reserves grow, so can other countrys’, so our total share may not rise much. Even if we did find more oil, its still not much. Suppose we miraculously doubled our reserves! Great, that’s about 6 percent. Still wouldn’t last us more than 6 years if we only consumed domestic oil.

The “oil independence” idea is a myth left over from the oil crises of the 1970s, when we felt vulnerable to foreign control of oil. But foreigners will always control the oil supply and the price no matter what we do. Best to become independent of ALL oil instead.

A couple of articles I thought were interesting

IEA Pegs U.S. as Top Oil Producer by 2020

BY BENOÎT FAUCON AND SARAH KENT

A shale-oil boom will thrust the U.S. ahead of Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer by 2020, a radical shift that could profoundly transform not just the world’s energy supplies but also its geopolitics, the International Energy Agency said.

In its closely watched annual World Energy Outlook, the IEA, which advises industrialized nations on their energy policies, said the global energy map “is being redrawn by the resurgence in oil and gas production in

LONDON (CNNMoney) — The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia to become the world’s biggest oil producer before 2020, and will be energy independent 10 years later, according to a new forecast by the International Energy Agency.
The recent resurgence in oil and gas production, and efforts to make the transport sector more efficient, are radically reshaping the nation’s energy market, reported Paris-based IEA in its World Energy Outlook.

North America would become a net exporter of oil around 2030, the global organization said Monday.
“The United States, which currently imports around 20% of its total energy needs, becomes all but self sufficient in net terms — a dramatic reversal of the trend seen in most other energy importing countries,” the IEA stated.
The U.S. is experiencing an oil boom, in large part thanks to high world prices and new technologies, including hydraulic fracking, that have made the extraction of oil and gas from shale rock commercially viable.
From 2008 to 2011, U.S. crude oil production jumped 14%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Natural gas production is up by about 10% over the same period.
Related: the facts about oil and gas under Obama
According to the IEA, U.S. natural gas prices will rise to $5.5 per million British thermal units (MBtu) in 2020, from around $3.5 per MBtu this year, driven by rising domestic demand rather than a forecast increase in exports to Asia and other markets.
“In our projections, 93% of the natural gas produced in the United States remains available to meet domestic demand,” it said. “Exports on the scale that we project would not play a large role in domestic price setting.”
North America’s new role in the world energy markets will accelerate a change in the direction of international oil trade toward Asia, and underscore the importance of securing supply routes from the Middle East to China and India.

The IEA said it expects global energy demand to increase by more than a third by 2035, with China, India and the Middle East accounting for 60% of the growth, and more than outweighing reduced demand in developed economies.
That will push world average oil import prices up to $125 per barrel (in 2011 dollars) by 2035, from around $100 per barrel at present, but they could be much higher if Iraq fails to deliver on its production potential.
Iraq is set to become the second largest oil exporter by the 2030s, as it expands output to take advantage of demand from fast growing Asian economies.
Related: Iraq oil output to double by 2020
New fuel economy standards in the U.S. and efforts by China, Japan and the European Union to reduce demand would help to make up for a disappointing decade for global energy efficiency.
“But even with these and other new policies in place, a significant share of the potential to improve energy efficiency — four-fifths of the potential in the buildings sector and more than half in industry — still remains untapped,” the IEA stated.
Policymakers are still missing out on potential benefits for energy security, economic growth and the environment.
Growth in demand over the years to 2035 would be halved and oil demand would peak just before 2020, if governments took action to remove barriers preventing the implementation of energy efficiency measures that are already economically viable, the global organization said.

[baiskeli]

Thanks for the articles. This is part of the problem – it’s very misleading.

We are a top producer of oil – but that doesn’t mean we have a large supply. It simply means we are pumping our own small supply of oil much faster than the rest of the world. In other words, it just means we’ll run out alot faster than the rest of the world.

Unfortunately, articles like this create the illusion that we have a large supply of oil, when we don’t.

It also lumps “energy” and “oil” together. They aren’t the same thing. Natural gas is a big part of this “energy independence” claim. But when it comes just to petroleum, our independence from foreign oil just isn’t sustainable. And, as I mentioned before, none of this matters if prices are still high. We can be energy independent and still pay high prices for our own oil instead of someone else’s. The oil companies don’t give us discounts just because they got their oil here instead of overseas.

@jnva 36062 wrote:

A couple of articles I thought were interesting

IEA Pegs U.S. as Top Oil Producer by 2020

BY BENOÎT FAUCON AND SARAH KENT

A shale-oil boom will thrust the U.S. ahead of Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer by 2020, a radical shift that could profoundly transform not just the world’s energy supplies but also its geopolitics, the International Energy Agency said.

In its closely watched annual World Energy Outlook, the IEA, which advises industrialized nations on their energy policies, said the global energy map “is being redrawn by the resurgence in oil and gas production in

LONDON (CNNMoney) — The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia to become the world’s biggest oil producer before 2020, and will be energy independent 10 years later, according to a new forecast by the International Energy Agency.
The recent resurgence in oil and gas production, and efforts to make the transport sector more efficient, are radically reshaping the nation’s energy market, reported Paris-based IEA in its World Energy Outlook.

North America would become a net exporter of oil around 2030, the global organization said Monday.
“The United States, which currently imports around 20% of its total energy needs, becomes all but self sufficient in net terms — a dramatic reversal of the trend seen in most other energy importing countries,” the IEA stated.
The U.S. is experiencing an oil boom, in large part thanks to high world prices and new technologies, including hydraulic fracking, that have made the extraction of oil and gas from shale rock commercially viable.
From 2008 to 2011, U.S. crude oil production jumped 14%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Natural gas production is up by about 10% over the same period.
Related: the facts about oil and gas under Obama
According to the IEA, U.S. natural gas prices will rise to $5.5 per million British thermal units (MBtu) in 2020, from around $3.5 per MBtu this year, driven by rising domestic demand rather than a forecast increase in exports to Asia and other markets.
“In our projections, 93% of the natural gas produced in the United States remains available to meet domestic demand,” it said. “Exports on the scale that we project would not play a large role in domestic price setting.”
North America’s new role in the world energy markets will accelerate a change in the direction of international oil trade toward Asia, and underscore the importance of securing supply routes from the Middle East to China and India.

The IEA said it expects global energy demand to increase by more than a third by 2035, with China, India and the Middle East accounting for 60% of the growth, and more than outweighing reduced demand in developed economies.
That will push world average oil import prices up to $125 per barrel (in 2011 dollars) by 2035, from around $100 per barrel at present, but they could be much higher if Iraq fails to deliver on its production potential.
Iraq is set to become the second largest oil exporter by the 2030s, as it expands output to take advantage of demand from fast growing Asian economies.
Related: Iraq oil output to double by 2020
New fuel economy standards in the U.S. and efforts by China, Japan and the European Union to reduce demand would help to make up for a disappointing decade for global energy efficiency.
“But even with these and other new policies in place, a significant share of the potential to improve energy efficiency — four-fifths of the potential in the buildings sector and more than half in industry — still remains untapped,” the IEA stated.
Policymakers are still missing out on potential benefits for energy security, economic growth and the environment.
Growth in demand over the years to 2035 would be halved and oil demand would peak just before 2020, if governments took action to remove barriers preventing the implementation of energy efficiency measures that are already economically viable, the global organization said.

[Author]

Posts