Why drill in Alaska?

[cybtropic]

Quote from Arnie:

To the OP,

Cost of labor is part of the cost of doing business. It makes no sense to tell a co they have to pay more for an hour of labor than they can pay in the open market. You sound like you get all your news from CNN, ABC, or NBC.

How is benefiting by hiring Americans and paying lower taxes at the same time a BAD IDEA??

If you are an American, you should be ashamed of yourself, really.

YOu gotta be kidding me. Taxes will stay the same for corps that outsource. Lowering taxes would be a BENEFIT and BRING JOBS to U.S. You do know that bringing jobs to U.S. helps the economy right?

 

[cybtropic]

Quote from sandygray66:

I agree 100% that the ANWR resource should be opened up, but through market mechanisms which auction off the drilling rights to the highest bidders, and the proceeds go towards balancing our national budget and funding developmental work in alternative energy resources.

Any time the government tries to intervene in market mechanisms to benefit the "many", it always ends up benefitting just the "few" enterprising individuals who figure out how to game the system (or who have the right connections).

So you are saying that this is a bad idea, because people will just break the law and do it anyway? That sounds a great reason not to do it, OR you could actually enforce the law.

But as an alternative I agree with oil companies drilling in ANWR too. I made that point earlier, oil companies can drill if they actually PAY for the land and oil, and not freaking pennies on the dollar. If you are going to ruin a wildlife preserve to make some money, then you better pay a ton for it.

 

[sandygray66]

Quote from cybtropic:

So you are saying that this is a bad idea, because people will just break the law and do it anyway? That sounds a great reason not to do it, OR you could actually enforce the law.

Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. Any law which can't be enforced either due to economics or lack of collective willpower of the people shouldn't be a law to begin with. Look at the failure of Prohibition and today's war on drugs. The only people who benefitted from those policies are the entrepreneurs who figured out how to break the law and serve the incredible demand for the products from the general populace (like JFK's father).

Legalizing marijuana, taxing the heck out of it (like cigarettes) and using the proceeds to actually enforce laws against the truly dangerous drugs would be much more effective policy.

But I digress from the topic at hand.......

 

[GTS]

Quote from cybtropic:

The oil drilled by U.S. will not be sold on the world market for $135/barrel. Does that answer your question? I agree with you though that they will lack the expertise, that is a problem.

Three years ago oil was $20/barrel and yet oil companies were drilling and making money. How can this be??

I will agree with the very first statement you made in this thread - you are a bit slow.

 

[sandygray66]

I think the OP slept through his Econ 101 class in college....that is if he went to college.....because he clearly misses the whole effect of supply/demand on price.

Increase oil supply (i.e. open up ANWR) at MARKET PRICES, and prices will go down. Keep supply constant, while demand increases (think of all those moving into the middle class in China and India who are buying their first car), and price continues to rise.

For a rational approach to policy solutions to address the oil/energy pricing problems take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPch2k63uj4

 

[Lucrum]

"Why drill in Alaska?"

Because that's where the oil is.

 

[Jayford]

Quote from cybtropic:

The oil drilled by U.S. will not be sold on the world market for $135/barrel. Does that answer your question? I agree with you though that they will lack the expertise, that is a problem.

This won't work. Why? because then the US oil companies would sell ZERO oil in the USA. They would sell every drop of their oil abroad. The US Gov would have to pump enough oil to run the entire country. Could never happen. Who would sell oil here for $40 when it sells abroad for 135?

If you mandate that all the oil pumped here, whether by oil companies or the Gov, is to be sold at $40, then you are in effect nationalizing the oil companies, and we are back to the beginning of the thread again. It still wouldn't be enough.

I believe I understand your thought process; if the US gov pumps the oil, then they can sell it for whatever they choose to sell it for. This would be great if we didn't demand so much of the stuff.

 

[black diamond]

I hate to bump a post but I am getting lonely ...

So why shouldn't we hold onto this oil for now? Taking it out at this point is like an early withdrawal from a 401k.

Quote from black diamond:

I agree with the posters who said it doesn't work that way.

But am I the only one that thinks we should wait until the world actually runs really low on oil to drill in Alaska? If the current crisis blows over and prices moderate, we get to keep our pristine wilderness with all the happy caribou while paying poorer countries bargain prices to trash their environments on our behalf. If it is for real, then we drill after everyone else runs out and get paid much more to trash our environment. If we are really running out of oil that stuff will be worth a lot more later than it is now, I say hold onto it.

 

[Jayford]

we need to drill and pump like mad AND pour bucks into alternatives. it takes years for the oil to come online, by why be crippled longer than we need to be.

high oil prices, if they continue, are the best thing possible for the world in the long run, cause we will shift to other technologies.

but in the mean time, until its feasible to use alternative on a large scale, the US needs to pump as much of its own as possible. they can do so in very environmental ways now as well. for example, even with the major damage to oil platforms from katrina, there were no spills. in ANWR, the total operation would cover an area smaller than disneyland.

we need to pump, especially offshore. Some of the biggest tree hugger nations in the World do it big time (Norway, Holland, Denmark).

 

[Nanook]

Quote from Lucrum:

"Why drill in Alaska?"
Because that's where the oil is.

Enough already! Due to the incessant demands from this ET thread we've reluctantly agreed to start limited oil production on the north slope:

Independent Starts Production at Oooguruk

"Pioneer Natural Resources Co. of Irving, Texas, has started production from its small Oooguruk field in the shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea.

Pioneer said this week production from Oooguruk -- an Inupiaq word for "bearded seal" -- is starting out at a modest 2,000 to 3,000 barrels per day."

http://www.adn.com/money/story/435149.html

You all should start seeing a savings of $.002 per gallon of gas in a week or two.