THE US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Thread

Plantagenet

I was up in Nome and Teller leading a small group of mainly foreign scientists on an excursion for the last few days.

Fantastic wildlife viewing. Saw many muskox, including a herd of 14, saw 4 grizzlies, many foxes, a few moose, and a humpback whale.

It was nice to be away from the news. And then I come back and Pelosi has come up with another idiotic plan to deal with peak oil and high energy prices.

First she blames evil speculators, then she wants to sue OPEC, and now she wants to open the SPR. Pelosi won't open ANWR or allow more offshore drilling, and her proposal is the use the SPR to lower gas prices a few pennies. Meanwhile she demands the military supply her a giant jet for her personal use.

Does Pelosi even have a clue about what is going on with peak oil?

DAMN....its unfortunate we've got such a clueless person running the Congress at this important time.......

Mesuge

The_Toecutter · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Jun 18, 2005 Posts: 1736

I can't wait for the day that the republicrats are systematically driven out of office, by peaceful methods or otherwise.
_________________
The unnecessary felling of a tree, perhaps the old growth of centuries, seems to me a crime little short of murder. ~Thomas Jefferson

Denny

I feel Nancy Pelosi needs to spend a little time pondering reality and reading that famous book, Wealth of Nations, by Adam Smith. I put way more faith in that way of assuring supplies than tapping into a strategic reserve.

I hope she's just grandstanding and she's not as cluless as she is letting on here.

Actually, I kind of think she's sexy for an old broad.

MyOldTDiIsStillGoing

ROCKMAN

FOR THE GROUP'S CONSIDERATION AND COMMENTS:

Should we start producing the SPR we would have to lower the net price in order to take market share away from existing producers. But only if those other exporters tried to compete with the SPR on a price basis. But if the other exporters chose not to compete and scaled their production back proportionately, oil prices would not drop. Now, if the gov't gave the oil to the US refiners at a big discount that would be another story. But then the gov't would have to force those refiners to pass the savings along....a complicated issue to say the least. And then some gas stations would be selling at a discount. Others couldn't lower their prices because they are still paying market share. Another potential problem with this sceme: I'm not sure the US can sell crude for less than Mexico or Canada due to NAFTA. I now understand there are quit a few sections in NAFTA that restrict gov't interference in certain markets. Anyone have a handle on that aspect?

Peleg · Heavy Crude Joined: May 20, 2008 Posts: 391

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25839620/

You know when she talked about doing this I thought they might be able to short the market and pull it off. If it was bipartisan then everyone just feels better and nobody get's to count coup on it. the people get a break.

Well in this article they say the proposal was to release 70 million barrels of light sweet crude. Sorry, not! That is going to be worth more than gold in a few years, and our military needs it for contingencies.

I'm not sorry I entertained the idea, it was clever, but LSC should be being stockpiled. We need to increase the SPR even at our loss and make sure that enough is permanently allocated to military contingency. We need enough allocated to maintain the military for at least a decade in the face of a complete supply disruption probably at usage rates similar to where we are at now. Something like that is just being smart in a dangerous world. You hope we never have to use it but...

joewp · Last edited by joewp on Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:30 pm; edited 1 time in total

I'm sorry to disagree, but I think we should drain the SPR as fast as possible. The reason being is in the future I don't think it will be used for military contingencies, but to keep the US populace in line as part of a fascist plutocracy. We already have the plutocracy (the Dems and Repubs both bow down to the banks and corporations), as the economy sours, unrest will become rampant, and calls for "law and order" will become louder and shriller.

As we decline into peak oil depression, something similar to these words will be spoken again:

SILENTTODD

This is one of Nancy Pelosi’s stupider ideas. Which only goes to prove she doesn't understand the concept anymore the Bush does (you'll note I didn't say Cheney-he's the scary one!).
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Skeptical scrutiny in both Science and Religion is the means by which deep thoughts are winnowed from deep nonsense-Carl Sagan

jbrovont · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jun 16, 2006 Posts: 701

"Everything is going according to plan."

WyoDutch

Fishman

Or Wyo, wiser minds than the idiot Pelosi read a little further in the declaration
"institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness"

and decided that having a "strategic " reserve might provide us some safety if things go bad. Unlike the classic liberal thought process that there should be no consequences for our actions. No wonder the idiot Pelosi's congress has a 9% confidence rating.

Fishman

Hey Wyo, help me out with the history lesson but I don't recall Poland killing millions of its own people before the invasion. I don't recall any Polish mass graves before the invasion. And I don't recall the Poles killing millions of their own people even after the Nazis invaded. Poor analogy on your part.

dinopello

There should be a whole thread on this article about Roscoe Bartlett

but I think this quote is appropriate for this one

ROCKMAN

Folks,

There is a very simple and easy alternative to tapping the SPR in order to lower gasoline prices. Right now the US gov’t produces 7.7 million bo/month. This is the royalty oil from federal leases. It has been sold by the feds for the same price ExxonMobil sells their production in the US (and yes…last month the US gov’t sold our oil back to us for $140/bbl). The numbers are all there on the MMS web site for confirmation. Some of the royalty oil has been taken in kind and sent to the SPR. The royalty oil is titled to the gov’t which is then free to sell it to whoever they want at what ever price they want. Today the gov’t can offer that oil to any refiner with the stipulation that the refiner can add only so much mark up for costs and profit margin. Valero, the largest US refiner, would jump at the opportunity. The biggest risks today for refiners is price fluctuations and loosing market share. Such a plan would solve those two problems.

I know this sounds so simple it can’t be true. But those are the numbers. In 2007 the US gov’t sold over $6 billion of our oil back to us at an average price of $45/bbl. With the current pricing they’ll probably sell closer to $10 billion of our back to us at an average price of $100+/bbl. Besides the financial reality of such a plan just think of the psychological effect it would have on the market place. The futures market would immediately tank. It won’t change our import requirements but again you would have to think it would give those countries something to think about. At the very least the folks exporting gasoline to us would have to make some radical price adjustments.

And if you think folks in DC haven’t thought about this you’re a lot more trusting then I am. After all, why would either party give up the division of the voting public by the current situation, IMHO?