Senate vote to suspend SPR refilling

mefistofeles · Heavy Crude Joined: Mar 21, 2005 Posts: 143

This sounds like the third film in the dumb and dumber series. Dumb and Even Dumber US Energy policy.

kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 907

Being an election year, I see this as trolling for votes, nothing more. Put a band aid on the gushing wound, get back to important issues.
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If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984

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Accept the Facts.

frankthetank

Last week refineries were only running at 85%... What is this going to help with gasoline? Maybe congress should pass a law mandating refineries operate at a loss! Smile

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"Oil is going up because we use too much oil, and the capacity to replace reserves is dwindling"
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Mechler

Twilight · Expert Joined: Mar 02, 2007 Posts: 2771 Location: UK

That would be the US doing a China.

You know what happens then - a case of the old "emergency maintenance", when problems managers were happy to overlook before, are brought out into the light of day. Aw, shucks, will ya look at that?
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"The American people are watching the numbers climb higher and higher at the pump and they're waiting to see what the Congress will do." - George W Bush

Ferretlover

1. Stop refilling the SPRs (which are supposed to cover emergencies and security) -until oil is back at $75.
2. Disperse it to the public, to alleviate terrible gas prices, until there is no more for emergencies or security.

Things never change.
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"RRrrruuuunnnn!!!" ~Apocalypto

Starvid

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Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

Plantagenet

US House of Representatives also votes yes on bill to stop filling the SPR with oil

New law passed suspending oil storage in SPR until oil drops to $75/barrel

Thats two votes in one day and the law is passed.

The Congress can sure move fast when its doing something urgent like pandering by outlawing putting oil in the SPR.

joeltrout

I saw on marketwatch.com that Bush does not plan to veto it.

sorry no link Sad

joeltrout
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ENERGY is the basis of our industrial civilization and sustains our standard of living. It is the foundation stone of our national wealth. A nation starved of energy.....will be a nation of starving people.

Plantagenet

SchroedingersCat · Intermediate Crude Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 506

I can't see how this can have any impact on prices. There has only been a couple of hundred thousand barrels a week added. Almost all of that is royalty in kind. None of the inputs to the SPR are from imports. Haven't been since early 2003. The oil companies pay their royalties for offshore drilling in oil instead of cash. The oil goes to the SPR. Pathetic pandering, really.
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Civilization is a personal choice.

max_in_wa

I'm completely unsurprised that congress would pass this legislation. We've had decades of passing the buck on to the future, one would have to be a complete fool to think congress would change its ways for energy issues. Throw in the fact that the price of fuel is such a hot button with the "man on the street", and our representatives and senators are certainly going to fall all over themselves trying to look like they care and are working on the problem.

What I find particularly interesting, is that congress has basically decided that it will try to time the market. While a few people inevitably make money by timing, it doesn't work for most people. Anyone who has ever invested has had the experience of wishing they had sold sooner, sold later, bought sooner, or bought later -- all because the market is so hard to time. As others have said, what if oil hits $200/bbl? Perhaps they'll amend the bill to buy at $126 -- but by then oil will be on its way to $250.

dinopello

something_awfull

I wonder if the Chinese are going to stop filling their SPR to alleviate high fuel prices? Somehow I doubt it.

Seems to me to be a really dumb move. I would have thought you'd be building more storage and filling it up, as others have suggested.

Oh well, bring on the zombies. Twisted Evil

joeltrout

The thing that is going to make me mad is if oil price drop by $10 because of other factors such as strengthing dollar, bullish inventory numbers, etc...

Then those people will say look we made Bush stop filling the SPR and the price of oil dropped $10. Even though it has no relevancy people will make the tie and most of America will believe them.

joeltrout
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ENERGY is the basis of our industrial civilization and sustains our standard of living. It is the foundation stone of our national wealth. A nation starved of energy.....will be a nation of starving people.