SubscribeObama’s Fix? Tap Strategic Oil Reserves
From his slavey minions at the Associated Press:
Obama: tap nation’s oil reserve to help gas prices
By TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writer
CHICAGO - In a reversal, Barack Obama is proposing tapping the nation’s strategic oil reserves to help drive down gasoline prices, his campaign said Monday.
Obama supports releasing light oil from the emergency oil stockpile now and replacing it later with heavier crude more suited to the country’s long-term needs, according to a campaign fact sheet. Light crude oil is easier to refine into gasoline than heavier oil…
Obama is emphasizing energy and the economy in campaign stops this week in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, beginning with a speech Monday in Lansing, Mich. Gas prices over $4 a gallon have become a top issue in the presidential contest.
In the past, Obama has not advocated tapping the oil reserve, but campaign spokeswoman Heather Zichal said he has reconsidered. “He recognizes that Americans are suffering,” she said.
The nation’s strategic petroleum reserve contains 707.2 million barrels in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana. It was last tapped shortly after Hurricane Katrina. Otherwise, President Bush has refused to use the reserves, saying they need to be left intact as an emergency stockpile. However, in the face of strong congressional pressure, Bush in June stopped filling the reserve until oil prices decline.
Obama’s call for using the government reserve mirrors a proposal that has been pushed by congressional Democrats, but opposed by Republican leaders and the White House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for weeks has called for Bush to withdraw a “small amount” of oil from the government reserve to add to supplies and try to force down prices.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has tried to get agreement on legislation that would require the release of 70 million barrels of oil from the government stockpile over six months with the oil to be returned at a later date.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is capable of releasing about 4 million barrels a day. It’s unclear what impact such release might have on global oil prices, or costs of gasoline at the pump. But a clear signal by the United States to use its emergency reserve to a significant extent could put downward pressure on oil markets at least for a time, energy experts say…
Don’t Mr. Obama or Ms. Pelosi or any of the other Democrats ever watch the news?
Haven’t they seen today’s latest threat from Iran to close the Straits of Hormuz? Don’t they like to remind us that we are fighting two wars in the Middle East?
Don’t they have any idea of the purpose behind the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve program?
These are all rhetorical questions, of course.
It’s unclear what impact such release might have on global oil prices, or costs of gasoline at the pump. But a clear signal by the United States to use its emergency reserve to a significant extent could put downward pressure on oil markets at least for a time, energy experts say.
Funny how something completely meaningless like tapping the oil reserves will do this, and yet we are assured that lifting bans on drilling will have no effect on oil prices.
Besides, as even Wikipedia notes:
Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The current inventory is displayed on the SPR’s website. As of July 15, 2008, the current inventory was 706.2 million barrels… This equates to 33 days of oil at current daily US consumption levels of 21 million barrels a day.
Making all of the US reserves available would only be enough oil for the US for 33 days.
So what real difference would releasing “a small” amount make? None whatsoever of course.
Except to make it seem like the Democrats are doing something when in fact they are doing nothing — except enjoying their five week summer vacation.
(Thanks to Dodgeboy27 for the heads up.)
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16 Responses to “Obama’s Fix? Tap Strategic Oil Reserves”
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August 4th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Maybe I’m dense, but didn’t the Dems say ANWR 50 million barrels a day of crude oil would not translate into any relief for US consumers, but now if we release the SOR’s supply into the market, it would have an impact? So supply does matter? They are such shameless liars. If we tap into SOR and then Iran bombs the Straights of Hormuz, how will our Fighters operate? On hope?
August 4th, 2008 at 11:59 am
“….he has reconsidered”
Wonder how many other policy issues he will ‘reconsider’ before the election. After all, what makes him more electable than McCain is his stand on the issues, not the old hand politics of the GOP.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
In 2000 Clinton tapped the strategic reserve, coincidentally at about the same time the election was warming up and Gore the Bore was making his run for president.
So this is not only an old idea, but bad timing. Clinton started his tap in September with the election in November. Unless Obama-San is planning on dribbling out the entire reserve whatever impact it would make on gas prices will be gone by the election. Then again he might want that so it will look like he personally saved the day until the evil Republicans turned the tap off.
And with Iran now making more threats, dipping into a temporary emergency reserve is a very bad idea.
August 4th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
No, Media_Man, if Obama gets elected our fighters will operate on hope and “change”.
DB27
August 4th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Obama on the President’s Decision to Release Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (Flashback) “…we
shouldn’t be tapping the reserve to provide a small, short-term decrease in gas
prices. “
August 4th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Barry just walked right into this trap. He proposes tapping the SOR and Bush pulls the up/down oil price lever in his office down $5 bucks a barrel. Out smarted again!
August 4th, 2008 at 3:12 pm
So the Obamessiah wants to pump the light sweet crude from the SPR and replace it with heavy crude at a later date. That way, when the US really needs the SPR, in an emergency situation, it will take longer to extract and refine. Did I get that right?
B. Hussein and his handlers are truly brain dead, no doubt about it. Jeez, talk about an epic failure, holy mackerel..!!
August 4th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Undeniable lightweight empty suit all the way!
August 4th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
So, the Democrats want a ‘blue-light special’ on oil prices. They want an immediate effect on the price of oil. That fits right into the mentality of those folks that go on fad diets - you know, the ‘lose 10 pounds in 10 days’ fads that never work and only serve to perpetuate the yo-yo. To borrow a line from dieters everywhere, “We didn’t get into this mess in a day, we aren’t going to get out of it in a day, either”.
What it’s going to take is real leadership - not this “take my gavel and go home” childishness, nor the “I’ll flip-flop whichever way the political wind blows” vapidness.
Not to shoot a hole in the Obama suggestion, but just how does releasing 4 billion barrels a day from the strategic reserve lower the price of oil for the long term? I mean, besides the obvious need to strategically protect the United States with the stuff that runs the engine of the economy and the military, won’t lowering the strategic reserve just mean that you have to fill it back up again (as demanded by law…)? This argument is like saying, “Let’s put 4 gallons into the gas tank of our large SUV - that way, we can shut off that annoying ‘empty tank warning light’ and everything will be fine.” Pretty soon, that light is going to come back on, and you are going to have to fill the SUV back up again. So, releasing some oil from the strategic reserve might lower the price temporarily (and then again, it might not), but it will have had three very negative consequences: 1) it will reduce the availability of oil should a real emergency arise - say, there is another terrorist attack, or Iran decides to bomb Israel, or Venezuela attacks Columbia, etc… and, 2) our enemies will know with certainty that they can hold us hostage by jacking the price of oil (remember, not every oil company out there floats on the free market) and, 3) the price of oil will increase as soon as you start filling the strategic reserve back up again. So, it’s a stupid idea, and one that only serves to make the US weaker in both the short and long-term. And I’m not even thinking very hard to see these problems…
If Obama was a real leader (I know, I know. That’s like saying “If the sky were actually green…” or “If gravity worked like this…”), he wouldn’t have fallen into this vapidness. The kind of suggestions Obama mentions (like, filling your tires up…) are the kind that one expects from “Community organizers” - they are obvious to the point of innanity and they don’t do anything to address the long-term issue (think: Jesse Jackson…)
Real leadership addresses the issue. We need nuclear power generation to reduce the amount of oil we require for electrical generation. We need to build clean-burning coal plants to utilize our own vast resource. We need to develop alternate forms of energy generation. And we need to depend on ourselves for more oil rather than on our enemies. These solutions probably won’t have an immediate effect (but then again, they might) - there are start-up costs, hurdles that will only be seen during start-up, tactical issues with delivery, use and storage - but strategically, it’s the right thing to do.
August 4th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
The title of this article is Obama backs some drilling, tapping oil stockpiles -
http://tinyurl.com/5keqaf
Here is my problem:
The article does not mention anything other than ‘possible’ off shore drilling, work on hybrid cars, work on renewable energy sources, and tapping oil stockpiles to -’end U.S. reliance on imported oil within 10 years ‘- I know enough to know that just on those ‘plans’ - that isn’t going to happen in 10 years.
-’Obama said that U.S. politicians have failed for three decades to deal with the energy crisis, ‘- While I agree with Obamanation (politicians have failed for three decades to deal with much of any problem of merit in the US) - uh, hasn’t the annointed one been a politician for 1 of those decades?!? And exactly what has he done in his 143 days in the US Senate to fix this problem before it became a crisis?
Nothing, It is not an issue until HE says it is an issue. . .
-’”It will take nothing less than a complete transformation of our economy,” he said.’- I do not like the implications of that statement at all.
Yes, Arctain - he is promoting stealing from Peter to pay Paul - which ends up with less for everyone in the end - and does absolutely nothing to solve the problem.
Typical Political Person.
August 4th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
There is an online petition to Call Congress back.
http://www.callbackcongress.com/
Interesting note this is paid for by Cantor for Congress.
August 4th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
So…let me get this straight? “We can’t drill our way out of this.” Right? So…why does the “Enlightened One” believe more supply (strategic reserve) will help anything? To use his logic, more supply is a GOOD thing. If more supply is a good thing, then why wouldn’t drilling, thereby increasing supply (even if years away), NOT help us out of this? The people that follow this idiot are too stupid to help decide our next POTUS. This guy doesn’t even understand Philosophy 101, much less international relations and the war on terrorism.
Unfortunately, those that are voting for Obama aren’t listening closely enough. All they hear is either “we’ll end Christianity and conservative values (Hollywood), or I’m going to make the government give you more money!” His rhetoric is stupid but his motives appear very sinister. This isn’t about the cost of a gallon of gas to him and his sycophants, it’s about destroying our economy and our way of life as we’ve known it. That’s real change!
Please vote and demand everyone that you know to vote against this destroyer of American values and patriotism. Then let’s demand enforcement of the crime of sedition and stop these morons from calling for our leaders’ death, as has been advocated repeatedly by the scum at MSNBC, CNN, NY Times, HBO, etc… This has gotten way out of hand, and it’s time for those that care to demand a stop to it.
August 5th, 2008 at 8:05 am
The Democrats are always fond of converting barrels of oil into “days of US usage.”
Will anyone in the media have the guts to notice that the proposed daily releases from the reserve don’t meet the US’ daily consumption?
Naturally the Chosen One will get big props for his thinking on this.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:49 am
The Dems have a real problem on their hands….they’re trying to placate their wacko-environmentalist base and win a general election, which is why their focus now is to release oil from the SPR.
Pelosi, Obama, et al, know that Bush would never release oil for a temporary reduction in the price of gasoline.
High prices lead to two things: reduction in demand and increase in supply. Oh, and a third — a substitute effect, i.e. alternatives, and I’m not talking about corn or switch grass.
The HEB grocery store fleet runs on a 90/10 LNG-diesel mixture. Most long-haul trucks can be converted to this viable alternative without much expense. By simply shifting natural gas from the grid (the plug in your wall) to liquid hydrocarbons (stuff you pump into your tank), we could completely eliminate the need for foreign oil. (see Peter Huber’s Jan ‘06 WSJ OpEd). Of course as our consumption grows, we’ll need to tap the OSC and oil sands and shales, and of course we’ll have to use more clean burning coal and nuclear to fill the void, but this is doable.
But the Dems’ wacko base wants us to bicycle to work — I’m not kidding — and they oppose anything that’s not “sustainable”, i.e. renewable in the time frame it takes to consume. Unfortunately, until someone cracks the cold fusion puzzle, we’re stuck with solar energy that’s been stored in oil, coal, and natural gas for hundreds of thousands of years and nuclear for millions of years.
One last point, which I never hear anyone mention, even though the US (5% of the world’s population) uses 28% of the world’s fossil fuels, we absorb all the CO2 we emit. (Huber, Hard Green)
August 5th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
This is the dumbest idea I have ever heard of! Tapping into the Reserves is not a solution at all, it would just add to the problem AND SURELY WOULDN’T MAKE AMERICA ENERGY INDEPENDENT.
I agree with EvaTheFrisbeeDog, “The Dems have a real problem on their hands……” They are caught between a rock and a hard place trying to cater to the environmentalists.
The short term solution is drill, drill drill and then in the future include other forms of energy.
CALL BACK CONGRESS FOR A VOTE PELOSI!
http://www.callbackcongress.com/
August 5th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
….”Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has tried to get agreement on legislation that would require the release of 70 million barrels of oil from the government stockpile over six months with the oil to be returned at a later date…..”
Got it, Jeff. Your team will just “borrow” the oil–just like you just “borrowed” from the Social Security Trust Fund!
I’m sure the American public can trust the Dim-o-crats to figure something out.