EPA Puts Stranglehold on Shell Oil Production

It amazes me that everyone is asking themselves as to why gas prices are so high, when we have an administration that is overtly hostile to energy companies. The EPA has just prohibited Shell Oil Company from exploration in Alaska after they spent years, and billions of dollars in preparation:


Shell has spent five years and nearly $4 billion dollars on plans to explore for oil in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The leases alone cost $2.2 billion. Shell Vice President Pete Slaiby says obtaining similar air permits for a drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico would take about 45 days. He’s especially frustrated over the appeal board’s suggestion that the Arctic drill would somehow be hazardous for the people who live in the area. “We think the issues were really not major,” Slaiby said, “and clearly not impactful for the communities we work in.”

The closest village to where Shell proposed to drill is Kaktovik, Alaska. It is one of the most remote places in the United States. According to the latest census, the population is 245 and nearly all of the residents are Alaska natives. The village, which is 1 square mile, sits right along the shores of the Beaufort Sea, 70 miles away from the proposed off-shore drill site.

And how much oil is estimated?

At stake is an estimated 27 billion barrels of oil. That’s how much the U. S. Geological Survey believes is in the U.S. portion of the Arctic Ocean. For perspective, that represents two and a half times more oil than has flowed down the Trans Alaska pipeline throughout its 30-year history. That pipeline is getting dangerously low on oil. At 660,000 barrels a day, it’s carrying only one-third its capacity

But hey, it’s okay that the Obama administration gave $2 billion to Brazil for deep offshore drilling, while putting a moratorium on domestic drilling in the Gulf. George Soros must have a big smile on his face. I’m sure his ass cheeks hurt from sitting on that big mountain of cash; courtesy of the American taxpayer.




Source: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/04/25/energy-america-oil-drilling-denial/

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203863204574346610120524166.html