Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: Get the Facts

An interesting post from http://www.americansolutions.com/ about domestic drilling facts. This follows this previous post about drilling for oil and gas in Alaska. .This follows this post  about a creative solution to Gulf drilling and this previous article about the recent news about the ban on offshore drilling to encourage American energy independence This is a key issue to prevent money from going to hostile countries such as Iran and Venezuela. For more posts like this click here!

Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less



GET THE FACTS

In any grassroots effort, only the most informed citizen‐leaders can be effective citizen‐leaders,

and the fight for more American drilling is no different. American Solutions will be compiling all

of the most important talking points and facts about how bans on oil and gas drilling will affect

gasoline prices and the broader economy, which you can find at www.AmericanSolutions.com.

AVAILABLE OIL AND GAS RESOURCES

• America has about 86 billion barrels of oil and more than 400 trillion cubic feet of

natural gas located offshore in the Outer Continental Shelf, but the Obama

administration has either banned or delayed drilling for most of these resources.

• In the Green River shale formation in Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado, America has an

estimated 800 billion barrels of oil, which is three times the proven reserves of Saudi

Arabia. Federal law prohibits drilling for most of these resources.

• In the Bakken oil shale formation in the Dakotas, there are an estimated 20 billion

barrels of oil.

• In one small area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), there are an estimated

10 billion barrels of oil. Federal law prohibits drilling in this area.

• In the Marcellus shale formation in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, there

could be as much as 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the largest natural gas field in

the world.

IMPACT OF MISGUIDED FEDERAL POLICIES

• In March 2010, President Obama re‐imposed a ban on most of America’s offshore oil

and gas resources and delayed leasing for much of the rest. In the few areas where

drilling is allowed, the Obama administration has largely refused to issue permits.

• Because of President Obama’s moratorium on deep water drilling, and his subsequent

decision to delay permitting for all new drilling, the Energy Information Administration

now projects a 13% decline in U.S. oil production for 2011, or a loss of about 220,000

barrels per day. In 2009, the EIA had actually projected a 9% increase for 2011.

• President Obama’s EPA recently withdrew a permit for Shell Oil in Alaska, even though

Shell had spent $3 billion since 2006 and had a lease to drill in the Beaufort Sea, where

there are an estimated 8 billion barrels of oil.

• President Obama’s policy of banning and delaying offshore drilling forced rigs in the Gulf

of Mexico that were employing American workers to leave for Africa.



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• According to economist Joseph Mason at Louisiana State University, the drilling

moratorium in the summer of 2010 eliminated 20,000 jobs in the Gulf of Mexico. Mason

also noted that unemployment in Louisiana alone jumped from 6.2% when the

moratorium was announced to 8.1% in October when the moratorium was officially

lifted.

• The uncertainty created from President Obama’s drilling bans and delays forced the

bankruptcy of a major drilling operator in the Gulf of Mexico, Seahawk Drilling, earlier

this year.

• President Obama’s latest budget proposal includes increasing taxes on oil production by

$46 billion. This includes fees for companies who own leases that aren’t drilling, even if

the reason they aren’t drilling is because the federal government is refusing to provide

the proper permits.

IF WE ARE ALLOWED TO EXPLORE, WE WILL FIND MORE

• In 1995, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the Bakken formation in the Dakota

contained 150 million barrels of oil. In 2008, they had to upwardly revise their estimate

to 4 billion barrels, 25 times the original estimate. A new estimate from earlier this year

now shows the region has about 20 billion barrels of oil, which is 130 times larger than

what was estimated 15 years ago.

• When drilling began in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay, it was estimated to contain 9 billion

barrels of oil. To date, drillers have discovered about 15 billion barrels.

• In 1984, the federal government estimated the Gulf of Mexico contained 6 billion

barrels of oil. As of 2008 we have discovered more than 13 billion barrels in the Gulf.

• In 2007, Brazil discovered an additional 8 billion barrels of oil off its coast, bringing its

proven reserve base to about 15 billion barrels. Just last year, Brazil found an adjacent

oil field that itself could contain 15 billion barrels of oil. In three years, Brazil more than

doubled its oil reserves because they allowed responsible exploration.

• From 2006 to 2008, estimates for America’s natural gas resources increased by 515

trillion cubic feet, or by about 40%.

• The most recent estimate (from 2006) of natural gas resources offshore – 420 trillion

cubic feet – is 15% larger than the federal government estimated in 2001.

• A discovery in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 could hold up to 6 trillion cubic feet of natural

gas, which would rival the largest gas find ever in the Gulf.

• In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that the Marcellus shale formation,

located largely in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, contained less than 2

trillion cubic feet of natural gas. By 2008, scientists at Penn State University were

already dramatically revising that estimate upward to as much as 516 trillion cubic feet.


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THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SUPPORT DRILLING

• A March 2011 poll from Investors Business Daily found that 67% of Americans support

offshore drilling.

• More than half (54%) of Americans support drilling in ANWR.

• 65% of Americans support drilling in shale in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah.

• 67% of Americans expect gasoline prices to hurt them financially, including 44% who

strongly think so.

• 76% of Americans believe the United States is not doing enough to develop its own oil

and gas resources.