Oil drilling and other schemes only produce droplets

Friday, July 25, 2008

Announcements of new oil discoveries and the debate on the release of oil from strategic reserves only fuel daydreams that we can drill or wiggle our way out of the inevitable decline in worldwide supplies of oil.

From an article in The Independent:

The future of the Arctic will be less white wilderness, more black gold, a new report on oil reserves in the High North has signalled this week. The first-comprehensive assessment of oil and gas resources north of the Arctic Circle, carried out by American geologists, reveals that underneath the ice, the region may contain as much as a fifth of the world's undiscovered yet recoverable oil and natural gas reserves.

This includes 90 billion barrels of oil, enough to supply the world for THREE YEARS at current consumption rates . . .

From an article on Fox News:

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday defeated a Democratic-backed initiative aimed at driving gasoline costs down, and Democrats and Republicans continued to blame each other for stalling each other's energy agendas.

Thursday's bill would have released about 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, roughly a THREE-DAY SUPPLY. The reserve is designed to keep oil in stock in the event of an emergency.

Emphasis added in both quotes.