OPEC members get rebuilding pitch (La. want new refinery)

NOLA.com ^ | Tuesday, September 12, 2006 | Pam Radtke Russell

[chemicalman]

A representative from the state economic development office urged OPEC officials at their meeting Monday in Vienna, Austria, to consider building a U.S. refinery -- the nation's first in 30 years -- on Louisiana sugar cane fields.

The state is trying to snag a refinery or some other major foreign investment, particularly in one of the parishes battered by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, said Lana Sonnier, spokeswoman for the development office.

Dane Revette, the agency's energy director, succeeded in "getting Louisiana on the radar" with his presentation, Sonnier said. She added that Revette has attended at least one other meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to promote Louisiana's prospects to the oil and gas industry.

She would not comment on the office's negotiations with foreign countries. However, Monday's meeting was not the first time the subject of a new Louisiana refinery has been broached. In December, according to published reports, Kuwait indicated that it was interested in building a new 400,000-barrel-a-day-capacity refinery in the state.

[chemicalman]

Long read @ link.

Guess Landrieu's vote to bring in foreign workers is working. < / sacasm >

[50sDad]

I May Be Dim...but why he heck aren't we building our OWN refineries?

[upchuck]

I wonder if any of these stary-eyed optimists have spent any time pondering how they're gonna get around the reasons it's been 30 years since a refinery was built in the US?

Ping to Greenpeace

Ping to the Sierra Club

Ping to ELF

Ping to all the NIMBYs

Generic ping to all the envirowackos

[TChris]

I May Be Dim...but why he heck aren't we building our OWN refineries?

Have a nice chat on the subject with all the NIMBYs, BANANAs and assorted envirowackos. They'll tell you why we don't need our own primary energy sources to keep up with demand. As for me, I'm a simple-minded guy who thinks they should.

[gcruse]

Just more foreigners wanting to do the work Americans won't do.

[LOC1]

We are building our own refineries....by recycling some of the money we have been sending to OPEC.

[upchuck]

Forgot one...

Ping to the EPA

[50sDad]

I think that we are well on the way to building refineries, that is, the political pressure is on to change regs to allow the building of new refineries. My question is why we need others to build them. Have we so degraged any American oil company that we physically can't afford to do it ourselves and have it in control of Americans, or do we simply want somebody else to do the heavy lifting and investment of building them? Is it choice or cheapness?

[50sDad]

I think that we are well on the way to building refineries, that is, the political pressure is on to change regs to allow the building of new refineries. My question is why we need others to build them. Have we so degraged any American oil company that we physically can't afford to do it ourselves and have it in control of Americans, or do we simply want somebody else to do the heavy lifting and investment of building them? Is it choice or cheapness?

[50sDad]

Dnag, how'd I do that! I haven't double posted in ages!

[TChris]

Dnag, how'd I do that! I haven't double posted in ages!

I dot'n knwo jsut hwo yuo ddi it. Btu it suer wsa a doulbe! ;-) (TGIF, eh?)

[thackney]

Because it is cheaper to keep expanding and upgrading our own.

U.S. Refinery Production of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products
http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/mttrpus2a.htm

[50sDad]

Will "Dnag" now join the ranks of Hugh and Series? I'm so produ!!