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Oil Companies Loath to Follow Obama’s Green Lead
New York Times ^ | April 7, 2009 | Jad Mouawad

Posted on 04/07/2009 1:20:41 PM PDT by reaganaut1

The Obama administration wants to reduce oil consumption, increase renewable energy supplies and cut carbon dioxide emissions in the most ambitious transformation of energy policy in a generation.

But the world’s oil giants are not convinced that it will work. Even as Washington goes into a frenzy over energy, many of the oil companies are staying on the sidelines, balking at investing in new technologies favored by the president, or even straying from commitments they had already made.

Royal Dutch Shell said last month that it would freeze its research and investments in wind, solar and hydrogen power, and focus its alternative energy efforts on biofuels. The company had already sold much of its solar business and pulled out of a project last year to build the largest offshore wind farm, near London.

BP, a company that has spent nine years claiming it was moving “beyond petroleum,” has been getting back to petroleum since 2007, paring back its renewable program. And American oil companies, which all along have been more skeptical of alternative energy than their European counterparts, are studiously ignoring the new messages coming from Washington.

“In my view, nothing has really changed,” Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, said after the election of President Obama. “We don’t oppose alternative energy sources and the development of those. But to hang the future of the country’s energy on those alternatives alone belies reality of their size and scale.”

The administration wants to spend $150 billion over the next decade to create what it calls “a clean energy future.” Its plan would aim to diversify the nation’s energy sources by encouraging more renewables, and it would reduce oil consumption and cut carbon emissions from fossil fuels.

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Front Page News
KEYWORDS: antiamericanism; anticapitalist; bho2009; bho44; bhoenergy; blameamericafirst; democrats; drillheredrillnow; energy; first100days; globalwarmingscare; greenfraud; greens; obama; oil; pravdamedia; renewable; rewewableenergy
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Maybe they are not investing in renewables because they don't those energy sources make sense?

Why should profitable and productive private companies, paying billions in taxes and employing lots of workers heed a president who has produced nothing but his own autobiography?

1 posted on 04/07/2009 1:20:42 PM PDT by reaganaut1
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To: reaganaut1

0 is in for a bumpy ride


2 posted on 04/07/2009 1:24:27 PM PDT by BornToBeAmerican (We the people, ..... never)
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To: BornToBeAmerican

should have added, He can’t fire their CEO’s!


3 posted on 04/07/2009 1:25:10 PM PDT by BornToBeAmerican (We the people, ..... never)
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To: BornToBeAmerican

Bambi’s energy secretary said wind could replace 3000 coal fired power plants. Riiiiight !


4 posted on 04/07/2009 1:28:44 PM PDT by Eric in the Ozarks
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To: BornToBeAmerican
pulled out of a project last year to build the largest offshore wind farm, near London

Ken Salazar was recently touting the virtues of offshore wind potential. He indicated that the technology was ready. I suppose he did not talk to the investors of this project.

If the energy industry is pulling out even with the enormous subsidies and threats to conventional energy production, the investment case for the green fraud must be horrible. We are being led into an energy abyss.

5 posted on 04/07/2009 1:28:51 PM PDT by businessprofessor
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To: reaganaut1
Maybe they are not investing in renewables because they don't those energy sources make sense?

Last I read, electric'hybrid cars are energy negative when you calculate the extra energy it takes to build them, and charge them up.

Likewise, I've read that solar cells and wind farms are so expensive that there is no savings (negative in fact) to consumers....

6 posted on 04/07/2009 1:31:27 PM PDT by Edit35 (.)
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To: reaganaut1

I’m of the understanding that he may not have even produced that. It seems Mr. Ayers is most likely the ghost author.


7 posted on 04/07/2009 1:33:49 PM PDT by printhead
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To: reaganaut1
But the world’s oil giants are not convinced that it will work.

What will work? There is nothing to this but hot air.

Obama's "renewable" energy program does nothing to replace middle east oil. All the wind energy in the world will not replace a drop of OPEC oil. What does it do? At best, it replaces coal and natural gas, resources we have enormous supplies of, and it replaces them at enormous cost.

It is a sham and a fraud.

Meanwhile they are doing everything they can to stymie domestic energy production, the real kind, the kind that really will replace OPEC oil. Why would that be? Because they are shills for OPEC.

Their program is designed to stunt economic growth and maintain our addiction to OPEC. That part is "working" just great.

8 posted on 04/07/2009 1:34:39 PM PDT by marron
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To: reaganaut1

I suppose the oil companies are next on his list of intimidation.


9 posted on 04/07/2009 1:35:08 PM PDT by jersey117
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To: Eric in the Ozarks
Bambi’s energy secretary said wind could replace 3000 coal fired power plants.

Yep. Put one turbine in front of Zero's mouth, and another behind Barney Frank's arse ... 3 gigawatts, easily.

10 posted on 04/07/2009 1:36:48 PM PDT by ArrogantBustard (Western Civilization is Aborting, Buggering, and Contracepting itself out of existence.)
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To: businessprofessor
Ken Salazar was recently touting the virtues of offshore wind potential

Ken Salazar from COLORADO, talking about the merits of off-shore wind farms? Typical politician, talking with fake and unjustified authority on subjects they know NOTHING about.

Next thing you know Obama will pronunce himself on ... I don't know ... building cars?!?!

11 posted on 04/07/2009 1:36:49 PM PDT by mwilli20 (BO. Making communists proud all over the world.)
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To: Edit35

PSSSSTTTT...

The wind farms require LOTS and LOTS of lubrication to make the “whirlies” go around and around.....

It is early April amd by late May get ready for the “GASOLINE SPIKE”...the refineries will be shutting down heating oil refining...have to do maintenance and PRESTO back to make Summer mixes....


12 posted on 04/07/2009 1:37:45 PM PDT by antivenom (The messiah turning worthless mortgages into redeemable assets (like water into wine)...)
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To: reaganaut1

Hussein is a hack.


13 posted on 04/07/2009 1:38:41 PM PDT by Recovering_Democrat (I'm SO glad I no longer belong to the party of Dependence on Government!)
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To: reaganaut1
The irony of all this “green” energy mumbo jumbo bamboozlement is that there is nothing on the Earth that plants need more than water and CO2. Oil & gas are the green energies. We live in an ass-backwards world!


14 posted on 04/07/2009 1:39:41 PM PDT by avacado
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To: jersey117

Hard to intimidate what hasn’t been unionized...or isn’t asking for hand outs...


15 posted on 04/07/2009 1:40:36 PM PDT by antivenom (The messiah turning worthless mortgages into redeemable assets (like water into wine)...)
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To: reaganaut1

Remember when the DNC and their press monkeys used to find it scandalous that our president and vice-president actually knew something about the energy business?

And demanded an investigation when Cheney consulted actual energy producers about energy policy?


16 posted on 04/07/2009 1:43:31 PM PDT by marron
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To: reaganaut1

India and China each have populations of 1 billion people. India and China are getting online to use gasoline cars.

If man IS causing global warming, the contributions from these 2 nations will outweigh ANY savings that come from USA getting off of gasoline.

This is against American industry and interests. Man Made Global Warming is a hoax and a “crisis” that is being used to usher in “CHANGE”. Economic “CHANGE” that will cripple our nation. As designed.


17 posted on 04/07/2009 1:44:04 PM PDT by a fool in paradise ( “Saving the New York Times now ranks with saving Darfur as a high-minded cause.”NYTimes Bill Kell)
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To: reaganaut1

If any freepers out there are looking to deal with oil, please contact me.


18 posted on 04/07/2009 1:44:07 PM PDT by FreeManWhoCan ("Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.")
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To: reaganaut1

Oh goody..Our Resident Idiotnot content with trying to destroy the banking industry and the auto industry nowwants to destroy the oil/gas industry. By the time the Resident is done we will not even recognize America......


19 posted on 04/07/2009 1:47:46 PM PDT by SECURE AMERICA (Coming to You From the Front Lines of Occupied America)
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To: a fool in paradise
If man IS causing global warming, the contributions from these 2 nations will outweigh ANY savings that come from USA getting off of gasoline.

...or one decent volcanic eruption.

20 posted on 04/07/2009 1:50:18 PM PDT by WOBBLY BOB (ACORN:American Corruption for Obama Right Now)
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