Free Republic

Energy Policy: As the job-killing deepwater drilling ban continues offshore, our interior secretary defends an onshore ban imposed in Utah. If we could drill in places like that, maybe oil wouldn't be gushing a mile under the Gulf of Mexico. The 64-million-gallon question in the Gulf oil spill is why we were drilling 5,000 feet down in the first place. The administration line, as expressed by the president in his recent Oval Office speech, is that oil resources on land and just offshore are running out. The falsity of that claim can be seen in the battle over 77 oil...

Energy The administration asked for public comments on a plan to expand offshore drilling. When they came in 2-to-1 in favor, the Interior Department sat on the news. Time for a "Texas tea" party? When you ask for public comment on a major policy issue, at some point you should make the results public, not hide them until you can figure out a way to spin the public reaction to support a conclusion you've already drawn. On its last business day in office, the Bush administration published a proposed draft of a five-year plan to lease areas in the Atlantic...

A Bush administration decision that sparked hot controversy in Utah has been turned topsy-turvy by the Obama Administration. New Interior Secretary Ken Salazar this afternoon canceled 77 oil and gas leases in Utah. In a news release, he said oil and gas supplies need to be developed responsibly to help reduce dependence on foreign oil, but it must be done in a thoughtful, balanced way that protects signature landscapes and cultural resources. The 77 parcels, which are the subject of a temporary restraining order, were part of a Dec. 19, 2008 lease sale offering 130 parcels in three areas in...

When Arizona Sen. John McCain accepted the Republican nomination for president, he vowed to cut America's reliance on foreign oil by opening up the nation's Atlantic and Pacific coasts to drilling—drawing cheers from GOP delegates on hand for his party's national convention. "We will drill new oil wells offshore, and we'll drill them now," McCain pledged to his faithful, who gushed with enthusiastic chants of "drill, baby, drill!" The ultimate goal, the candidate said: to "stop sending $700 billion a year (for oil) to countries that don't like us very much." No one disputes that a lot of oil lies...

A U.S. appeals court Monday awarded nearly a dozen oil companies more than $1 billion to recover costs from breached 1980s exploration and production leases off the coast of California. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous court's decision for the plaintiffs claiming the government owed them for the bonuses paid for the Outer Continental Shelf leases. It may send a strong signal to congressional lawmakers who've been trying to force oil companies to pay royalties on offshore oil and gas leases signed in the late 1990s that omitted royalty relief provisions. "It's very important...

Washington, DC – Today the Institute for Energy Research released a chart that debunks the myths surrounding the development of federal leases. As Russia threatens Europe’s oil pipeline in Georgia and Iran threatens to cutoff Middle East oil at the Strait of Hormuz, America’s energy and economic security depend on understanding the reality of domestic energy development, says Institute for Energy Research President Tom Pyle.Democrats, though, are blocking access to US energy resources with phony claims that oil companies are just sitting on 68 million acres of untapped leases and don’t require access to new areas, he says. To strike...

Todays announcement from BLM should serve to remind Democratic leaders that NPR-A is already open for energy production, is already in the process of being leased for energy development, and has otherwise been explored for more than a generation. Democrats brought forth their Use It or Lose It bill without knowing it was already the law of the land... todays announcement is good news for the American people -- and bad news for Democratic leaders who worked furiously to prevent these lease sales from going forward ... Unfortunately, very little happening this week in Washington will get us any closer...

"I want you to think about this," Barack Obama said in Las Vegas last week. "The oil companies have already been given 68 million acres of federal land, both onshore and offshore, to drill. They're allowed to drill it, and yet they haven't touched it – 68 million acres that have the potential to nearly double America's total oil production." Wow, how come the oil companies didn't think of that? Perhaps because the notion is obviously false – at least to anyone who knows how oil and gas exploration actually works. Predictably, however, Mr. Obama's claim is also the mantra...

Democrat Claim: “In an effort to compel oil and gas companies to produce on the 68 million acres of federal lands, both onshore and offshore, that are leased but sitting idle, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) today introduced legislation that gives Big Oil one option - either ‘use it or lose it.’” (Release, 6/12/08) The Facts: “Use It or Lose It” is already the law of the land. The Secretary of the Interior ALREADY can “cancel” a lease if the lessee “fails to comply” with the law, regulations or the terms of the lease.

Press Releases Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami 202-226-7616 For Immediate Release 06/23/2008 Pelosi Statement on Senator McCain’s Energy Proposals Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on Senator John McCain’s energy proposals: “With American consumers and businesses struggling as the price at the pump cascades across our economy, Senator McCain’s proposals show he aims to continue the ‘drill and veto’ policies of the current Administration. John McCain’s energy proposal is an attempt to divert attention away from his recent flip flop and his support of the failed Bush-Cheney policies that have resulted in skyrocketing gasoline prices for...

Dear Member of Congress: In recent weeks, there has been much discussion about access and federal oil and natural gas leases, and I thought it helpful to provide you with information on this matter. The criticism of the oil and natural gas industry is that it seeks greater access to our nation’s resources under federal lands when companies already own many leases that are allegedly sitting there, undeveloped and producing nothing. There are now even calls for oil companies to be denied new leases, if they have “unexploited” leases. To many, this criticism may sound reasonable. However, these claims of...

A bill introduced in Congress this week would "compel" oil and natural gas companies to produce from federal lands they are leasing. If only it were that easy to find and produce oil. Imagine, an act of Congress that could do what geology could not. These lawmakers ask why oil and gas companies want more access to federal lands to drill if they aren't using all of the 68 million acres they already have? Anyone with even the most basic understanding of how oil and natural gas are produced – and this should include many members of Congress – knows...

As gas prices increase, Congress is feeling more and more pressures from its constituencies to explore for oil in areas that are off-limits, including the Outer Continental Shelf and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Many politicians in Washington, D.C. oppose those efforts due to environmental concerns, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on June 12 he’s not opposed to drilling, but said oil companies aren’t using the leases they have. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with drilling,” Hoyer said. “But the fact of the matter is we have 80 percent of the leases that...

June 18, 2008 Reid: Bush And McCain Still Don't Get It - We Cannot Drill Our Way Out Of This Energy Crisis Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following statement today in response to President Bush’s proposal to drill offshore for oil: “This week’s flip-flop on offshore oil drilling by President Bush and Senator John McCain is nothing more than a cynical campaign ploy that will do nothing to lower energy prices and represents another big giveaway to oil companies already making billions in profits. “The facts are clear: Oil companies have already had ample opportunity to increase...

Democrat claims that leases are “sitting idle” are FALSE and MISLEADING.Here are the facts: FACT: Once a lease is secured, a long, comprehensive exploration process begins that“can require years of mapping, testing, drilling and construction” and can cost “millions or even billions of dollars.” Bidding on, paying for and securing a lease is not a license to drill, nor can production occur immediately. Even after “time delays” associated with initial leasing and drilling of exploratory wells, it has taken nearly a decade to produce energy on leases in the past. Democrats mislead when they say a classification of “not in...

House Democrats responded to President Bush's proposal to end the moratorium on offshore as well as Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by telling the president to drop dead, although they used a lot more words to make the same point. The Democrats' main argument was that the oil industry is already in possession of 68 million acres of oil leases and that Big Oil should drill away on those before they come around asking the federal government for any more land or ocean floor. At a Capitol Hill press conference following Bush's White House Rose Garden appearance, Rep. Ed Markey of...

An apparent drafting error resulted in the omission of provisions from federal offshore oil and gas leases signed in 1998 and 1999 that could cost the government billions of dollars in lost royalties in coming decades, lawmakers learned Wednesday. At issue are leases drafted after Congress passed a law that was designed to reduce royalty payments during periods of low energy prices to provide an incentive for more production and exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. The law, which went into effect in 1996, also required the government to set thresholds that would boost royalty payments if energy prices were...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A pair of high-profile but delayed Alaska oil and gas lease sales are expected to draw heavy interest when bidding takes place next week, a state energy official said on Thursday. High oil prices and an increased number of interested energy companies are expected to boost demand for the leases that will provide producers with the right to explore for oil and gas on state territory, said Bill Van Dyke, acting director of the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas. The leases to the North Slope area and the Beaufort Sea are in the...

<p>WASHINGTON -- Congress is virtually certain to stop the Bush administration from spending money next year to prepare for the development of offshore oil leases along California's central coast.</p> <p>The delay is intended to give the Interior Department and the oil industry another year to strike a deal to retire 36 controversial leases.</p>