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Redstate...
CRS Report: U.S. is
Leader in Fossil Fuel Resources
Oil,
gas, and coal are the energy sources of the past, present, and future
Posted by dhorowitz3
Thursday, March 10th
While Obama continues his implacable war on fossil fuels and campaigns
for impotent and unreliable energy sources, he incessantly condemns oil
as ‘the energy of the past’. He is obviously referring to his
self-fulfilling dream of eradicating oil from our economy; not the
proven reality of our oil reserves. According to the latest
research by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), America has more
proven reserves and undiscovered resources of gas, oil, and coal than
any other country in the world. Contrast that to the billions of
dollars in special interest subsidies that have failed to ameliorate
ineffectual ‘alternative fuels’ and it becomes quite obvious where the
energy source of the future lies.
In an impassioned and timely floor speech this morning, Senator James
Inhofe (R-OK.), an energy policy hero, elucidated the salient findings
of the CRS report. The report, which was initiated by Inhofe for
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, includes
estimates from the Energy Information Administration, U.S. Geological
Survey, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Here are some
of the key points from the report and from Inhofe’s research:
While we only have 28 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, there are
135 billion additional barrels of undiscovered, yet recoverable, oil
resources throughout our territory. In other words, as a result
of the war against drilling, we can only “prove” the existence of 18%
of the total 163 billion barrels. This is because we can’t officially
prove the exact amount of fuel resources until we explore and drill
them. If we were to tap into our resources, we could cancel our
imports from the Persian Gulf for 50 years, still meeting our energy
needs.
Parenthetically, the cessation of Libya’s mere 1.7 million barrels of
production per day has caused chaos in the global market. Were we
to pump our oil reserves at a similar rate, the oil would last for 263
years. This would presumably have a commensurately positive
effect on oil prices.
America’s combined recoverable natural gas, oil, and coal reserves are
far larger than that of China, Saudi Arabia, and Canada combined.
Future reserves of natural gas total 2,047 trillion cubic feet,
sufficient to satiate U.S. energy demands for 90 years.
The U.S. is the world’s leader in coal reserves, at 28% of the world’s
known coal. The 262 billion short tons are enough to satisfy our
annual needs for 218 years.
The Department of Energy estimates that there are 1.38 trillion barrels
of recoverable oil shale in the Rockies. That amounts to five
times the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia.
Obviously, not all of the estimated resources necessarily exist or can
be extracted in an economical way. Yet, how can we ever determine
the truth if the Democrats continue to impound our natural
resources? If they are so skeptical of our ability to develop our
fossil fuel resources, why not afford us the opportunity to try?
How can we utilize the innovations in drilling technology if we cannot
apply them in the field? Either way, history has shown that the
more we drill, the more oil there is to discover. And, the more
we drill, the more efficient, economical, and environmentally friendly
the technology becomes.
Barack Obama is eager to deride our ‘addiction to oil’ as some sort of
pejorative. We wear that label as a badge of honor. If
there is a prudent and meritorious addiction in the world, it is our
patronage of fossil fuels. These energy sources were responsible
for the most unprecedented proliferation of prosperity in world
history. God-given fossil fuels have been instrumental in
endowing us with the highest standard of living on the planet.
The only odious addiction in the realm of energy reliance is Obama’s
addiction to the regressive lifestyle of the Middle Ages.
Read it with links at Redstate
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