Obama: "We Can't Drill Our Way Out of an Oil Shortage"

[LowDown]

One more thing the President is wrong about.

The Rystad Energy consultancy has just released its new calculations of global oil reserves and estimates that the U.S. may harbor as much 264 billion barrels of oil compared to Saudi Arabia's 212 billion barrels. Overall, world oil reserves exceed 2 trillion barrels. At current production rates, this is enough oil to supply the world for 70 years.

The Rystad analysts compare their estimates with those of the closely watched annual BP Statistical Review that conservatively calculates that the U.S. has 55 billion barrels of proved reserves and that world reserves stand at just under 1.7 trillion barrels.

The stone age didn't come to an end because we ran out of stones. The oil age will not come to an end because we run out of oil. Technology will move beyond oil, and it's got plenty of time to do that.

Another in a list of predicted apocalyptic endings that will never happen: No population bomb, no global famine, no global warming, and no peak oil.

But there's always the Sweet Meteor of Death.

 

[blaxshep]

No population bomb, no global famine, no global warming, and no peak oil.

You sound as absurd as the liberals that say No debt problem. Its only a matter of time before :hitsfan:

.... one way or another.

 

[Deuce]

One more thing the President is wrong about.



The stone age didn't come to an end because we ran out of stones. The oil age will not come to an end because we run out of oil. Technology will move beyond oil, and it's got plenty of time to do that.

Another in a list of predicted apocalyptic endings that will never happen: No population bomb, no global famine, no global warming, and no peak oil.

But there's always the Sweet Meteor of Death.

"Running out" of oil isn't the issue.

1.7 trillion barrels exist but not nearly that much is extractable at or near current prices.

 

[11Bravo]

You sound as absurd as the liberals that say No debt problem. Its only a matter of time before :hitsfan:

.... one way or another.

Better build your Al Gore-approved Global Warming Defense Bunker.

 

[JasperL]

One more thing the President is wrong about.

The stone age didn't come to an end because we ran out of stones. The oil age will not come to an end because we run out of oil. Technology will move beyond oil, and it's got plenty of time to do that.

Another in a list of predicted apocalyptic endings that will never happen: No population bomb, no global famine, no global warming, and no peak oil.

But there's always the Sweet Meteor of Death.

That's not the whole story - from the source study: United States now holds more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia

This data confirms that there is a relatively limited amount of recoverable oil left on the planet. With the global car-park possibly doubling from 1 billion to 2 billion cars over the next 30 years, it becomes very clear that oil alone cannot satisfy the growing need for individual transport.

And about half the U.S. reserves are in dirty and relatively expensive to recover shale oil.

FWIW, I couldn't find Obama saying those words, so it's unclear what the context was. Do you have a cite for that quote?

 

[DVSentinel]

"Running out" of oil isn't the issue.

1.7 trillion barrels exist but not nearly that much is extractable at or near current prices.

Not in the US, but in other countries it is. US Labor and regulatory environments make it too costly here.

 

[RetiredUSN]

Oil will never completely run out completely. It is constantly formed through the process of decomposition, but the rate of decomposition is hardly fast enough to continue it's use a viable universal fuel.

 

[blaxshep]

Better build your Al Gore-approved Global Warming Defense Bunker.

Actually I'm more worried about the debt or liberal globalism than global warming as the next big crisis.

 

[11Bravo]

Actually I'm more worried about the debt or liberal globalism than global warming as the next big crisis.

Still, the shelter is a nice place to hide.

 

[JasperL]

Not in the US, but in other countries it is. US Labor and regulatory environments make it too costly here.

According to the estimate, about 1/3 is in shale oil and another 1/3 offshore, so it's hard to see that being extracted as cheaply as what most of past production has been.

Also, sure, in countries where they can offload the environmental costs on others, it can be extracted "cheaper" but only because the costs are shifted to the population instead of captured in the price of the oil.

 

[longview]

That's not the whole story - from the source study: United States now holds more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia



And about half the U.S. reserves are in dirty and relatively expensive to recover shale oil.

FWIW, I couldn't find Obama saying those words, so it's unclear what the context was. Do you have a cite for that quote?

I think much of the reserves are under the Gulf of Mexico. There is a salt dome down there bigger than any other found on Earth.
It is just under 900 fathoms of water! There is plenty of oil left, it just will not be cheap or easy to extract.
All of this does not matter, because when the price of oil gets around $90 a barrel, the refineries can start making
their own feedstock from water air and energy.

 

[rocket88]

One more thing the President is wrong about.



The stone age didn't come to an end because we ran out of stones. The oil age will not come to an end because we run out of oil. Technology will move beyond oil, and it's got plenty of time to do that.

Another in a list of predicted apocalyptic endings that will never happen: No population bomb, no global famine, no global warming, and no peak oil.

But there's always the Sweet Meteor of Death.

Will it really still be the oil age when we move beyond oil? The Bronze Age ended, but I think we're doing alright.

 

[rocket88]

I think much of the reserves are under the Gulf of Mexico. There is a salt dome down there bigger than any other found on Earth.
It is just under 900 fathoms of water! There is plenty of oil left, it just will not be cheap or easy to extract.
All of this does not matter, because when the price of oil gets around $90 a barrel, the refineries can start making
their own feedstock from water air and energy.

If it's not cheap or easy to extract, no amount of government magic is going to make $2/gallon gas. So there is a small problem there.

 

[longview]

If it's not cheap or easy to extract, no amount of government magic is going to make $2/gallon gas. So there is a small problem there.

Well I think $2 a gallon gas is about to disappear for a while. It could come back if we ever develop fusion energy.
It takes about 50 Kwh of energy to make a gallon of gasoline with the current technology,
(Exxon can likely improve on that a bit, but do not show their cards.)
The wholesale rate for electricity id about $50 per Mwh, or $.05 per Kwh, so $2.50 per gallon leaving the refinery.
It takes an additional $.77 for taxes and distribution and marketing, so a gallon of gasoline with the current taxes
will be about $3.30 a gallon.
People are always chanting that our Government needs to do "something"!
Perhaps that something is to clean up the patchwork of regulations that govern home solar power,
so it can be palatable by both the home power producer and the utilities.
While they are at it the electrical grid is in need of some massive upgrades.

 

[rocket88]

Well I think $2 a gallon gas is about to disappear for a while. It could come back if we ever develop fusion energy.
It takes about 50 Kwh of energy to make a gallon of gasoline with the current technology,
(Exxon can likely improve on that a bit, but do not show their cards.)
The wholesale rate for electricity id about $50 per Mwh, or $.05 per Kwh, so $2.50 per gallon leaving the refinery.
It takes an additional $.77 for taxes and distribution and marketing, so a gallon of gasoline with the current taxes
will be about $3.30 a gallon.
People are always chanting that our Government needs to do "something"!
Perhaps that something is to clean up the patchwork of regulations that govern home solar power,
so it can be palatable by both the home power producer and the utilities.
While they are at it the electrical grid is in need of some massive upgrades.

Solar? You've just been disowned by conservatives everywhere!

I personally like renewable sources, but the infrastructure so far has been a little unwieldy. But I like your basic idea. Clean up regulations and tax credits for renewable energy sources. Of course it's a third rail in politics. Propose that and you're done for.

 

[longview]

Solar? You've just been disowned by conservatives everywhere!

I personally like renewable sources, but the infrastructure so far has been a little unwieldy. But I like your basic idea. Clean up regulations and tax credits for renewable energy sources. Of course it's a third rail in politics. Propose that and you're done for.

I have little patients for social conservatives, or fiscal liberals.
We now have a way to store energy in a usable form, but we still need the energy to be available for the process.
The weak point is many of the alternatives,(solar, wind, tidal, ect)has been that they are incompatible with
our energy needs in both density and duty cycle.
Storage changes everything! Surplus energy can be accumulated and stored for when it is needed.
(It has losses, but better than batteries, and compatible with existing infrastructure.
I think the modifications to the renewable energy regulations can be made without too much damage.
The current setup in most areas is unsustainable, and is starting to discourage home solar.
I was thinking the program may not involve the government at all, but some big oil company.
The oil company would buy surplus power from home owners, with fuel credits for their car, or natural gas credits
for winter heating.

 

[LowDown]

That's not the whole story - from the source study: United States now holds more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia



And about half the U.S. reserves are in dirty and relatively expensive to recover shale oil.

FWIW, I couldn't find Obama saying those words, so it's unclear what the context was. Do you have a cite for that quote?

I got the quote a little wrong. It was "We can't just drill ourselves to lower gas prices." from a speech bashing Republican calls for more drilling. But, in fact, we did.

 

[DamnYankee]

I got the quote a little wrong. It was "We can't just drill ourselves to lower gas prices." from a speech bashing Republican calls for more drilling. But, in fact, we did.

Yeah, we did.

That was just another lie told by BO. Anything to screw America.

 

[LowDown]

You sound as absurd as the liberals that say No debt problem. Its only a matter of time before :hitsfan:

.... one way or another.

Nope. All of that will fail to appear for the same reason: the world growth in population is falling and is trending to level off at 10 billion. That is a sustainable number, and so the limits won't be reached assuming our technology adjusts.

But, like I say, for those of you who are addicted to apocalyptic visions of the future, there's always SMOD. Nature can erase the slate and start over at any time.

 

[LowDown]

Yeah, we did.

That was just another lie told by BO. Anything to screw America.

I don't think it was a lie. I think BO and his pals really believe this nonsense, which is more dangerous. A liar with lie and lie about impending doom for some benefit he hopes to get, but he won't lie to the point that he himself is harmed. But these guys will harm themselves following the silly policies they get from what they believe.

 

[blaxshep]

Nope. All of that will fail to appear for the same reason: the world growth in population is falling and is trending to level off at 10 billion. That is a sustainable number, and so the limits won't be reached assuming our technology adjusts.

But, like I say, for those of you who are addicted to apocalyptic visions of the future, there's always SMOD. Nature can erase the slate and start over at any time.

10B based on what non-sense?

 

[JasperL]

I got the quote a little wrong. It was "We can't just drill ourselves to lower gas prices." from a speech bashing Republican calls for more drilling. But, in fact, we did.

The net increase in our production cannot begin to explain the move in oil prices, so that small bit of extra production in the world market made some difference, but that's not why oil prices collapsed. You'd have a much better argument with natural gas and electricity prices.

 

[Velvet Elvis]

One more thing the President is wrong about.

Obama's idea about the coal and oil industry is like driving down a highway, and he sees that he's down to an eighth of a tank of gas.

"Michelle, we're about to run out of gas. We need to blow the car up. Hand me that stick of dynamite."

 

[beerftw]

I have little patients for social conservatives, or fiscal liberals.
We now have a way to store energy in a usable form, but we still need the energy to be available for the process.
The weak point is many of the alternatives,(solar, wind, tidal, ect)has been that they are incompatible with
our energy needs in both density and duty cycle.
Storage changes everything! Surplus energy can be accumulated and stored for when it is needed.
(It has losses, but better than batteries, and compatible with existing infrastructure.
I think the modifications to the renewable energy regulations can be made without too much damage.
The current setup in most areas is unsustainable, and is starting to discourage home solar.
I was thinking the program may not involve the government at all, but some big oil company.
The oil company would buy surplus power from home owners, with fuel credits for their car, or natural gas credits
for winter heating.

Storage is the issue, and always has been. This is why solar and wind has been very populr in tiny off grid homes rather than large on grid homes. Solar only works in daylight, and can be severely reduced by things like cloud coverage, wind turbines are reliant on wind, so both need viable storage.

Most use deep cycle batteries, but even they can not handle long term storage needs. Most houses I have seen that use solar have a generator, which runs part of the year to counter solar or winds weak points, since deep cycle batteries can not power a house more than a day at best even with modern 12 volt appliances.

Electric companies have better storage, like a wind farm might have a water supply, that uses excess electricity to pump water to the top, when it runs low the gate opens and gravity turns it into a hydro electric dam, and when power returns in full it pumps water back up. This works very well in an industrial scale but is useless for homeowners.

 

[longview]

Storage is the issue, and always has been. This is why solar and wind has been very populr in tiny off grid homes rather than large on grid homes. Solar only works in daylight, and can be severely reduced by things like cloud coverage, wind turbines are reliant on wind, so both need viable storage.

Most use deep cycle batteries, but even they can not handle long term storage needs. Most houses I have seen that use solar have a generator, which runs part of the year to counter solar or winds weak points, since deep cycle batteries can not power a house more than a day at best even with modern 12 volt appliances.

Electric companies have better storage, like a wind farm might have a water supply, that uses excess electricity to pump water to the top, when it runs low the gate opens and gravity turns it into a hydro electric dam, and when power returns in full it pumps water back up. This works very well in an industrial scale but is useless for homeowners.

There is a secondary problem, as the number of solar homes increases, there will be periods of oversupply, where more power is produced
than the grid requires. Off grid homes have a dump load, to "vent" the surplus.
And electrical grid will need something better.
Pumping water back up to a lake, is good where geographically possible, but not everywhere.
That is why I think hydrocarbon storage, could be a better alternative. Rather than disposing of the surplus,
it could be stored as fuel, for later or alternative use.
Whatever storage mechanism is used, it must have seasonal capability, I.E. use summer surplus for winter heating, ect.