Oil, real numbers

[DigitalShadow]

Originally Posted by Traveler

The oil that is exported is under the complete control of congress and trade agreements they ratify. Oil companies want to export as much oil as possible because it is more profitable to export than to keep our oil domestic.

We have another problem in that we do not have the refineries to process enough crude for domestic use and must rely on foreign refineries.

The Traveler

But how much of it is greedy oil companies unchecked by congress exporting to make more money and how much is out of necessity because we don't have enough refineries?

[Traveler]

BTW just as a side note nuclear fusion is a really nifty form of energy generation. We can use salty sea water directly in the process and we can get the heat we get from similar nuclear fission plus we get electricity directly from the process as well as pure drinkable water and hydrogen fuel we could use as well. Too bad we cannot control fusion for more than fractions of a seconds.

The Traveler

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by DigitalShadow

But how much of it is greedy oil companies unchecked by congress exporting to make more money and how much is out of necessity because we don't have enough refineries?

There are many factors - perhaps related to greed but some of the reasons we say we export is for security reasons, foreign relations and to help underdeveloped countries.

The Traveler

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by DigitalShadow

But how much of it is greedy oil companies unchecked by congress exporting to make more money and how much is out of necessity because we don't have enough refineries?

I am just wondering why you think the oil companies are the only greedy ones unchecked by congress - are you implying that there is no greed in congress?

I have worked with the oil companies and it is my impression that their greed is chump change compared to congressional greed.

The Traveler

[DigitalShadow]

Originally Posted by Traveler

There are many factors - perhaps related to greed but some of the reasons we say we export is for security reasons, foreign relations and to help underdeveloped countries.

The Traveler

Originally Posted by Traveler

I am just wondering why you think the oil companies are the only greedy ones unchecked by congress - are you implying that there is no greed in congress?

I have worked with the oil companies and it is my impression that their greed is chump change compared to congressional greed.

The Traveler

I certainly don't think oil companies are the only greedy ones. I thought it went without saying that congress was motivated by greed as well if they are allowing those practices. Let me rephrase my question:

Rougly how much of the export is a direct result of human greed and how much of it is a result of necessity or humanitarian effort?

To me, that question is very central to this discussion, but I honestly don't know the answer or even have a clue how to find out that type of information.

[FunkyTown]

Originally Posted by Traveler

I am just wondering why you think the oil companies are the only greedy ones unchecked by congress - are you implying that there is no greed in congress?

I have worked with the oil companies and it is my impression that their greed is chump change compared to congressional greed.

The Traveler

Greed is greed, Traveler, and while Congress is greedy, so are the oil companies. No side is good. There's no such thing as 'chump change greed'. Instead, if their greed hurts people, it is avarice and is wicked. It's as simple as that.

[Hemidakota]

Originally Posted by JohnBirchSociety

The United States produces approximately 8.4Million Barrels of oil a day. We use nearly 21Million Barrels of oil a day.

We EXPORT (Yup, I said EXPORT) approximately 1.1Million Barrels of oil a day. That leaves approximately 7.3Million Barrels a day, of our own oil, to use. So we export 13% of our daily oil production, which equates to .5% of our total daily usage.

Our leading foreign source of oil is Canada (2.6Million Barrels a day), followed by Saudi Arabia (1.5Million Barrels a day), followed by Mexico (1.4Million Barrels a day), and so on. We import 13Million Barrels a day, of oil. That is about 62% of the oil we use each day.

Considering we EXPORT 1.1Million Barrels of oil a DAY, we could reduce our dependence on imports by nearly 8% a day, but just stopping our exports. That's right. We could reduce our reliance on foreign oil by nearly 10%, IMMEDIATELY, by stopping the export of US oil.

If we take Canada and Mexico out of the equation (they've been generally friendly allies), then we're left with 9Million Barrels a day of oil from nations that are historically unfriendly with America (except for wanting our money). Now, again, if we immediately stopped exporting our oil, we'd only need to import 7.9Million Barrels a day from our enemies (for lack of a better term). That would be a decrease in current importation of 12%, with no need to drill for more oil.

Simply put, our politicians / eco-extremists / alarmists are wrong.

From public figures, we can actually "drill ourselves" out of this mess. Here's how:

1) Stop exporting our oil (1.1Million Barrels a day)
2) Drill now for our 40Billion Barrels of known oil (Standard sources, not shale or coal oils which would put us ahead of most, if not all nations in the world for total oil reserves)

So, we can immediately reduce our reliance on our enemies for oil by over 10%. And, we CAN drill ourselves out of all reliance on foreign oil.

What do you think?

Go back and research from 1986 and see what happened. You will find some surprising stuff.

Energy Information Administration - EIA - Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government

[Hemidakota]

Originally Posted by DigitalShadow

But how much of it is greedy oil companies unchecked by congress exporting to make more money and how much is out of necessity because we don't have enough refineries?

Even when our refineries are running at 68 to 72 percent of capacity? Or that oil attracted from wells have dropped to keep up the artificial pricing and the need to venture overseas?

[DigitalShadow]

Originally Posted by Hemidakota

Even when our refineries are running at 68 to 72 percent of capacity? Or that oil attracted from wells have dropped to keep up the artificial pricing and the need to venture overseas?

I was just using the information that Traveler gave me to form a question, I was not making the claim. See my revised question:

Rougly how much of the export is a direct result of human greed and how much of it is a result of necessity or humanitarian effort?

[Traveler]

Originally Posted by FunkyTown

Greed is greed, Traveler, and while Congress is greedy, so are the oil companies. No side is good. There's no such thing as 'chump change greed'. Instead, if their greed hurts people, it is avarice and is wicked. It's as simple as that.

I do not think that oil companies are greedy nor do I think that investing in oil is done by greedy people. Now there may be some oil executives that are greedy – but I would like to see blame go to where blame belongs.

First off I do not believe that 8 to 10 percent profit return on investment is greedy. Most venture capital looks for a return on investment of at least 20 percent. We honor venture capitalist as innovators that make America great. It appears to me that they are at least twice as greedy as the oil companies. Many people that I personally know that work for the oil companies just are not that greedy.

Now the top oil executives are a whole other matter but their salaries have not been that much different than other executives in pharmaceuticals, and just about any other industry. Personally I believe that the US business model is way of plumb and top heavy and I see nothing in the great change my Democratic friends tout that will make any difference – Since bribes are tax deductible as long as they are called political contributions and surprise, surprise the new president elect had twice as many bribes (er I mean contributions) as his rival.

The Traveler