Off Shore Oil Drilling

[lunarhiro2002]

With renewed interest in the subject thanks to our current oil prices, I thought it might be nice to have some thoughts go round on the subject.

Basically:


Should we, or should we not, begin construction of new and more efficient oil rigs off the coast of the USA?


Personally, I don't think we should.  And here is why, I don't buy this hogwash on the price of oil.  It's super inflated for no other reason than a couple of years ago some think tanks decide to tell the world that we had reached peak oil.  That combined with the current instability of the Middle Eastern region has lead to the a ridiculous increase in oil price.

Environmental reasons aside building new rigs wouldn't do anything for the price of oil.  Supply is meeting its demand, there are no shortages. 

What we really need are new refineries and new ways to refine fuel into more efficient consumption.

In short, no rigs, yes refineries. 

 

[Stardust]

Well, the idea behind building new rigs (I think) is that we would become more dependent on our own oil and less dependent on foreign oil.  Then, we could set our own prices or create competition that will make them lower their prices.  There is no reason for the prices to be so high, but if we need that oil, there isn't a lot we can do about it.

Oil rigs are good, but they aren't a permanent solution.  I believe that putting money into other sources on energy (and removing the tariff on ethanol from Brazil) would help the problem more than building oil rigs.  Solar power has a lot of potential, nuclear power is very efficient with very few consequences, and I heard a couple of days ago that someone made a car that ran mostly from air pressure.  We seem to be horribly misguided at the moment, probably because of lobbyists and corruption in government, but I feel that we will be able to fix the problem before it becomes a major issue if we make good decisions starting now.

 

[Lithium]

I agree with the above. Despite what offshore drilling may do for the price of oil in the short run (whether it does this by giving us more influence over our own prices or increasing the supply,) in the grand scheme of things we will run out of oil some day, and the longer we put off having to go to an alternative fuel source, the harder we make things for ourselves in the end. It's true, I suppose, that recently more and more people seem to be looking into this, but as long as people keep making new rigs and drilling away, the odds of everyone just up and sacrificing their current lifestyle to research new sources is highly unlikely. (and that term is, I feel, being generous) I mean really, is it better to go on ahead and try to move away now so that we can have as smooth a transition as possible, or wait until the price on oil is so high that we're all unable to pay for gas and are forced into it?

On another note, off-coast drilling gives me bad feelings from a purely environmental standpoint as well..

 

[Dissonance]

Ethanol is bullshit.  We're already suffering from a worldwide corn shortage due to ethanol conversion.  There's no possible way it will ever become a viable primary fuel source.

We need to forget about oil entirely and start pumping money into hydrogen.

 

[thelivingphoenix]

One of the problems with getting oil from our own soil here in America is the fact that it is significantly more expensive to hire American workers to pump it out of the ground than it is to buy it from foreign nations (such as in the middle east) that can get it out of the ground at a fraction of the cost.  So, I don't think that drilling here would really help oil prices very much.

I also think that the cost has been inflated on purpose to take advantage of the current situation of the world right now.  If we go to war with Iran (and we will, because Congress has a bill right now with 146 cosponsors that includes within it an international act of war against Iran, which is "stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains and cargo entering or departing Iran."... this is an act of war, folks... pick your city), then it's only going to make prices worse.  $200 a barrel oil is the plan to destroy the middle class and you can bet that it's well on its way there.  Off-shore oil drilling is not going to stop it because it would be too expensive to get our own people to run the oil rigs and the fact that even if it would work, they're not going to allow it to take place, anyway, because it interferes with their long term plan.

 

[Stardust]

Ethanol is bullshit.  We're already suffering from a worldwide corn shortage due to ethanol conversion.  There's no possible way it will ever become a viable primary fuel source.

It's not made of corn, it's made of sugar, which has proven much more efficient in numerous ways.  Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/17/AR2005061701440.html

We need to forget about oil entirely and start pumping money into hydrogen.

This is another good option, but the only problem is that it can't be combined with our current oil like ethanol can and I doubt it's cheap to convert a normal car into one that can run on hydrogen.  In the long run, it would be cost-efficient, but the up-front cost would deter a lot of people.

I also think that the cost has been inflated on purpose to take advantage of the current situation of the world right now.  If we go to war with Iran (and we will, because Congress has a bill right now with 146 cosponsors that includes within it an international act of war against Iran, which is "stringent inspection requirements on all persons, vehicles, ships, planes, trains and cargo entering or departing Iran."... this is an act of war, folks... pick your city), then it's only going to make prices worse.  $200 a barrel oil is the plan to destroy the middle class and you can bet that it's well on its way there.

It's very obvious to the average person that they're taking advantage of our situation, but the people in government don't appear to be doing much about it.  I'm not sure what they're doing, but it's not enough.  Money needs to be spent on alternative energy sources.
Also, a war in Iran is probably very popular with Congress, but they will not have the people's support.  We're tired of war, and the fact that we entered Iraq on false information didn't help the matter.  Unless Iran blows us up, I don't see a war with Iran taking place.  Should the bill be passed, there will be numerous uprisings (assuming people are willing to fight for what they believe in).  The war in Iraq has cost us so much, both in lives and money, and I doubt any normal person would be happy to start another war.

One of the problems with getting oil from our own soil here in America is the fact that it is significantly more expensive to hire American workers to pump it out of the ground than it is to buy it from foreign nations (such as in the middle east) that can get it out of the ground at a fraction of the cost.  So, I don't think that drilling here would really help oil prices very much.

That is very true.  Alternatives need to be implemented, because even if we manage to get through this, the oil will eventually run out.

 

[lunarhiro2002]

sugar is not more efficient it burns very very quickly.  What makes oil unique is how dense it is and how long it can output energy at a specfic volume when compared to other "fuels".

Hydrogen is just foolish too.  It's overly expensive, and if you crash your hydrogen car, you not only have a ruined expensive piece of equipment you now have a huge chemical spill that is extremely dangerous.

What we need is a brand new way of thinking, we need to get rid of the combustion engine and think of a new way to "engine"er a transportation vehicle.  We need to think of something that doesn't require the destruction of something to create energy...

I think that reopening the USA to drilling is just a bad move because, if we tough it out now, we'll have a strategic reserve later on when technology is better and cheaper to get it out of the earth and seafloor.

***Off Topic***
About Iran, I believe that it wont be an invasion so much as what Israel did to Syria, Lebannon, and Iraq.  It'll be quick efficent deep strikes to take out numerous nuclear facilities.  Why do you think since 2001 we have "Bunker Buster" bombs?

 

[Yeyinde]

Hydrogen is just foolish too.  It's overly expensive, and if you crash your hydrogen car, you not only have a ruined expensive piece of equipment you now have a huge chemical spill that is extremely dangerous.

So the most abundant fuel in the entire universe is overly expensive?  B dot S.  And crashing a H2-powered vehicle doesn't create a dangerous chemical spill.  The H2 lightly vents out with a nice, harmless plume of flame.

What we need is a brand new way of thinking, we need to get rid of the combustion engine and think of a new way to "engine"er a transportation vehicle.  We need to think of something that doesn't require the destruction of something to create energy...

Caution: Science Knowledge!  Combustion is not the destruction of anything.  Combustion is a chemical process which converts Oxygen, Hydrogen and Carbon (a Hydrocarbon) into Water, Carbon Dioxide, and heat energy.  Last time I checked, you can't destroy matter.

 

[lunarhiro2002]

Hydrogen is just foolish too.  It's overly expensive, and if you crash your hydrogen car, you not only have a ruined expensive piece of equipment you now have a huge chemical spill that is extremely dangerous.

So the most abundant fuel in the entire universe is overly expensive?  B dot S.  And crashing a H2-powered vehicle doesn't create a dangerous chemical spill.  The H2 lightly vents out with a nice, harmless plume of flame.

What we need is a brand new way of thinking, we need to get rid of the combustion engine and think of a new way to "engine"er a transportation vehicle.  We need to think of something that doesn't require the destruction of something to create energy...

Caution: Science Knowledge!  Combustion is not the destruction of anything.  Combustion is a chemical process which converts Oxygen, Hydrogen and Carbon (a Hydrocarbon) into Water, Carbon Dioxide, and heat energy.  Last time I checked, you can't destroy matter.

Oye...you dont have to be such a jerk over syntax.  I think we can assume that when I wrote that I knew what you were talking about.  Regardless of what I physically wrote, once fuel is burned up we cannot use that same fuel again.  That was the point I was trying to get across.

And yes Hydrogen is abundant but using it is difficult.  Let me link you to the cost of a hydrogen car. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4563676/ The Shelby Cobras start at $149,000, the pickup is $99,995 and the Hummers run $60,000 for the conversion alone — you supply the Hummer.

Not only that the hydrogen has to be stored at extreme pressures and if you hit the canisters they probably will explode on impact.


How exactly am I wrong?

 

[Yeyinde]

Not only that the hydrogen has to be stored at extreme pressures and if you hit the canisters they probably will explode on impact.


How exactly am I wrong?

Please watch: http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/daily- ... /#clip1031

 

[lunarhiro2002]

cant watch it, it says its only available in canada, and i'm not going to instal silverlite...but you could tell me about it ;D