Check out the story here: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5770636
This is the worst news I have heard in days (other than the untimely passing of Steve Irwin). Just what America’s oil companies need – another excuse to continue with drilling. The suggestion is that the amount discovered could provide enough barrels at a rate sufficient to fulfill many of America’s oil needs for another 20 years.
Great. That way oil companies can continue to hold onto power and control of the American fuel sector for even longer and in the process strangle any attempts to innovate or move towards alternative fuels. “We have just found another 20 years worth!” Another 20 years of pollution. Another 20 years of relying on an oil-based politics that destabilize other regions. Another 20 years of delay before we really tackle how to power this country (and this globe) cleanly and efficiently for years to come.
This is horrible news.
It is bad news in that it allows us to continue our addition and say “well we’ve got plenty more!”, but over the long-term it probably won’t make any difference. Oil is a global market, not an American one, since we don’t live in a bubble. The highest estimate I saw for the oil field was 15b barrels, which is 6 months global supply, ranging down to as low as 3b barrels, which would be ~1 month… and that’s at current consumption rates, ignoring the fact that global oil consumption has increased consistantly for 100+ years. It won’t be online for, likely, 10 years in any significant quantity, and I can’t imagine it will be cheap, given that it’s miles deep in the ocean and right in Katrina alley. I think by 2015 when this stuff is online and we fill up our cars, gas will already be sufficiently expensive that people won’t care that some of it came from this field.
By: bwalsh on September 13, 2006
at 9:45 am