As oil approaches $100 a barrel and the price at the gas pump crosses the $3 per gallon mark, we need to take a good look at what we are doing to develop our own natural resources. We also need to admit that until something better comes along, we are a carbon fuel based economy. The Spanish found out that when they tried to convert to a ‘green’ economy, they had to abandon the effort because it was too expensive. We need to learn from their experience.<\/p>\n
Chron.com<\/a> reported yesterday on the efforts of Houston-based ATP Oil & Gas to get a permit to drill a sidetrack off an existing well — a relatively low-risk proposal for the world of deep-water drilling. It was even revised and updated to meet all of the new requirements imposed on deep- water permits in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon accident<\/font><\/strong><\/a>. <\/p>\n According to the article:<\/p>\n “More than 70 days later, the company is still waiting. At a price of about $330,000 per day, Bulmahn has started to get impatient, leading him to take some actions unusual for the company. <\/p>\n “First, ATP hired Washington, D.C.<\/font><\/strong><\/a>, lobbyists for the first time to help push its cause.<\/p>\n “”I usually look with great disdain on lobbying efforts,” Bulmahn said.<\/em><\/p>\n “Then he wrote a personal letter to <\/em>President Barack Obama<\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/a> – copied to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and <\/em>Michael Bromwich<\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/a>, director of the <\/em>Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement<\/em><\/font><\/strong><\/a> – pleading with him to “Please issue a permit so we can go back to work.”<\/em><\/p>\n “And on Sunday he ran the letter as an advertisement in the Chronicle.<\/em><\/p>\n “”I can’t afford to keep these workers employed and playing cards,” Bulmahn said.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Many in the oil industry believe that there is a de facto moratorium on Gulf drilling since the oil spill. The area was opened up in October for drilling, but only a limited number of permits have been approved.<\/p>\n The result of this failure to develop our own natural resources is increased dependency on countries that are financing terrorism, an unfavorable trade balance, and high unemployment in our own country. We need to be wise in how we develop energy–we need to protect the environment, but we also need to understand the world we live in and its economic realities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As oil approaches $100 a barrel and the price at the gas pump crosses the $3 per gallon mark, we need to take a good look at what we are doing to develop our own natural resources. We also need … Continue reading \n