Inhofe Floor Remarks On Increasing America Energy Supply
July 24, 2008
Mr. President, I would like to draw the Senate's attention to an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal. It says, "Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and other liberal leaders on Capitol Hill are gripped by a cold-sweat terror. If they permit a vote on offshore drilling, they know they will lose..." The editorial goes on to point to what the Democrats plan of action is for this problem - cut off debate. We have been in session this week and held one vote. We are considering a bill relating to energy, but the Democrats are not allowing us to offer any amendments to find new sources of energy when this editorial points out that at least 65% of America's recoverable oil and 40% of America's natural gas is under a moratorium. I ask unanimous consent that at the end of my remarks this editorial appear in the Record.
Throughout this week, I have heard a number of my Democratic colleagues come to the floor and express their support for increased drilling. Well, apparently this has all been some kind of misunderstanding. I have taken their consistent votes against increasing domestic production as being against new drilling. If we are all agreed that new domestic production is part of what we need to do, then let's get some votes underway. I have a listing of some recent quotes from some of my Democratic colleagues.
The American public understands the need for new domestic production. Recent polling has shown 67 percent of the American people now support offshore drilling, with just 18 percent opposed. 64 percent believe that if offshore drilling is allowed, gas prices will go down. Another poll found that 81 percent of Americans support greater use of domestic energy resources. Both papers in my home state of Oklahoma have weighed in on this issue in recent editorials. The Tulsa World and Oklahoman have weighed in pointing to how new production can be done in an environmental manner. The Tulsa World wrote, "President George W. Bush made the correct decision when he lifted the White House's 18-year ban on offshore drilling... No one wants the environment damaged. This work can be done safely. It could help in the long term, if only Congress had the good sense to act." The Oklahoman wrote, "Democrats reacted to President Bush's lifting of an executive ban on offshore oil drilling by vowing to keep in place congressional prohibitions dating to the 1980s. The debate over energy policy just keeps getting better and better. For years the Democratic Party has blocked efforts to significantly increase production of American sources of offshore oil and natural gas, citing potential danger to beaches in California and Florida and dismissing any new oil finds as too far in the future to help U.S. energy needs. Both arguments have less persuasive steam with the current oil prices. Certainly, if drilling offshore had gotten under way a decade or more ago - instead of being stymied - Americans know it would be online now and helping to absorb some of the current price increase."
New domestic production should happen, and it can be done in an environmentally appropriate manner. No country on earth has exploration technology as advanced and environmentally sound as ours. Major spills from drilling and production platforms are nearly non-existent. Both Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which were massive Category 5's, plowed through the heart of Gulf oil production just four weeks apart, yet no major spills occurred.
I have highlighted the amounts of domestic reserves previously, but I think it's important to continue to point out the amount of reserves in the U.S. The OCS holds 14 billion barrels of oil and 55 trillion cubic feet of gas which is equivalent to 25 years worth imports from Saudi Arabia. ANWR holds 10 billion barrels or 15 years worth of imports from Saudi Arabia. Today we would have 1 million additional barrels of oil a day coming from ANWR. Compared to the size of Alaska, ANWR's 19 million acres is about the same size of South Carolina and of that area, Republicans propose opening about 1.5 million acres to exploration which is roughly 6 percent of ANWR. Of those 1.5 million acres, only 2,000 -- an area the size of Washington's Dulles International Airport -- would be devoted to drilling. This is only one example of new production which can occur in an environmentally exacting manner. The potential energy development from the Rocky Mountain oil shale is truly massive with reports estimating up to 2 trillion barrels. But, once again, Democrats are blocking development. The Consolidated Appropriations Act last year established a one-year moratorium on the necessary funding to complete the final regulations for commercial leasing of oil shale. Without Congressional action, a one-year delay could end up lasting much longer, and, like the Outer Continental Shelf appropriations moratorium, continue year-after-year. The Rand corporation estimates that as many as 1.1 trillion barrels are recoverable and at prices as low as $35 to $48 dollars per barrel, within the first 12 years of commercial scale production. At current rates of consumption, 1.1 trillion barrels equals more than 145 years of domestic supply. This number would nearly double assuming the Department of Energy's estimate of nearly 2 trillion potentially-recoverable barrels. Finally, development is ongoing in the Canadian oil sands were proven reserves amount to 179 billion barrels. We need to continue to preserve access to these areas and lift the prohibition on federal agencies from purchasing fuel from this critical area.
In an effort to hide their true record of blocking access to America's own resources, the Democrats are engaged in a campaign of shifting blame claiming that there are 68 million acres in America where oil and gas companies have bought the right to drill and they are sitting on them. Some 44 percent of the leases that have been issued are already producing oil and gas, and energy companies are in the process of exploring their remaining leases to determine the energy potential of those lands. Reportedly, it takes an average of 11 years for the average onshore lease to begin development production. The costs associated with each lease range from $519 million to $3 billion due to planning and permits. However, very simply, not all leases contain oil. Sometimes at the end of the day there is no oil or gas found on a lease. For example, between 2002 and 2007, 52% of all the exploration wells and 8% of all development wells were dry. David Curtiss, the Washington director of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, says, "There's the misconception that every lease has oil. A lease is a line on a map. It has nothing to do with the geology of where oil is."
We are presently considering a bill to impose new rules on speculating claiming that speculators have been driving the price for oil to record highs. Even if speculators are having a negative effect on the price of fuels, I'm concerned that the wrong Congressional action could actually exacerbate the problem. Rhetoric on the impact of speculators simply lays the ground work to once again implement price controls. Looking back to the 1970's, we now know that price controls lead to shortages, rationing, and long lines at the gas station. Over the last few days, the name of Boone Pickens has been invoked many times. When asked what he thought about speculation, he recently said that "[Speculation] doesn't have anything to do with it. You have 85 million barrels of oil available in the world, and demand is at 86.4. I don't think that guy over in China paying $140 for oil is blaming Wall Street speculators for what's happened to him. Everybody tries to place the blame. And the blame is our own lack of leadership over the last 40 years on energy." I have a list of quotes from experts, academics, economists and others commenting on the impact of speculation.
The Republicans have consistently proposed measures to address high gas prices. We have proposed the American Energy Production Act of 2008 to open supplies. We have proposed the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008. I have introduced my Gas PRICE Act in the previous Congress and in this Congress. I have also introduced my American Affordable Fuels Act, which not only opens up domestic supplies but contains my Gas PRICE Act, which streamlines, implements deadlines, and offers EDA grants to communities to encourage development of refineries involved in coal liquification or coal to liquids processing, renewable fuels, and crude oil and other petroleum products. The bill also includes accelerated depreciation for cellulosic biofuel plant property for facilities and equipment used to produce switchgrass and other dedicated energy crop seed for the developing cellolosic biofuels industry. I have also introduced my Drive America on Natural Gas Act which includes provisions such as extending the tax credit for dedicated alternative fuel vehicles to apply to bi-fuel vehicles (natural gas and gasoline vehicles), amending the Renewable Fuel Standard to include compressed natural gas and liquid natural gas to meet RFS mandate, directing the EPA to carry out a demonstration program to assist States to develop compressed and liquid natural gas fueled vehicles programs, and removes disincentive to convert vehicles to CNG by repealing EPA's regulatory re-certification requirement and lifting emission certification for older vehicles.
In fact, yesterday the Republican leader offered a UC request that 7 Republican energy amendments be considered in order for consideration in this legislation dealing with opening the OCS, Oil Shale, Alaskan production, Clean Nuclear energy, and Coal to liquids. The Democratic Leader objected. A number of my colleagues would like to have a full and open debate on energy costs and gasoline prices. My colleagues and I would like to amend this legislation or any other energy legislation to provide relief to prices at the pump and increase America's energy security.
Mr. President, America is not running out of oil and gas or running out of places to look for oil and gas. America is running out of places where we are allowed us to look for oil and gas. The American public has got to demand that the Democrats in Congress allow us to produce from our own resources.
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