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South Florida Congressional Delegation Calls Attention to Cuba’s Offshore Drilling
January 31, 2012
15 Responses to “South Florida Congressional Delegation Calls Attention to Cuba’s Offshore Drilling”
I red flag is going off in my mind…I wonder if Obama is not wanting to rock the boat with Spain after Democrats in New York and Washington state just approved contract bids for a major construction company in Spain to do some infrastructure work in their states.
Sure the demmmmcrates like it when their states get oil…etc & money from others. Just not the Republican states of Tx and La. And did this work go out for bid in this country??? Last I heard both states are NON RIGHT TO WORK, therefore our companies must pay Davis-Bacon government estabilished UNION wages. What unions in Spain are getting the work, or is it materials made in Spain and shipped here. I though obbbbmmmmmeeeerrr wanted all American Companies to get work? If there was an off-shore business transaction, perhaps, just maybe, there was a finders fee paid to someone. Like the State Rep to congress? You know just to grease the skids in Washington approval cycle. Well worth the effort to find out. Just like the Jaycee’s did when a Fla govenor got a finder fee for a bond to build multilane roads in Fla, during a Bonding Election. Follow the money.
Hey, buddy, what’s wrong with American workers making good wages?
What kind of nut are you?
Part of the reason for our economic slowdown is that working Americans don’t have as much disposable income as they used to have because middle class wages are stagnant while top executive pay has skyrocketed.
Hey, buddy, what exactly is wrong with American working men and women getting paid a good wage for a good day’s work?
How can any sane and rational person argue against that?
You must be a paid corporate stooge!!
Serves floridians right to have to pay the high price of importeds gasoline! Furter I do n ot want to hear them cry when waste from the cuban wells starts washing up on FL ‘s pristine beaches. You have been part of the problem for far to long!
Hey it’s about time! Democrats FOR Oil Drilling!
OOps, Communist Oil that is………
Debbie and Ted 2 peas in a pod for the Obamanation.
Too bad, buddy.
Oil in international waters belongs to anybody.
If the republicans and their corporate masters weren’t standing in the way of alternative fuels we wouldn’t even have to worry about this as long as they didn’t cause a spill.
Comrade Rich, I’m not your Buddy. Go live your life on “alternative fuels” or take an extended vacation in Cuba.
Great, Now that China is getting our oil from Cuba, Maybe the idiot in the whitehouse will realize we need that oil here. You can bet that the Chineese rig won’t be as carefull as our rigs. Obama said he wanted to push the price of oil to $5.00 a gallon before he ran for office to force americans to drive econoboxes, ride bus and car pool. He practices what he preaches, shares his ride with secret service
This is a rerun of win Me Martinez was in office.The GOP has no will to do anything that will benefit America.
Hey, guys, I know you all don’t like to read and prefer to be told news by the fat druggie and the folks at Faux News, but here’s a flash!!
We export tons of oil and oil products that could stay here!!
Why, because the oil companies make more money!!
Here, read up:
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Issues › Energy & Environment › Energy & Environment
Oil You May Never See
Large Portion of Gulf Coast Oil Is Exported
SOURCE: AP/Alex Brandon
A drillship sits off the Louisiana coast in 2006. A large portion of the oil produced in the Gulf Coast is shipped overseas, and this undoubtedly includes some of the offshore oil produced there.
By Daniel J. Weiss, Jacob Abraham | May 6, 2010
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This article contains a correction.
Even after the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, many politicians continue to insist that the United States must expand offshore oil drilling despite the huge health, economic, and environmental damages in the event of a blowout. They assert that this oil is essential for U.S. economic health and national security. For instance, two weeks after the BP disaster began, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) reiterated that the United States needs “more environmentally responsible development of America’s energy resources.” These are code words for more offshore oil drilling.
gulf coast oil production and exports, 2003-09
More offshore drilling in the Gulf Coast region, however, may not do much to increase our energy security. A CAP analysis (.xls) of Energy Information Administration data found that a large portion of the oil produced in the Gulf Coast region is actually exported as finished petroleum products to other nations, and this undoubtedly includes some of the offshore oil produced there (see chart at right).
These finished petroleum products consist of both consumer and industrial fuels. Diesel fuel was one-third of these exports in 2008 in the Gulf Coast, and gasoline was another 10 percent. About half of the finished petroleum products are used for electricity generation and other industrial uses.
The entire nation is divided into Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts, or PADDs, which are “a geographic aggregation of the 50 States and the District of Columbia into five Districts.” PADD III is the Gulf Coast region of Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas.
The Gulf Coast region produces an annual average of 2.7 million barrels of oil per day (2008) to 3.2 million barrels day (2003). Slightly less than half of this oil—43 percent (2008) to 49 percent (2003)—is produced offshore.
During this time, the proportion of finished petroleum product exports to other nations from this region has nearly doubled, from 19 percent in 2003 to 40 percent in 2008. Major importers of U.S. finished oil products include Mexico, Canada, and the Netherlands.
The Energy Information Administration databases do not appear to have information on the exact proportion of oil finished petroleum products made from oil from the Gulf of Mexico that is sold to other nations. But the amount of finished petroleum products exported from the PADIII region in 2008 was slightly more than the amount produced offshore. The data for 2009 is incomplete, but offshore oil production was slightly more than half of all oil produced in the Gulf Coast PADD, while exports of finished petroleum products were slightly less than half of all oil produced there.
In other words, the amount of oil produced offshore in the Gulf Region is only slightly more than total exports of finished petroleum products from that region.
A likely explanation for why the oil we’re producing is converted to finished petroleum products and shipped to other places is that oil is an international fungible commodity that is frequently traded between nations. The United States exports oil products to and imports oil from some of the same nations. For instance, Canada is the largest oil exporter to the United States, and the second-largest importer of American finished petroleum products.
The BP oil disaster, however, exposed the enormous costs of a serious offshore blowout, and it begs the question: Does it make sense for the United States to bear the health, economic, and environmental costs of this offshore production for oil that is made into diesel fuel, gasoline, and other finished products and then shipped elsewhere? If our oil needs are so great that we must open sensitive, formerly protected areas to drilling, finished products made from this crude oil should remain in the United States whenever possible for domestic consumption. But not all of them are.
The most cost-effective way to address our oil needs is to reduce oil demand via significantly more fuel efficient vehicles, alternative fuels such as advanced biofuels and natural gas, and investments in public transportation. This approach poses far fewer risks than drilling for oil a mile under the ocean’s surface where a blowout like the BP oil disaster can cause billions of dollars of economic damage. Provisions to significantly reduce oil use must be part of any bipartisan comprehensive clean energy and climate bill.
* Correction, May 10, 2010: The original column compared Gulf Coast region oil production to the region’s oil exports, when it was intended to compare regional oil production with finished petroleum product exports.
Daniel J. Weiss is a Senior Fellow and Jacob Abraham is an intern with the Energy Opportunity team at American Progress.
Does a Massive Cuban OIL SPILL constitute and Act of War?????
Cogressman Mica is right, there is no way that any Congressional law can be enforced in a foreign country.
What this sub-committee hearing accomplished was to draw attention to the indefensible position of opposing drilling within the confines of the USA, for fear of a possible accident.
Congressperson Ileana Ros-Lehtinan is to be commended for providing a learning experience to others.
The fat drugie that Rich Douche refers to has to be Obama ad his ugly bitch(dog) michael
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