Will the Wells Run Dry?

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 40

<< Prev 1 2 Next >>

July 2008
- Pickens Drills Into McCain Campaign
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 24, 08 8:40 AM CDT
  
  The reinvention of oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens as an environmentalist represents a huge political about-face, writes Timothy Egan in the New York Times . Four years ago, Pickens bankrolled the Swift Boat campaign that derailed John Kerry's presidential bid. Now Pickens, "looking a bit like the John Huston character from Chinatown ," is attacking the efficacy of new drilling just when John McCain is pressing for it. More »
- Arctic Holds 3 Years of Oil
  
  newser | Reuters | Jul 24, 08 7:24 AM CDT
  
  Enough oil is believed to lie under the rapidly thawing Arctic to last the world 3 years, Reuters reports. The USGS released a forecast yesterday estimating the region has 90 billion recoverable barrels of oil and vast natural gas reserves. The agency's director said the information was vital in order to weigh the potential destruction caused by drilling versus the benefits. More »
- Corn-Hungry Texas Calls for Cuts in Biofuel Mandates
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 23, 08 2:32 AM CDT
  
  The EPA is considering a proposal from the governor of Texas to slash the amount of ethanol that oil companies are required to blend into gasoline to meet quotas, the New York Times reports. Gov. Rick Perry is calling for the EPA to cut the ethanol mandate in half, from 9 billion to 4.5 billion gallons, arguing that billions of bushels of corn should be used to feed livestock instead. More »
- Bush is Botching $4.11, Just Like He Did 9/11
  
  newser | New York Times | Jul 20, 08 1:05 PM CDT
  
  If a "crisis is a terrible thing to waste," then George Bush's reactions to 9/11 and the $4.11 average gas cost make him a doubly terrible leader, writes Tom Friedman in the New York Times . Instead of using rising gas costs to spur the nation to energy independence, "Our Decider decided to lift the executive orders banning (offshore) drilling—even though he knew this was a meaningless gesture," because of a Congressional moratorium. More »
June 2008
- Saudis May Boost Oil Supply Even Higher
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Jun 22, 08 4:11 PM CDT
  
  A hastily organized summit meeting in Saudi Arabia today offered little relief to oil consumers, Bloomberg reports. The Saudis did vow to increase production if needed, but OPEC blamed speculators and the credit crisis, not markets, for surging oil prices. "Saudi Arabia is prepared and willing to produce additional barrels of crude above and beyond the 9.7 million barrels per day," a Saudi minister said. More »
- McCain Pander on Drilling Disappoints
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 20, 08 8:30 AM CDT
  
  It's nothing new for the Bush administration to blame environmentalists for energy shortages, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . As early as 2001, Dick Cheney blamed green laws rather than rapacious energy companies for the California electricity shortage. But it's disappointing that John McCain has joined the bandwagon—especially as he, unlike Barack Obama, voted against Bush's "really terrible, special-interest-driven" 2005 energy bill. More »
- When Good Pandering Goes Bad
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 19, 08 7:32 AM CDT
  
  The offshore drilling ban has been in place since 1981, but George W. Bush—who is still the president, Gail Collins reminds us in the New York Times —wants it overturned in two weeks. Watching his speech in the Rose Garden, where he said Democrats would be to blame for high gas prices if drilling in heretofore verboten places was not immediately authorized, the columnist wonders why the president waited until now to call the Dems' bluff, and how unfortunate it is for John McCain. More »
- Oil Giants to Return to Iraq
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 19, 08 4:20 AM CDT
  
  Four big oil companies chucked out of Iraq by Saddam Hussein 36 years ago are ready to return, the New York Time s reports. BP, Exxon Mobil, Shell and Total are about to announced winning coveted no-bid contracts to service Iraqi oil fields. The contracts are short-term, but the firms hope to significantly boost the country's oil production and win even bigger deals to develop huge new fields. More »
- Ship Shortage Stalls Offshore Oil Drilling
  
  newser | New York Times | Jun 19, 08 3:22 AM CDT
  
  A severe shortage of deep-sea drilling rigs will hold up exploitation of offshore oil for years, the New York Times reports. Existing rigs are booked solid for five years, and shipbuilders around the world are scrambling to fill dozens of new orders. Oil companies are frustrated by their inability to get at huge, newly discovered offshore fields. More »
- Saudi Oil Boost Little More Than PR
  
  newser | Time | Jun 18, 08 4:55 PM CDT
  
  Saudi Arabia consenting to increase oil output is more public-relations ploy than problem-solver, Vivienne Walt writes in Time , since the half-million extra barrels a day won't make much of a dent, if the Saudis even have that much to spare. One analyst says the move is really an attempt “to pump out the message to the West that ‘we are not trying to hurt your economy.'" More »
- Bush to Congress: Lift Offshore Drilling Ban
  
  newser | CNN | Jun 18, 08 11:08 AM CDT
  
  Bush formally asked Congress today to allow drilling for oil in the deep water off America's coasts, as well as repeating his demand that Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge be opened for drilling, CNN reports. "In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil, and that means we need to increase supply here at home," Bush said. More »
- McCain Pays Price of Soaring Gas
  
  newser | Politico | Jun 10, 08 2:13 PM CDT
  
  The party in power always suffers during an election year in which the economy is poor, and high gas prices are often the biggest barb. John McCain is suffering the most from high prices at the pump, a Politico analysis of Gallup polls show, with voters putting him behind the GOP at large on the question of who will give “greater priority” to energy. More »
- Analysts See Oil Bust Ahead
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 4, 08 12:56 PM CDT
  
  The oil price surge is just like the dot-com boom, analysts at Lehman Brothers tell the Wall Street Journal , and costs will sharply decline once the US dollar strengthens and demand dips in certain countries. Lehman claims oil is experiencing the "classic ingredients of an asset bubble," and points to the "herd" instinct of financial investors in rising prices. More »
May 2008
- Sharp Decline Seen in Future Oil Supplies
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 22, 08 11:50 AM CDT
  
  The international agency that monitors oil supplies is preparing a very pessimistic forecast of future capacity, the Wall Street Journal reports, one that heightens worries over whether producers will be able to keep pace with exploding demand for oil. The International Energy Agency, whose previous models showed steady—and predictable—growth, is revising that sharply downward, the Journal says, though the report won't be out until November. More »
- Military at War With Rising Fuel Costs
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 21, 08 10:12 AM CDT
  
  Fuel costs are hitting the US military harder than most, the Wall Street Journal reports, and it's moving forward with efforts to switch to synthetic, and greener, alternatives. Chugging 340,000 barrels of oil per day, the military is the nation's largest consumer; synthetic fuels and massive solar arrays are already in use, and the military is considering nuclear plants on some remote bases. More »
- Bush, Stop Begging the Saudis
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 17, 08 1:23 PM CDT
  
  Whichever adviser sent President Bush to plead with the Saudi king to help bring down oil prices should be canned, the Wall Street Journal opines. Bush had the same request turned down during a visit in January, and the rebuff is even more humiliating the second time around. If Bush wants to go begging, he'd be better off turning to Fed chief Ben Bernanke, "creator of our current commodity-price spike." More »
- Saudis Won't Budge on Oil
  
  newser | Associated Press | May 16, 08 6:26 PM CDT
  
  Saudi Arabia's leaders today denied a request from visiting President Bush that they boost oil production to help ease rising gas prices, the AP reports. "Supply and demand are in balance today," the kingdom's oil minister said, with the commodity pushing $128 per barrel. "How much does Saudi Arabia need to do to satisfy people who are questioning our oil practices and policies?" More »
- Congress Votes to Stop Stockpiling Oil
  
  newser | New York Times | May 13, 08 9:44 PM CDT
  
  The House and Senate voted today for a pause in deposits to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to stem rising prices, the Los Angeles Times reports. The White House expressed skepticism about the measure, but the Senate backed it 97-1 and the House passed a similar bill 385-25. It is expected to be sent to Bush within days. More »
- 'Super-Spike' Could Drive Oil to $200
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 7, 08 8:35 AM CDT
  
  A “super-spike” could push oil beyond $150 a barrel by October, the highest it been in more than 135 years, experts say. That would drive the price at the pump past $4.50 a gallon and trim US economic output 3.3% in the 2 years following, reports the Wall Street Journal. Crude sold for a record $121.84 yesterday, up 96% from a year ago. More »
April 2008
- OPEC Head Warns Oil Could Hit $200 a Barrel
  
  newser | Daily Telegraph (UK) | Apr 29, 08 5:26 AM CDT
  
  The president of the oil-producing cartel OPEC has warned that the price of the black gold could spike as high as $200 a barrel. As crude hovered just below the $120 barrier, Chakib Khelil told an Algerian newspaper that disruptions in production in Britain and Nigeria, coupled with a weak dollar and investor speculation, will keep prices rising. More »