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It's Boom Time for Oil in the Gulf of Mexico, Despite a Ban on Drilling in Many Areas

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Even if there is no significan impact on oil prices from new drilling and exploration, I would rather see more fuel come from American territory, putting more Americans to work and putting more of our dollars back into American pockets, than pouring more of our money into foreign pockets.

Robert Corliss of UT 9:49PM August 12, 2008

"Last year, the oil and gas industry made a profit of 8.3 percent. Beverages and tobacco had an average profit of 19 percent, drug companies 18 percent, computer companies 14 percent."
Who needs a lesson on rate of return on invested capital?

realistic of TX 1:12PM August 12, 2008

Curtis, you've got it.
This "boom" is a boom only for the oil companies.
What this country needs is manufacturing jobs. Not everyone can be a scientist, manager, or CEO. Most people are on this planet as workers. This "great" country has forgotten those people in search of ever larger profits.
We don't retool factories to build the needed items due to ...
Greed.

piglizard of MI 12:36PM August 12, 2008

Andre of CA
You could not get up in the morning and turn on the lights without us 'gas guzzling, fried food eating rednecks.' You have no idea what it takes to allow you to flick a light switch and have your lights come on. You take it for granted. Want to live in tent? Boil your own water? No lights at night?
You should go to an electric generation plant. I have, many times. Ask them how electrons get to your house, run your appliances, hairdryer, television, etc. Most of the people working there are hard working, blue collar people.
Want to go green? Invent it!
Sick and Tired of uneducated Utopians

craig Taylor of TX 1:39AM August 12, 2008

I think it is interesting how people talk about companies needing to invest in
alternative energy. If you were in the residential real estate development business, how would you like someone mandating that you build low-income housing? The person that figures out the alternative energy conundrum will be the next Bill Gates, in terms of wealth. The carrot is there, it's just that we have a long way to go in terms of coming up with a viable energy source other than fossil fuels. If anybody has a better answer, they will be a billionaire. 70% of the things in your house, car, etc., not just gasoline, comes from crude oil. Wind is great, but it is the marginal unit of energy. because wind is unpredictable, you cannot forward sell it in the financial market. That is why it is so hard to finance wind projects when you are unsure about the economics. I wish the Utopians and the energy people, like me, could come together and come up with a solution. Instead, the Utopians want cheap energy but have that "not in my back yard" mentality..

Craig Taylor of TX 10:56PM August 11, 2008

Big Oil companies also like to tie up leases to keep the independents locked out. Especially when there is a credit crunch, and they have the cash. Ever hear of John D Rockefeller?
Oil companies have little incentive to drill when the price trend is up, and there is little risk from alternatives.
I'm getting my head handed to me because I believed small and mid sized E and P companies would profit from the increase in price in crude.

al of NM 5:46PM August 11, 2008

Just because an oil company has a 'lease' doesn't guarantee there is oil under it. That's why they are called 'exploration' AND production companies. Oil companies tie up leases so they can perform the costly analysis, i.e. seismic, 3D, test wells, etc to see if there are hydrocarbons there, and, if they can economically be extracted. Recently, Oil has traded over $135 per bbl and natural gas over $13 an MMBtu. Don't you think that an oil and gas company would be bringing every molecule of product on it's current leases to market as possible? People need to educate themselves about the capital intensive, risky and very technical business that we call oil and gas production.

Craig Taylor of TX 4:52PM August 11, 2008

I have heard that there are some 30 million squar miles of off shore oil leases alredy to drill. If this is true then why don't they drill on those leases and leave the rest?

Frank of OR 2:28PM August 11, 2008

Every time I read a thought about complaining that we need to stop using oil and think about using something else no one has a name for the something else that would replace everything that is made from oil and the bi-products that are in our everyday lives.Shoes,lipsticks,asprin,drinling cups,tv's,almost everything we drive,fly or ride on takes oil.Wake up!You can't keep meat frozen without something made from oil to keep out air.Maybe the only thing you could do that would please people that want to stop using oil is to go back to a time of horse and buggy days.Even people that protest, drive cars,fly in planes,ride on bikes,walk in their nike's.Find something else first that makes all these things work then "name it",make it work for as long as oil has, then make the change! In the meantime drill for our on oil,use it here now!Don't sell it other countries unless there is a fortune to be made then share it with all of us that agree in writing for oil companies to drill.

mike scott of FL 2:50PM August 05, 2008

During most of our last few wars the country usually hit boomtimes why not this war? What happened to the gearing up of the great american war machine? Why do we scrabble to drill for badly needed oil but are held back by lack of equipment, why are our soldiers so poorly equipped when we have closed factories by the dozens sitting closed with their workers out of jobs. Why hasn't there been a retooling and reopening of these factories so oil rigs and bombproof humvee's and bodyarmor can be rushed to the places and people who need them. It seems that the only ones who are profitting from this war are the oil cronies of the present administration.If we are having such a poor response to wartime gearing up what happens if we get into a real world war?

Curtis Gwin Jr of WA 12:47AM August 05, 2008