"Our" boys in Syria.

[ruggbutt]

The sad fact is that helping muslims is a thankless no win situation. Might as well not waste the time.

[Pudfark]

Exactly, Rugg

It's about time to let China police the region...
Might as well throw in Afghanistan....

While we're at it? Ramp up our domestic oil production to meet our needs.
NO More importation of oil.....sorry bout that, Canada.

[callmeslick]

Exactly, Rugg

It's about time to let China police the region...
Might as well throw in Afghanistan....

let's see, we absolutely depend on how much oil from the Middle East, and you want China to control it? Not a very bright
foreign policy.

While we're at it? Ramp up our domestic oil production to meet our needs.
NO More importation of oil.....sorry bout that, Canada.

Even with all the Canadian oil we could get our hands on, there is NO way the US domestic production would ever supply our needs,
unless you find the idea of $12 per gallon gas and heating oil(an issue for those of us above the Deep South) attractive. You can bluster on forever, but exactly ZERO experts in the petroleum industry would ever make the claim that we can feasably produce adequate oil to supply US demands.

[Pudfark]

"Yes, We Can"...

Check out N.Dakota...

Other than Israel...China can have the middle east.
Do you know what percentage of oil we import from the middle east?
From Canada?
Domestic production?
How much oil we refine and sell abroad?

Look at those numbers...I believe you'll be surprised.

[callmeslick]

talk to an oil guy....the N.Dakota crude would cost a fortune to extract, and then another forture to get to a refinery.

[Pudfark]

My son-in-law has been up there. He says they are gonna drill 50,000 wells.
He also said, he was only there for a few days. He compared it to the HBO mini-series
"Deadwood"... The associated building boom will last more than 20 years with the population to increase to over 500,000 folks. My (admittedly) loose understanding, is
that with "fracturing" this find exceeds all of Saudi Arabia's.

What you and I claim to know...seems to be dated. You might have an interest in
this region for financial purposes? If, I was fifteen years younger? I'd already be there. "Pudfarks Pub". My, version of the "Gem".

[callmeslick]

he's talking natural gas, which is in vast US supply. Doesn't replace crude, the way we do things in this country, however.

[Pudfark]

Beg your pardon....He was/is talking oil. As you know gas is frequently found with oil.
You mention refineries earlier....How many, has "NOBODY" built?
Matter of fact? How many government owned refineries exist?
I know (sigh), if the government didn't build the roads and have regulatory
control over the oil companies, the smell of horse shit would be overwhelming.

N.Dakota is oil...lots of it. We don't need anybodies oil in the future.
Cheap energy is what built this country. Cheap energy is what will rebuild it.
Why you don't want to use what we have "on hand", bewilders me..

[callmeslick]

gotta watch out for that fracturing stuff, Pud. May be a lot of enviromental side effects of a really serious nature. I am surprised that your contact finds N Dakota to be that promising for crude. Fracking down to pull up crude is costly, and the product needs a lot of cleanup, from what I've heard(not in any way an expert, but am an investor with some decent advice).
Anyhow, the refinery thing is interesting. There is a sick sort of economic logic for oil companies to keep the numbers down. Without details, the profits get inflated. As for the govt building competing refineries? You aren't serious, are you? That would be, GASP, socialist crazy talk. Not that it wouldn't both make money for the government and pressure the (big money political donor) oil producers, but you know how well that would sit, politically. The GOP would have a fit, and likely, so would the Dems, with the excuse being environmental and the reason being donation cash.

[callmeslick]

one more thing, Pud......part of my reluctance to urge a push for domestic short term production is this: China, India and other parts of southeast Asia have very rapidly expanding economies. They are starting to guzzle gasoline and oil. Given that supply is finite, sitting on our reserves, while pouring government subsidies into replacement technologies/energy sources strikes me as wise long term planning. Why? First off, we will be in position to utilize the new energy when supplies dwindle, reducing pressures into war or other costly actions to protect short supply. Second, all that expensive US crude will become highly profitable. Watch that North Dakota, or other similar geologies, closely. They might be sinking a bunch of holes, but I'll bet they cap 95% of them off, until it's worth their while to bring it up and sell it. By that time, you won't want to be running a diesel engine and I'll have long since swapped out my two oil burners(yes, even in VA you need heat every so often, and in Delaware, a bit more, even though both spots are hot more than really cold).