ANWR oil will be put on the world market, it's not for us

[jn2375]

did anyone see the white house gaggle today. Scott was blowing steam! Reporters were actually doing their jobs!

[cthrumatrix]

1. Seattle Times does a story on this today....

"The national-security argument for producing ANWR is a little bit of a, well, it doesn't really meet the national-security test," said O'Brien, who was deputy assistant secretary for international energy security under President Reagan.

Major oil companies have also expressed less interest in the refuge in recent years.

Since 2002, BP and ConocoPhillips, two companies with a large presence in Alaska, have pulled out of Arctic Power, a pro-drilling lobbying group financed largely by the state of Alaska. A number of oil companies have also been noncommittal about the refuge's importance.

While many drilling boosters are reluctant to lay claim to any broader agenda, environmentalists are eager to do it for them.

They point to comments reportedly made by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, in 2003. The D.C.-based publication Roll Call reported that DeLay, in a closed-door meeting with Republicans, said the drilling in the refuge was "about precedent" and the "symbolism of ANWR."

snip

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002210277_anwrside17m.html

[alfredo]

2. That's it. We knew it would be sent off shore. The oil companies

said they would.

In an oil economy, the last country with oil in the ground wins.

[jdj]

3. The shit should be FREE. It's our damn national refuge, so

we've already paid for it many times over in taxes.

They need to have gas stamps and give it away, to US.

[Career Prole]

4. Wow...I'm looking at the transcript. Good stuff!!

Someone sure hammered at him! :D
(Video link at site)

Q: So with the vote yesterday, you're halfway to opening up the ANWR, which means that if things keep going your way, in eight to 10 years we might start to see some of the first oil from the Wildlife Refuge coming to market. What can the President do in the next few months to get the price of oil and gasoline down?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, John, the problem here is that Congress has failed to act on a comprehensive energy plan, because --

Q That's not the problem. The problem is that the price at the wellhead is $57, and the price at the pump will soon be $2.50. And even if they passed the energy bill three years ago, it wouldn't be doing anything about the price of oil.

MR. McCLELLAN: You can advocate your position, you're welcome to do that.

Q I'm just stating the facts.

MR. McCLELLAN: No, the facts are that we have run into this problem year after year because of a failure to act on a comprehensive energy plan. The President, four years ago, outlined a comprehensive energy strategy and called on Congress to pass it. It is a plan that will reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy and make us more energy self-sufficient. That's what we need to do. We need a comprehensive solution, not patchwork crisis management.

And that's why the President remains very concerned about rising energy prices. This is something that occurs year after year. And it's the obligation of Congress to act when they see problems of this significance. And the President yesterday encouraged members of Congress to listen to the concerns of their constituents. We're concerned about the rising energy prices and their impact on families and their impact on small businesses. It is a drag on our growing economy. We have taken a lot of steps to get our economy growing again, and high energy prices are a drag on that growing economy. And the President believes now is the time to act and pass a comprehensive energy plan.

Now, ANWR, you bring that up, and that's an important part of our comprehensive strategy for reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy. And the President applauds the Senate for acting on that and passing legislation that would allow for environmentally responsible drilling in a very small portion of ANWR.

Q But even if he had the opportunity to say, "yahoo" four years ago, we'd still be four years away from seeing the first oil flowing out of it, so the comprehensive energy plan would do nothing to ameliorate the prices that we're seeing at the pump right now. So what else can the President do?

MR. McCLELLAN: Do you have a suggestion on what you would like us to do? You seem to be very much the advocate that we need to do --

Q I'm just asking if you can do something.

MR. McCLELLAN: Do you have a suggestion? You said that -- you suggested that we could do something. Now, we can make sure that there's not price gauging going on --

Q If I were standing where you were, I'd probably have a whole lot of suggestions, but I'm not, I'm down here.

MR. McCLELLAN: We can make sure that price gouging is not going on. We can make sure that OPEC-producing nations and non-OPEC producing nations understand that it's important that we all act in a way that encourages continued economic growth. That means making sure that there are adequate and abundant and affordable supplies of energy, because that's important to a growing world economy and a growing economy here in the United States.

And the most important thing we can do, though, is continue to call on Congress to act and pass a comprehensive energy strategy, and not let a small number of individuals prevent that from happening.

Go ahead.

Q One thing I'm confused about your answer, are you saying the reason why gas prices are so high is because Congress hasn't acted for the past four years?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm saying that we are dependent on foreign sources of energy, and America needs to be more energy self-sufficient. The President outlined a comprehensive plan. It expands conservation, it increases energy efficiency, it diversifies our supply here at home, and it also addresses another important problem, our electricity grid. It calls for modernizing our electricity grid. We saw from the blackouts of a year, year-and-a-half ago, what occurred there. That's why now -- that's why we need to act on a comprehensive energy plan so we don't keep revisiting this issue year after year. This is an issue that continues to recur because we have not taken steps to reduce ourselves of our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Q So does Congress's failure to act -- is that the reason for --

MR. McCLELLAN: There are many people in Congress that are committed to acting on a comprehensive energy plan, but there are some that are blocking those efforts from proceeding forward. And I think the American people should know what the facts are. We submitted a plan; we submitted it four years ago when the President first came into office. This was a high priority, because we've seen the problems that occur, and we've seen the problem that occurs year after year because of rising energy prices. That's why the President led, that's why the President put forward a proposal, and Congress needs to act on that proposal.

Go ahead, John.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/03/20050317-4.html#11



Q Going back to drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge, isn't it the case that in ten years or so, when we do get some oil going into barrels, that oil isn't going to be put in barrels and put up on the shelf for Americans; it will, in fact, go on the world market. So isn't it the case that even if we are slightly lowering our dependence on foreign oil, the understanding that this oil is for us is not correct.

MR. McCLELLAN: It will help reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy, because the view of geologists is that there's ample supplies of oil available in ANWR. And what we're talking about is a very small footprint on the land there. And new technology helps us make sure that we can do this is an environmentally responsible way. So it is part of reducing our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Q But the oil itself is not put aside for the U.S. It goes onto the world market like other oil.

MR. McCLELLAN: That will help us here at home reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy by providing much more supply of energy here in America.

Q Do you think it would help the Bush energy plan, in terms of moving it forward, if now was the time to come forward and say who specifically was on that energy task force and lift any kind of shadow that still hangs over it?

MR. McCLELLAN: We've been through this issue a number of times.

Go ahead, Paula.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/03/20050317-4.html#12

[jn2375]

5. Those reporters actually challenged Scottie, never thought I'd see the day

[Career Prole]

9. Serious! The boy got spanked!

Did he look around beseechingly for a bald-headed port in the storm?

[jdj]

6. "If I were standing where you were, I'd probably have a whole lot of

suggestions"

ouchie, ouchie, Scottie need a band-aid.

did he drop the kicked puppy routine and let the ghost of Ari come out?

[John BigBootay]

7. Do we even have the capacity to refine Alaskan crude? n/t

[Journeyman]

8. Well, of course. Very little Alaskan oil has ever been used. . .

in this country. The majority has always been sent to Japan. I'm certain this was not a mystery for the Congresscritters that voted for it yesterday.