The Oil Drum

83 comments on DrumBeat: June 18, 2006

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westexas on June 18, 2006 - 9:39am

Meet the Press focuses on oil this morning

It will be interesting to see if Tim Russert mentions the "P" word, or raising the gasoline tax, offset by cuts to the Payroll Tax.

I think that Tim is interviewing three oil CEO's. I predict that they will stay with the party line, "Don't tax us, we need the cash flow to bring on new sources of oil so that we can lower the price of gasoline."

IMO, we need to tax energy consumption, offset by eliminating the Payroll Tax.

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westexas on June 18, 2006 - 10:55am

Tim has the CEO's of ConocoPhillips, ChevronTexaco and Shell Oil (I think this is the US subsidiary).

IMO, the ConocoPhillips CEO was the most rational--talking about the need to reduce demand in the US. He only talked about fuel efficiency, but I wonder if he privately might support a higher gas tax.

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Robert Rapier on June 18, 2006 - 11:18am

IMO, the ConocoPhillips CEO was the most rational--talking about the need to reduce demand in the US. He only talked about fuel efficiency, but I wonder if he privately might support a higher gas tax.

I have listened to and spoken with him in a small private group. He was also advocating fuel efficiency, and he was quite concerned that high oil prices would hurt the economy. I actually asked him about Peak Oil, and our need to prepare, but he didn't think it is imminent.

RR

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R W Reactionairy on June 18, 2006 - 3:53pm

Robert, do you think the CEO would tell his own mother about imminent peak oil if it was not deemed to be good corporate strategy to do so?

BTW, there was a quick reference to an oil discovery "in the gulf" [presumably GoMex]at 32,000 ft!!! I repeat 32,000 feet. Reported 600 feet of pay. The only source I have for this was a very sceptical comment by George "Zapata George" Blake in an interview at about 1:50 of the third segment of this week's Fiancial Sense News Hour. Blake reported that he had talked to some of those involved and that "yes" it was oil at 32,000 feet. Blake stopped just short of dismissing the whole thing, but his punchline was after they drilled some offsets he was prepared to reconsider. Until then?

Have you heard anything about this "discovery"?

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Robert Rapier on June 18, 2006 - 5:47pm

Robert, do you think the CEO would tell his own mother about imminent peak oil if it was not deemed to be good corporate strategy to do so?

Well, he was speaking to small group of employees. My impression was that he did not believe peak oil was an imminent problem. I was asking specifically whether it might not be a good corporate strategy to pour my R&D into sustainable alternatives.

Have you heard anything about this "discovery"?

No.

RR

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step back on June 18, 2006 - 12:23pm

SOBeR on Big Oil

When Son Of Biggy Russ took on the Big Oil 3 this morning, I was focusing on the language the threesome were using to "frame" the issues.

They were talking about "recovering" oil from National Park lands. What an interesting choice of words by the extractionists, "recover". It's sort of as if they had it, owned before, and now they are merely getting back (re-covering) that which was rightfully theirs.

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AlanfromBigEasy on June 18, 2006 - 12:34pm

Since Katrina, Meet the Press has been bumped off for a local interview program (much higher caliber Q & A & more informative than the national media. Cutbacks in local bus service & their financing was first, then trash and flooded car pick-up status & plans, and then a brief on fires).

Tim Russert comes on at 10:30 PM here. Is it worth the time & trouble to stay up watch ?

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step back on June 18, 2006 - 12:53pm

It's all party line stuff from the oil chiefs. You won't hear anything new. I just like to listen to how they phrase their answers, you know, America has to become "independent" (with liberty & justice for all) from "foreign" oil. We are just licking our lips waiting to get a hold of offshore US sites and ANWR. Just think of the $RO$I at these prices. Yipee.

Then again, Congressman Murtha was on also, but I missed that part.