Monday, December 02, 2019

U.S. Reports First Month in 70 Years as Net Exporter of Oil

“The U.S. return to being a net exporter serves to remind how the oil industry can deliver surprises -- in this case, the shale oil revolution - that upend global oil prices, production, and trade flows,” said Bob McNally, a former energy adviser to President George W. Bush and president of the consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group. 
Soaring output from shale deposits led by the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico has been in main driver of the transition -- but America’s status as a net exporter may be fragile. 
Many Texas wildcatters are predicting a rapid decline in production growth next year, while some Democratic contenders for the White House have called for a ban on fracking -- the controversial drilling technique that unleashed the boom. 
“In the days of Jimmy Carter and even Ronald Reagan, we would have longed for this day,” said Jim Lucier, managing director of Washington, D.C.-based Capital Alpha Partners LLC. “Now we scarcely notice it at all.”
I seem to recall Obama lecturing us that we could not simply drill our way out of this. He was right, in a way.

WE FRACKED OUR WAY OUT OF IT!


FRACK OBAMA!

4 comments:

Pete Rowe said...

Not sure how Fracking became a boogie man except that it kind makes the junior high boys giggle. All it means is fracturing of a geological formation.

Pastorius said...

I think anything that strengthens the US will become a boogie man with Leftists.

Redneck Texan said...

I love fracking.

But I aint crazy about the repeal of the export ban.

One of the reasons we had an export ban was strategic in nature. I don't subscribe to peak oil, but it is supposedly a finite resource, and bad thing will happen to those that run out first ..... likewise those setting on reserves when others run out will have enormous strategic advantage.

Likewise, despite the ramifications of an oil glut on my local economy, American consumer energy prices remain low when Cushing's tanks are full. Repealing the export ban assures our crude prices stay at global market value.

I use a lot of fuel and hold no interests in domestic oil companies. The Republicans that voted to repeal the ban probably dont pay for much fuel themselves, and probably have the hand in the big oil kitty.

The repeal certainly didn't have the US military or consumers best interests in mind.

In fact we started building LNG tankers well before the ban was lifted. The votes in congress were paid for years in advanced.

Pastorius said...

1) There is some evidence that oil is a by product of the Earth's processes, including biological processes. It is almost certainly not a "fossil fuel", unless fossil means the earth's grinding up of the substances of life. We aren't running out of life, therefore, we're not running out of "fossil fuels".

2) If we do "run out of oil" it will come to be a demonstrable phenomenon over a long period of time. It would not happen suddenly.

I am probably not telling you anything you don't already know.