Obama's plan to cut imported oil by one-third: Drill, baby, drill?

President Obama on Wednesday outlined a plan to reduce U.S. imports of foreign oil by one-third over the next 10 years that could have come out of the GOP playbook.

Speaking to students at Georgetown University, the president explained that, due to our nation's heavy reliance on energy, when fuel prices increase as they have recently, it affects many aspects of American life.

"In an economy that relies so heavily on oil, rising prices at the pump affect everybody," Obama told the audience at the school. "Workers, farmers, truck drivers, restaurant owners ... businesses see rising prices at the pump hurt their bottom line. Families feel pinched when they fill up their tank."

Obama seemed to be echoing a certain "drill, baby, drill" hockey mom when he encouraged domestic oil companies to "take advantage of the opportunities they already have," adding that government should encourage those companies to get motivated.

"Right now, the industry holds tens of millions of acres of leases where it's not producing a drop, sitting on supplies of American energy just waiting to be tapped," Obama said. "That’s why part of our plan is to provide new and better incentives that promote rapid, responsible development of these resources.  We’re also exploring and assessing new frontiers for oil and gas development from Alaska to the Mid- and South Atlantic. Because producing more oil in America can help lower oil prices, create jobs and enhance our energy security."

But before anyone gets the impression that Obama equals George W. Bush, the president said that increased domestic oil production is only a short-term tweak to a long-standing energy problem that can only be fixed with alternative fuels such as biofuels and natural gas, conservation and engineering.

"But let’s be honest," Obama said about increased domestic oil drilling, "it’s not the long-term solution to our energy challenge. America holds only about 2% of the world’s proven oil reserves. And even if we drilled every drop of oil out of every one of those reserves, it still wouldn’t be enough to meet our long-term needs."

What is the energy solution? The president said Tuesday it may reside in greener vehicles.

"As we replace oil with fuels like natural gas and biofuels, we can also reduce our dependence by making cars and trucks that use less oil in the first place," Obama said. "After all, 70% of our petroleum consumption goes to transportation. And so does the second-biggest chunk of most families' budgets.  That’s why one of the best ways to make our economy less dependent on oil and save folks more money is simply to make our transportation more efficient."

 

Note: Andrew Malcolm is on vacation.

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-- Tony Pierce
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Photo: President Obama at Georgetown University in Washington. Credit: Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press. Video: Obama speaks. Credit: Politico

 

Comments

[S Hobbs]

I don't agree that this sounds like "drill baby, drill" when he says they should "take advantage of opportunities they already have". That means no new leases.

[John D]

Are you kidding me?

"But before anyone gets the impression that Obama equals George W. Bush, the president said that increased domestic oil production is only a short-term tweak"

That's EXACTLY what the GOP has been saying for years. The only difference is Obama wants more taxes on oil companies, thereby reducing any incentive for the very innovation for which he's called.

PDVSA and PEMEX have been doing well, right?

[kevoh]

No, as he stated in his speech there will be no "Drill, Baby Drill" He will make sure the ecomomy stays low and the price of gas will skyrocket. He will cut our imports by making sure gas prices stay high so less will be used. He wants us all on bicycles except of course for himself.

[kevoh]

No, as he stated in his speech there will be no "Drill, Baby Drill" He will make sure the ecomomy stays low and the price of gas will skyrocket. He will cut our imports by making sure gas prices stay high so less will be used. He wants us all on bicycles except of course for himself.

[Sarah]

Keep up the bad work obama! Tell us what we want to hear.

[Whylie]

Obama is promoting renewable energy not drilling. Some people are still lost in the 2008 election with the Palinisms, old stuff.

[Mary]

He lies, he cheats and fly's through the air with the greatest of ease. Obozo at your service.

[alamodefender]

the u.s. has more oil than saudia arabia and russia combined. obama is still using the old talking point of 2%"proven reserves" we have already used over 10 times our proven reserves so far.we need to use our nat. gas and oil for fuel and to create jobs and relax and take our time on developing alternative fuels.

[Jason]

"But before anyone gets the impression that Obama equals George W. Bush, the president said that increased domestic oil production is only a short-term tweak to a long-standing energy problem that can only be fixed with alternative fuels such as biofuels and natural gas, conservation and engineering."
Sorry that you hate Bush, but that is the exact same position he took. He started ethanol subsidies and many other biofuel incentives. Of course the massive clean coal initiatives (FutureGen) was a Bush initiave that Obama stopped and later restarted claiming credit for it.

[NadaRaza]

LAT plumps: "President Obama on Wednesday outlined a plan to reduce U.S. imports of foreign oil by one-third over the next 10 years that could have come out of the GOP playbook."

It's not the GOP play book - it's the get off the Arab oil tit play book.

[Mark]

Get the stuff in place first you retard!!!!!!

[Bill]

This isn't a policy to drill, it's a policy to ensure that the Federal Government's fleet of vehicles are mandated to be the over priced, under performing Government Motor Corporation's Chevy Volt instead of the Ford Fusion, Toyota Prius, Honda Insight or Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. What's it matter that they're nearly twice the price and get 2oo miles per tank full less than a Fusion, the taxpayers will pay the difference.....

[Jose]

It is either the car geniuses/maker are not innovating fast enough or they are under leashed because of the greed of oil execs. Damn money and power!!

[OptionJohn]

That is just fine. Except how much pollution will electric cars create from EMF, spent batteries, rubber tires, scrap metal, glass? What will happen in a traffic jam with all electric cars. Will the road start to hum or buzz?

Do we need more Yucca mountains for all of those spent batteries full of all kinds of enviromental friendly chemicals.

[Angry CPU]

Mo matter what your party affiliation is, this is a win for the US; we depend way too much on nations that are powder kegs filled with extremists.

[Gorasaab]

Obama’s speech e failed to admit that the $100+ price per barrel of crude oil is a direct result of the Obama administration and Ben Bernanke’s debasement of the American Dollar. On January 20, 2009 when Obama was sworn into office one US Dollar bought 1.16 Swiss Francs. Today because of the Obama administrations colossal deficit spending the US Dollar tanked after Obama’s speech. One US Dollar now buys .91 Swiss Franc (91 Centimes). Obama’s policies, coupled with his enabler Ben Bernanke’s QE2 policies has decreased the value of the US Dollar, which in turn has lead directly to an increase of the price of crude oil, whether it be West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or North Sea Brent. The Dollar is worth 22% less than when Obama took office.
Barack Obama’s fiscal and monetary policies, more than anything else, have caused the price of petrol at the pump to exceed $4 per gallon. Obama’s failure to disclose that fact to the American public demonstrates his intellectual dishonesty or his ignorance of basic economic tenets.
Obama is in campaign mode toward his reelection drive– that is why he spoke to a young audience at Georgetown. In the meantime the States are headed for the same predicament that the UK faced in the late 1970s when the Pound Sterling was worth $1.03 because of the Labour government’s belief in the very same policies being utilised by the Obama administration.

[Tom]

Leases are not enough - King Barry and Lieutenant Salazar also have to issue permits, or the leases are useless. I see this as just a ploy to get ready for 2012; I'll believe it when the permits come out. And then, everyone should know he will be taking credit for what the Repubs and Bush accomplished in 2008.

[Mike Myklin]

I disagree. We should import every drop we can, drain these foreign deposits and horde our supplies. If you think prices are high now, just wait until we've used up what we have and are 100% dependent on imports.

[Rain]

America has zero choice. With China, Russia, France and most of the Arab Nations; planning to no longer use US Dollars as the reserve currency, there is no choice.

I doubt the American economy can handle $500/gallon gas from overseas.
Better put down the donuts and get your grossly obese bums off the couch - and start doing what you do best. Innovating.

America, your party is over.

[Stockton Joe]

This is NOT "drill baby drill." This is the type of bureaucratic double-talk that politicians are so adept at. President Obama (reluctantly) talks about increasing domestic oil production. Then he talks about encouraging oil companies. Then he chastises oil companies for not utilizing non-productive oil leases. He seems to gloss over the difference between an oil lease and a permit to drill ON that oil lease. So it appears that he "gives with one hand and takes away with the other." Then he has the gall to talk about encouraging other countries to drill off (and on) their own shores to sell US the oil, while "his" administration actively prevents such activity off (and on) "our" shores.

[Austin]

I just can't get past the ignorance of those who aren't in favor of our president for whatever reasons they might. Are you all blind what he has accomplished or just choose to be against whatever good choices and actions he takes? Obviously the country sucks when it comes to energy (production, consumption) and that oil is not the answer so obviously there needs to be some funding to find other solutions. European gas prices are sky-high, but guess what, they work! You are correct kevoh, it influences people to get their (and I imagine your) lazy selves up and do something that contributes to a healthier people and land. If it weren't for stubborn Americans willing to change a damn thing in their lives that might inconvenience them slightly we could be as green as European countries which have no problem getting their energy from alternate sources with no problems.

So all of you who think that this is the worst thing in the worst, realize no one else is coming up with solutions. Douche-bags.

[instant tent 8-14' x 10']

I think auto amkers are going to keep producing gas guzzelings as long as the consumers are willing to bear the burden of higher gas prices. I don't think they have a strong enough incentive yet to produce better alternative fuels. Sorry to say but I think consumers aren't going to demand change until the well runs dry.

[just b]

This sounds dubious. How does the POTUS dictate how multi-national corporations do business (i.e., how and where they get their raw materials, like crude).

[john]

We have enough oil, much it under land, to supply the US for many decades. Insider elites have been saying for years they want to wait until gas hits $5 before drilling here to reap top profits. Globalist stooge Obama has a mission to create scarcity through cap and tax and his recent illegal war is part of the plan. Then like clockwork after his war and a spike in gas he roles out more plans to create artificial scarcity. Then when gas hits $5 his masters will drill. It matters not to Obama's dark soul he will be dealing a further blow to to the economy when real unemployment is at 20%.

[Gary Bart]

United States has more than +150 years worth of almost unlimited supplies of Natural Gas.

One strike of the pen & executive order: "All future Federal vehicle purchases will be Natural Gas/Multi-Fuel vehicles.

This will employ 100's of thousands, reduce emissions, and help in reducing global warming.

Vehicles burn cleaner on NG, and last 3-4 times longer.

Out West most PG&E, UPS, FED EX, Counties, Cities Use Natural Gas powered vehicles, buses, and utility vehicles. Some Power Plants run on Natural Gas.

Get off of foreign oil imports, Utilize what we already have. Proven, cleaner less polluting, Natural Gas, Hydro, Nuclear, Bio, & Supplemental Wind, and Solar clean energy.

[James A. Burt]

Let's go for 100 mpg. Hire some engineers. It can be done with what we know now.

[Bob]

Hay Stockton Joe, if the Euro's are so good at using green energy, why are they abandoning their efforts in droves. The Spanish claim that for every "green job" they have created, they lost 3 1/2, and it helped create their debt crisis. The french "green energy" is nuclear. The Brits and Germans have massively scaled back their green initiatives because of the damage it has done to their economies. We can go just as green as the Euros, if you want your taxes to double, and an unemployment rate of 8% to be considered good. The problem isn't that America doesn't want to be green, we just like to be able to find a job.

The problem with so called green energy is, most of it isn't all that green. I could care less about carbon, I'm more worried about things I know will hurt me directly, like mercury we are forced to use in light bulbs by act of congress, arsenides used in photovoltaics, and heavy metals from rechargable batteries for cars. Or maybe we should think about the long term effects of using a crop for fule (corn) that erodes our soils faster than just about anything else we grow in the US, and takes more energy to produce than you get back out.

The world's so called "Green energy" is anything but. It starves people all over the globe, and only kills us a little slower than the technology we use today. The fear of climate change has half the world drinking the cool-aid of "green energy." It's just as deadly as what Jim Jones fed his followers, it just takes a little longer to kill us all.

[Stockton Joe]

Hey Bob, I never said anything about "green energy." I said that President Obama is talking out of both sides of his mouth at the same time. In this he is no different from any other politician, be they Liberal or Conservative, Republican or Democrat, Left or Right. One the one hand he chastises oil companies for not "drilling on the oil leases they have" while on the other (at least tacitly) supports a total ban on PERMITS to drill on leased lands. He can't have it both ways. So which is it?

If I WERE to talk about "green energy" I would ask why Progressive California had not mandated that all new buildings (commercial and residential) and all permits to replace existing roofs be required to put in solar panels or solar shingles or solar tiles tied in to the electrical grid. It pains me as a good Libertarian to suggest this, but building codes already have requirements for type and size of electrical wiring and plumbing and even how far apart the studs in the walls can be. This is no different.

[George Duke]

So Obama takes credit for drilling wells initiated under Pres Bush and allows a resumption in the ones he halted and this is his plan ????? Hmmm am I missing something?