Palin's "Energy Expertise" Nothing More Than "Drill Baby Drill"
source: http://stonecipher.typepad.com/the_stonecipher_report/2008/10/palins-energy-e.html
“Drill Baby Drill:” Scary words from Sarah Palin, the “Energy Expert”
You might have paused a moment last month when John McCain said that Sarah Palin knows “more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America.”
Really? More than T. Boone Pickens? More than Brian Schweitzer?
Research into that claim reveals that Sarah Palin was not entirely misleading when she stated that energy policy is her “area of expertise.” She is the only candidate with bona fide energy experience. Her understanding of domestic energy policy, however, has been vastly overstated. Furthermore, following her prescription for energy “independence,” given her bias towards oil, would inevitably result in an even greater dependence on the dwindling resource.
Palin served as Chairwoman for 11 months on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a board that regulates oil-field production in Alaska. She is often credited with changing the rules on “Big Oil” in Alaska, which garnered high approval ratings and a proud “maverick” designation.
For decades, large oil companies have sat on vast natural gas reserves in northern Alaska. Oil is more profitable than gas, however, so the companies are not in any hurry to tap into their gas resources and build necessary transport infrastructure.
Alaskans, on the other hand, are eager to see a natural gas pipeline built. During Palin’s gubernatorial campaign, she championed an “all-Alaska” pipeline, which would have opened opportunities to build the pipeline without having to wait for oil companies to act.
After her election, pragmatic changes in the project had to be made.
TransCanada is exploring building the pipeline, planning to eventually complete the project in about 10 years. The company would charge producers a tariff.
Several problems have arisen since guaranteeing $500 million in public money to TransCanada for the project, the largest of which is that no clients have signed on to use the pipeline. In fact, the three largest oil producers in the state – BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil – have already said they will not use the pipeline, preferring instead to invest in their own...
Read the rest at: http://stonecipher.typepad.com/the_stonecipher_report/2008/10/palins-energy-e.ht...
You might have paused a moment last month when John McCain said that Sarah Palin knows “more about energy than probably anyone else in the United States of America.”
Really? More than T. Boone Pickens? More than Brian Schweitzer?
Research into that claim reveals that Sarah Palin was not entirely misleading when she stated that energy policy is her “area of expertise.” She is the only candidate with bona fide energy experience. Her understanding of domestic energy policy, however, has been vastly overstated. Furthermore, following her prescription for energy “independence,” given her bias towards oil, would inevitably result in an even greater dependence on the dwindling resource.
Palin served as Chairwoman for 11 months on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, a board that regulates oil-field production in Alaska. She is often credited with changing the rules on “Big Oil” in Alaska, which garnered high approval ratings and a proud “maverick” designation.
For decades, large oil companies have sat on vast natural gas reserves in northern Alaska. Oil is more profitable than gas, however, so the companies are not in any hurry to tap into their gas resources and build necessary transport infrastructure.
Alaskans, on the other hand, are eager to see a natural gas pipeline built. During Palin’s gubernatorial campaign, she championed an “all-Alaska” pipeline, which would have opened opportunities to build the pipeline without having to wait for oil companies to act.
After her election, pragmatic changes in the project had to be made.
TransCanada is exploring building the pipeline, planning to eventually complete the project in about 10 years. The company would charge producers a tariff.
Several problems have arisen since guaranteeing $500 million in public money to TransCanada for the project, the largest of which is that no clients have signed on to use the pipeline. In fact, the three largest oil producers in the state – BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil – have already said they will not use the pipeline, preferring instead to invest in their own...
Read the rest at: http://stonecipher.typepad.com/the_stonecipher_report/2008/10/palins-energy-e.ht...
