Tag Archives: Oil Drilling

Venezuela legislature votes to nationalize 11 US-owned oil rigs

Story from Breitbart.

Excerpt:

Venezuela’s legislature has voted to nationalize 11 oil rigs owned by the US firm Helmerich & Payne.

The rigs, located in Monagas, Anzoategui and Zulia states, will be taken over by state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the official news agency AVN said.

PDVSA had asked the legislature controlled by supporters of leftist President Hugo Chavez to take over the rigs after the US firm declined to negotiate a new service contract, unlike 32 other foreign firms.

The oil giant is South America’s top oil producer.

Since 2007 Caracas has nationalized companies in industries from oil to utilities, to telecoms, cement, steel and banking.

Speaking of Breitbart, do you all know the famous actor Michael Moriarty from the TV show “Law and Order”? He linked to me yesterday from Breitbart’s Big Hollywood web site. Isn’t that amazing! I think it’s just by accident, I’m sure he isn’t a regular reader.

UPDATE: Ooops almost forgot.

Hey Chavez! I bet that I can nationalize more private corporations than you can!

Actually there is a nice summary of Obama’s demolition job on the economy that you can read in the Wall Street Journal. I liked it. Most of the stuff I blogged about already as it happened.

Related posts

Obama administration modifies report by experts

Story here at Fox News. (H/T ECM)

Excerpt:

The seven experts who advised President Obama on how to deal with offshore drilling safety after the Deepwater Horizon explosion are accusing hisadministration of misrepresenting their views to make it appear that they supported a six-month drilling moratorium — something they actually oppose.

The experts, recommended by the National Academy of Engineering, say Interior Secretary Ken Salazar modified their report last month, after they signed it, to include two paragraphs calling for the moratorium on existing drilling and new permits.

[…]In a letter the experts sent to Salazar, they said his primary recommendation “misrepresents” their position and that halting the drilling is actually a bad idea.

The oil rig explosion occurred while the well was being shut down – a move that is much more dangerous than continuing ongoing drilling, they said.

They also said that because the floating rigs are scarce and in high demand worldwide, they will not simply sit in the Gulf idle for six months. The rigs will go to the North Sea and West Africa, possibly preventing the U.S. from being able to resume drilling for years.

They also said the best and most advanced rigs will be the first to go, leaving the U.S. with the older and potentially less safe rights operating in the nation’s coastal waters.

Unbelievable. The Obama administration consulted with experts and then disregarded their policy recommendations! And the Democrats are actually setting us up for another disaster. Not to mention higher gas prices because of the reduction in supply.

Why are we not drilling in Alaska? That is much safer than offshore drilling anyway. Nuclear power would be safer still.

How changing prices signal buyers and sellers in a free market economy

Here’s a lesson in capitalism from the New York Times. (H/T ECM)

Excerpt:

The oil industry has been on a hot streak this year, thanks to a series of major discoveries that have rekindled a sense of excitement across the petroleum sector, despite falling prices and a tough economy.

These discoveries, spanning five continents, are the result of hefty investments that began earlier in the decade when oil prices rose, and of new technologies that allow explorers to drill at greater depths and break tougher rocks.

“That’s the wonderful thing about price signals in a free market — it puts people in a better position to take more exploration risk,” said James T. Hackett, chairman and chief executive of Anadarko Petroleum.

And what do we learn from this? Do oil prices go up because of greed? No.

When supply is low or uncertain, but demand is high, then prices must rise. Rising oil prices signal consumers to curtail their consumption, and they signal producers to invest more and take more risks to find more oil.

The government must not interfere to set prices lower when prices rise due to a shortage. Lower prices means that producers will not invest or take risks in order to find more oil for consumers. We have to let producers have their profits in order to for them to invest and take risks to find more oil. And when more oil is found, the price of oil will go down naturally, without the government having to get involved. The more government gets involved, the more opportunity there is for corruption.

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