submitted by a reader
The U.S. Interior Department delivers 37 million acres for offshore drilling
The U.S. Interior Department is leasing about 37 million acres in the central Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas companies for drill-till-you-drop explorations
Perhaps the dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico were meant to happen [sic]; they were as inevitable [sic] as the Climate Change. Whether its was the will of almighty that his chosen few companies be able to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico, or the failure of His children to stop the companies doing so, one thing is for certain: The Gulf of Mexico would be made progressively more polluted.
Offshore drilling: Govt approved rape and plunder in the high seas. Source of Photo: yourdemocracy.net.au
Since YOU and us only benefit from doing more with less energy, and keeping our food sources clean, the only two conclusions we can draw from this must be (i) God has forsaken us in favor of His chosen few, and (ii) we have miserably failed to protect our sources of natural food.
The energy companies are being offered areas that “hold up to 1.3 billion barrels of crude oil and 5.4 trillion cubic feet of gas,” the department said, Reuters reported.
Lease Sale 213 involves about 6,958 tracts spread over 36.9 million acres located 3 to 230 miles off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The blocks are in water depths from 10 feet to more than 11,200 feet.”
The lease sale will include about 4.1 million acres in an area known as 181 South, off the Alabama-Florida border. Drilling off Florida in the Gulf is only allowed far from the state’s shoreline.
The lease sale, which will be held on March 17, will cut the time energy companies have to develop oil and gas resources on certain tracts.
The leasing period for blocks in waters 400 to 800 meters (1,312 to 2,625 feet) deep would change from eight to five years, but when an exploratory well is drilled the lease could be extended by three years.
Blocks 800 to 1600 meters (2,625 to 5,249 feet) deep would have lease terms of seven years instead of 10 years. There would also be an extension of three years with an exploratory well.
The current 10-year leasing period would continue for blocks in 1,600 meters (5,249 feet) of water.
Liz Birnbaum, director of the department’s Minerals Management Service, commenting on the shorter leasing periods, said, “they provide a fair return to the public for (offshore) resources and a fair opportunity for lessees to explore, develop and profit from their leases while encouraging diligent development.”
[It’s a “win-win situation,” but the environment and marine life were unintentionally left out of the formula.]
Despite the advantages to both oil and gas companies and the people, the chosen few have reportedly opposed the cut in the leasing periods, and have bitterly complained:
“MMS recognizes that advances in technology have decreased the time necessary for exploration and development in some water depths, while frontier conditions still exist in the deepest waters of the Gulf,” said Birnbaum. “The reduction of some initial lease periods with possible extensions is a way to expedite development.”
Companies pay the government a small royalty fee based on only 18.75 percent of the value of the oil and gas they drill in the offshore tracts, Reuters reported.
We interpreted that to mean 81.25 percent of the oil and gas would be squandered royalty free!
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