Working in the petroleum industry has opened my eyes to more facts than I care to think about. We are currently in a catch 22 as far as increasing worldwide oil reserves. The sour answer is that everyone is going to have to give, and not just a little.
- Why can't we make the major oil companies drop the prices instead of taking so much profit?
- Major oil companies are taking the heat for making massive amounts of profit while we continue to drown at the gas pumps. What the public does not see is that these big international players could very well be our only hope to having any fuel at all. Oil exploration and international deals are costly and time consuming. Our government does not have the money or the finesse to make our future fuel supply happen. These profits are being used behind the scenes for our continued lifestyles and one day this will be realized.
- Why don't we just produce our own oil in our own country and let the rest of the world fend for their countries?
- Although areas of crude oil have been located in the USA, the ability to drill, process and refine continues to be met with opposition. Land preservation, wetland protection and citizen rights prevent using most ground for this purpose. Refineries and pipelines take years and money to build because of court battles from opposing neighbors. No one wants an oil refinery in their back yard.
- Why doesn't OPEC just release more oil?
- 40% of all worldwide oil reserves are monitored and regulated by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Without this organization of twelve countries, we would soon be depleted of the world's oil reserves. The fact of the matter is that there just isn't that much oil to release until new areas are explored and developed.
- Canada has plenty of oil. Why can't we buy it from them?
- The large oil companies are doing just that. However, there are different grades of crude oil and not all is thin enough to produce gasoline. Most of Canada's oil is too heavy to refine into anything other than oil and diesel.
- Isn't the Bio and Ethanol that we are producing helping at all?
- Alternative fuels are helping in a big way but this plan was not thought through carefully or soon enough. These fuels have to be accessible to blend with the fuel and stored close to fuel in refineries. Because of the limited space used for fuel we now have, there are no storage tanks to place this additive unless expansions are made which brings us back to Answer #2. No one wants an oil refinery in their back yard.
So we are back to square one. We don't want the oil companies making big money so they can use for finding more oil and we don't want drilling and refining to take place in our country. In the meantime, our oil reserves are becoming more critical while negotiations with oil-bearing countries take place by the oil companies to be able to expand our supplies. We don't want to share and we don't want to pay. Yes, everyone is going to have to give, and not just a little.
Opec - Friend or Foe
Most of you have heard of OPEC in relation to barrels of oil. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is the single largest entity that controls the world's oil supplies. It is comprised of 12 countries: Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. When this small organization of individuals, who control over 40% of the world's oil reserves, decide to raise the price of crude oil, they simply stop producing as much oil. The shortage of supply causes buyers to pay a premium for what they need, driving the price up. OPEC last increased production in June 2005.
Worldwide Politeness
When Americans think of conserving fuel, they seldom take into account that we are no longer the only country in the world running rampant with fuel. Even if we could control our own input, China is running a close second to the United States in consumption, increases estimated to reach 150% by 2020. No longer the only game in town, it would take a worldwide effort to slow down usage. Creating alternative fuels is a great idea but another problem abounds. Where are we going to store it? Terminals are already fighting for tank space for all of the different types of fuels. Build more refineries and terminals? There have been companies tied up in our court system for decades, attempting to do just that. No one wants his or her personal space invaded.
