Wednesday, May 4, 2011

DRILL NOW - Part Four - American Oil Companies


WE NEED TO DRILL RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

Yes, right now! Not tomorrow, yesterday!

During World War II, we the United States supplied 80% of all of the oil for all of the Allied Powers. It's true, we did it.

There was no Middle Eastern Oil back then. Fact is that Saudi Arabian Oil was not discovered until 1938 and wasn't a factor in the world's production of oil until the mid to late 1950s. 

During World War II and the Korean War, we had to rely on ourselves. And we did it!

We fueled the manufacturing giant that President Franklin Roosevelt called The Arsenal of Democracy.  We built ships and put them to sea. 

We sent American troops around the world.  We overthrew despots and we killed Nazis and those with similar ambitions. We did it with guns and manpower, and yes with our oil from beneath our soil.

So how did we get in such a situation where we are now held hostage by Foreign Countries who produce oil and use it as a sword of power.  The history of our dependence on other oil rich nations for our energy needs shows a Nation striving to be dependent instead of independent.  

It  is interesting in that it is the story of how decades of Liberal Policies of the U.S. Government has sold us out.  How you ask? Through graft and lobbyist and special favors for Foreign Oil Nations and Environmentalist Groups with clout in Washington DC.

And by the way, Environmentalist Groups do work for Foreign Oil and against hard working Americans. For one thing, they are subsidized by Foreign Oil Nations.  Secondly, they have zero say in Foreign Countries as to how they are polluting their land, their air, and their waters.

I've found it interesting that the Environmentalist Groups would have our businesses, in all sectors of business, go broke through Over Regulation - and yet not care a thing about the products that we are buying from Foreign Countries like say Mexico where the water is polluted and the air is horrible because they either have no regulations or very little enforcement.

Ever wonder what kind of water is used to make beverages like their beers and sodas in Mexico?  Ever wonder about their use of DDT and other pesticides that are illegal to use here in the United States? 

We ship their vegetables and beverages and other agriculture goods into the United States more and more these days.  Maybe someone should ask how can we do that if they are using illegal substances to grow their crops? 

And please, let's not even get started on how Environmentalist Groups are putting American Farmers, Dairymen and Ranchers out of business!

The Environmentalist don't care if Foreign Countries have or follow Environmental Regulations. Why, because if they tried their none-sense bullying tactics down there - they'd be in jail or deported.

Because of the Environmentalist, the Liberal Politicians, and a weak kneed Obama White House, we are not producing enough oil for ourselves as a Nation.

Yet, we have it. And there's the rub! We have the oil and gas and coal, and we have a lot of it!

Why can't we see the future and drill now, right here right now for our oil? 

There are thousands of wells here in the Continental U.S. that have been capped because of Environment Regulations. Regulations that no other country in the entire world has in place. 
This handcuffs our American Oil Companies. 

It's oil that we can't touch because some Liberal Politician who owes his position to Foreign Oil and Environmental Lobbyist would rather have Americans get it from Saudi Kings and Venezuelan Despots who have enslaved their people.

Why do we have to wait until there is an emergency before we as nation get off our backsides and begin to act? 

Why is it Americans have to be held at the mercy of a pathetic group of thugs before we do for ourselves?

And if I'm wrong, then someone please show me where President Obama has found the time to pull himself away from the golf course and picking his final four for NCAA Tourney to actually do the business of our highest executive office?

Since Obama has been in office, he came to the realization that we needed to drill here and do it now, at least he did once before - before changing his mind. 

It was just before the BP Oil Spill. He must have realized that we cannot sustain a $15 TRILLION Economy on wishful thinking for energy.

The Obama administration should either lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way so that Americans can drill here in America for American Oil and Help Americans First.

Open up that desolate area in Alaska where those billions of barrels of oil are located.   Let's uncap the wells in the West, and let's find someone in this big wide world who is smart enough to invent something where we can burn coal better than we have before -  if that's the problem.

America needs to take care of itself again. I'm tired of catering to a bunch of Wealthy Special Interest Environmentalist who don't care about what we Americans have to pay for a gallon of gasoline.  We should tell them to shut up and go sit down until we have an energy policy in America that doesn't penalize average Americans.

I think we should look at how did Bush brought down prices and repeat what he did.  Whether you are one of those who whole heartily hate George W Bush, or if you're like me who absolutely without question still admires and respects him, you have to admit that he did bring down gas prices in a relatively short time.

We know he lifted the Drilling Ban.  He looked at what American oil entrepreneurs would do if they had the chance. Would there efforts have a direct effect on our high gasoline prices? Yes, and once he found that it would bring it down, he then immediately gave the go-ahead to start drilling here right now.

He looked at what the small American oil entrepreneurs needed, and not just Big Oil who ride the wave of high prices who are ultimately responsible for high oil prices.

Just like these days, back in 2008 - All oil companies made record profits. Like today, American Oil Companies made a lot of profits in 2008.  But the Liberal Media, the Democrats and Obama will all have Americans believe that the only Oil Companies who are making huge profits are American Oil Companies.

And friends, that's a lie!

Friends, please remember that Liberals and Democrats work extremely hard to demonize American Oil Companies.  They portray them as being the biggest and most greedy in the entire world.

But friends, the facts are what they are. Yes, American Oil Companies are making huge profits.

So let's take a look at that. Let's take ExxonMobil which is reporting near-record profits in the first quarter of 2011.

Now friends, people should know that only 3% of the oil company’s profits come from Americans. Why, because Exxon-Mobil is a Global Company and subsequently its revenue base is diverse from all over the world. 

To fight back against the smear campaign that the White House and the Liberal Establishment is conducting. The Vice President of Public and Government Affairs for ExxonMobil Corporation, Ken Cohen,  has posted some details about the company:

"Less than 3 percent of ExxonMobil’s earnings are from U.S. gasoline sales. ExxonMobil’s earnings are from operations in more than 100 countries around the world. The part of the business that refines and sells gasoline and diesel in the United States represents less than 3 percent – or 3 cents on the dollar – of our total earnings. For every gallon of gasoline, diesel or finished products we manufactured and sold in the United States in the last three months of 2010, we earned a little more than 2 cents per gallon. That’s not a typo. Two cents.

The main component of the price at the pump is the cost of a barrel of crude oil. Another major component of the price of gas is state and federal taxes, which range from a high of 66 cents per gallon in California to a low of 26 cents per gallon in Alaska, according to January 2011 data.

In 2010, Exxon-Mobil made less than 8 cents for every dollar of revenue from all of it's businesses around the world. That’s less than half of companies selling pharmaceuticals, beverages, tobacco and computers, just to name a few. On a dollar-for-dollar basis, our earnings, and those of the U.S. oil and gas industry at large, are generally in line with the average earnings of all U.S. industries.

ExxonMobil is one of the largest taxpayers in the United States

Last year, our total taxes and duties to the U.S. government topped $9.8 billion, which includes an income tax expense of $1.6 billion. Over the past five years, we incurred a total U.S. tax expense of almost $59 billion, which is $18 billion more than we earned in the United States during the same period. Critics often try to ignore these facts by saying the oil and gas industry receives “subsidies.” But what they really mean is that they want to increase our taxes by taking away long-standing deductions for our industry while leaving these same deductions in place for other sectors of the economy." (end statement)


PLEASE NOTE THAT EXXON-MOBIL 
ACTUALLY TAKES IN LESS IN THE U.S.A.
THAN THEY PAY OUT IN TAXES.

Like I've been saying, American Oil Company don't set the oil prices.
Since we're using America's biggest oil company as an example, take a look at the chart below.


ExxonMobil owns less than 1 percent of the world’s oil reserves, and it produces less than 3 percent of the world’s daily oil supply. 

So it’s really not credible to suggest that Exxon-Mobil, or any other American Oil Company, is responsible for setting the world's oil prices.  ExxonMobil, just like many other American Oil Companies, actually buys more crude oil than they produce.

Last year for example, Exxon-Mobil spent $198 billion on crude oil - which of course they used to make refined products such as gasoline.

And as for profits? Folks should keep in mind that American Oil Companies make profits by just being a minor part of America's oil consumption.

Why do I claim that American Oil Companies have only a minor part in the price of oil? Simple, because 77% of all of the oil that we use in the United States comes from Foreign Oil. 

Those Foreign Oil Nations are the ones who set the prices, not our American Big Oil Companies - theirs.

And friends, all of that Foreign Oil  in most cases is 100% subsidized by their governments.

Since I've established that our oil companies are getting the biggest profits, besides Foreign Oil, so who makes the biggest profits on oil in America? 

Well, I've shown where America's biggest oil company Exxon-Mobil gets a couple of pennies out of each gallon of gas.  But now let's take a look at Federal and States. The Government's bite is a whole lot bigger.

The United States Federal Government takes in somewhere between 40 to 60 cents in taxes from each gallon of gas. And of course the individual State take theirs as well. 

What that amounts to is that since the State and Federal Governments spends NOTHING to find, drill, refine, pay employees, and sell that gasoline - yet their profit margin is 100%.

Of course let's talk about how many Americans all of America's Oil Companies are putting to work.  How about over TWO MILLION Americans.  That's how many people work for American Oil Companies.

So yes, Washington can tax them through the roof if they want to  - and most likely they will.

But the fact is that Washington can only tax American Oil, or really any American Company, only so much until companies layoff of American Workers to cut expenses.

Friends, American Oil Companies are Not Our Enemy!

Compared to the number of small family oil operations and other small oil companies that were once all over the United States, American Oil Companies are dwindling in numbers from what once was a great industry in our Country.

Similar to the American Steel Industry which is just a shadow of its former self all because it was almost wiped out by Environmental Regulation.  American Oil Companies are in the same shape.  Where once we had many, now in an America of over 320 Million people, there are a great deal less than there was just 50 years ago.

Why? Over regulation and high taxes.

American Oil Companies employ roughly TWO MILLION AMERICANS.  That's an amazing number of workers.  And what do America's Oil Companies have to do to keep employing those Americans?

Well, they have to compete against extremely well financed Foreign Oil Companies who are almost completely subsidized by their governments.

And yes, our oil companies have to survive from the attacks of the business unfriendly Liberal Political Machines like the Obama White House, the Democratic Party, and Environmentalist Groups who could care less about them being American Companies.

So how big is the Really Big Oil Companies? 
 
Well take a look at this chart of the Top 26  World's Largest Oil and Gas Companies in the entire world.  
So how many of these American Oil and Gas Companies are listed among the Top 26  World's Largest Oil and Gas Companies in the entire world? Only 4!

And where does our biggest Oil Company rank in the Top 26 in the World?  Number 17! 

Some people refuse to accept the fact that "Less than 3 percent of ExxonMobil’s earnings are from U.S. gasoline sales. ExxonMobil’s earnings are from operations in more than 100 countries around the world. In 2010, Exxon-Mobil made less than 8 cents for every dollar of revenue from all of it's businesses around the world."


The Federal and State governments are making the lion's share at the pumps. To me, if we want to pay for Social programs - then we should encourage productivity and reap the subsequent taxes gained from that increase in sales and productivity.

I am against regulation that stifles growth and productivity, but at the same time I can't see why we can't set up a sort of law that says "American oil to be sold only to Americans."

With our having esentially a "private" source of oil, and like Brazil who lives on what we have, the price of oil on the world market will drop like a rock.

Friends, we have the natural resources and we have the ability get it. We have the capability and the know how. We only lack the leadership. 

Washington, D.C., lacks the will, and of course, we know that their lack of will is hampered by Foreign Oil money contributions to many re-election campaign coffers.

Too bad so many self-serving people can be bought so easily to work against America's best interest. It is amazing when you see how easy some people forget about who put them in office.

For me, I never forget who's working for us and who's working for themselves on their own agenda.  And yes, that is especially true around election time when I can make a difference with my vote.

Obama is all about Obama. He is working his own agenda, and it is not an agenda beneficial to the American people.


If you would like to go back and reveiw Parts One, Two & Three, click the links below:

DRILL NOW - PART ONE - ANWR

DRILL NOW - PART TWO - Price of Gas Under Bush

DRILL NOW - PART THREE - Obama Working for Foreign Oil?

Story by Tom Correa

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