Cheap energy equals good economic times, conversely ...

[Janice]

20 More Oil Rigs Could Leave the Gulf Unless Permitting Is Increased

Up to 20 oil rigs could leave the Gulf of Mexico, in addition to the 11 that have already left, since the Obama Administration imposed a moratorium on deepwater oil and gas drilling in May 2010, a new report from FBR Capital Markets has concluded.

Unless the permitting process is accelerated, FBR analysts anticipate that anywhere from eight to 20 rigs could depart the deep waters within the Gulf. The moratorium was imposed in response to the explosion of British Petroleum’s (BP) Macondo oil well on April 20 of last year. The accident resulted in the death of 11 workers and caused an estimated five million barrels of crude oil to spill into the Gulf.

Although federal officials announced they were lifting the restrictions last October, a “de-facto moratorium” remains in effect that stifles energy production and undermines large and small businesses in the Gulf region, industry officials have argued.

“I don’t think the people in Washington D.C. who implement these policies have an understanding of how much this has impacted our economy >>>

Yes ... conversely, if we run all our energy producers out of the country or out of business, we shall suffer the inevitable consequences of an economy teetering on the brink ... as we are currently witnessing. The 0bamination is the ruin of us all, plain and simple.

[CG6468]

That's his goal, Janice.

[thundley4]

Halt or minimize all domestic energy production and it leaves us at the mercy of his Muslim brothers in OPEC.

[Janice]

Utica Shale Energizes Deal Frenzy in Ohio

One of the latest hot spots for deal making is far from New York City or Silicon Valley—it's in eastern Ohio, where energy companies are staking claims in what is being touted as North America's next big energy field, the Utica Shale.

While the 170,000-square-mile Utica Shale sprawls beneath parts of eight states and Canada, energy companies and analysts believe the richest reserves of oil and valuable natural-gas liquids, such as propane and butane, lie in eastern Ohio.‬

In recent weeks the buzz around the area has intensified. Large producers' moves into the area are becoming public. This month has seen big acquisitions. And stock analysts are recommending shares of small companies with Ohio acreage.

Last week, Exxon Mobil Corp. confirmed it is snapping up drilling rights in the Utica Shale. Exxon won't say how much land it has locked up or where the property lies. But the move caught Wall Street analysts' attention. >>> And Chesapeake Energy Corp., the country's second-largest natural-gas producer, after Exxon, is shopping a stake in its 1.25 million eastern Ohio acres >>>

Next, I half expect Commissar Zippy to send out his private army of libturds via the EPA with flashlights to find endangered species we must 'protect' at all costs.

[JohnnyReb]

Utica Shale Energizes Deal Frenzy in Ohio

Next, I half expect Commissar Zippy to send out his private army of libturds via the EPA with flashlights to find endangered species we must 'protect' at all costs.

The USPS lost the first batch of strange critters, UPS has the second batch of them in transit...somewhere. But not to worry tree huggers, Zippy can hold things up until they arrive to be found by some weeping, whinning, environmentalist.

[Janice]

Gassing Up: Why America's Future Job Growth Lies In Traditional Energy Industries

In his new book, The Coming Jobs War, Gallup CEO James Clifton defines what he calls an “all-out global war for good jobs.” Clifton envisions a world-wide struggle for new, steady employment, with the looming threat of “suffering, instability, chaos and eventually revolution” for those who fail to secure new economic opportunities.

In the U.S., this conflict can be seen as a kind of new war between the states, each fighting not only for employment but for jobs that pay enough to support a middle-class lifestyle. >>>

But the biggest growth by far has taken place in the mining, oil and natural gas industries, where jobs expanded by 60%, creating a total of 500,000 new jobs. While that number is not as large as those generated by health care or education, the quality of these jobs are far higher. The average job in conventional energy pays about $100,000 annually — about $20,000 more than finance or professional services pay. The wages are more than twice as high as those in either health or education. >>>

The relative strength of the energy sector can be seen in changes in income by region over the past decade. For the most part, the largest gains have been heavily concentrated in the energy belt between the Dakotas and the Gulf of Mexico. Energy-oriented metropolitan economies such as Houston, Dallas, Bismarck and Oklahoma City have also fared relatively well. In energy-rich North Dakota there’s actually a huge labor shortage, reaching over 17,000 — one likely to get worse if production expands, as now proposed, from 6000 to over 30,000 wells over the next decade. >>>

There will be no significant increase in the energy industry as long as Statists control the levers of power. Democrats and their willing allies "RINOs" sabotage domestic energy production every chance they get.