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Posts tagged ‘Oil Production’

‘Stop appeasing dictators’: GOP senators demand Biden impose oil sanctions on Venezuela


Thomas Catenacci By Thomas Catenacci Fox News | Published April 16, 2024 11:18am EDT

Read more at https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-under-fire-shutting-us-oil-production-impose-sanctions-venezuela

FIRST ON FOX: A group of top Senate Republican leaders is urging President Biden to block oil sanctions relief for the Venezuelan government, an authoritarian regime which continues to oppress its opponents. The seven lawmakers, led by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, sent a letter to the president Friday, calling on him to cancel the so-called General License 44, which is set to come up for renewal later this week. They argued that Venezuela’s government has failed to meet key requirements related to ensuring fair elections that it agreed to when the Biden administration issued the six-month license last year.

“History has proven time and time again that appeasing dictators does not work. We strongly urge you to reinstate and fully enforce all U.S. sanctions on the [Nicolás] Maduro regime,” they wrote. “We must not cede American leverage by lifting U.S. sanctions while the Maduro government deliberately disregards its obligations.”

“If the U.S. fails to take a credible stance on ensuring free and fair elections are held in Venezuela, the prospects of a democratic Venezuela will continue to diminish, which will further embolden authoritarian aggressors such as the People’s Republic of China, Iran, and Russia,” the lawmakers continued.

President Joe Biden
The Biden administration is expected to issue a decision on sanctions relief for the Venezuelan oil sector this week. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

In October, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro signed an agreement with the nation’s opposition leaders, agreeing to freer elections as part of a deal in which the U.S. Treasury Department eased sanctions on the South American country’s key oil sector. However, the Maduro regime almost immediately began taking actions in apparent violation of the deal, cracking down on the opposition and imprisoning political opponents ahead of Venezuela’s upcoming presidential election slated for July 2024. The State Department said in October it would not renew the General License 44 absent progress by the Venezuelan government.

The October agreement broadly authorized oil and gas transactions with Venezuela and came a year after the Biden administration granted a separate license for California-based energy firm Chevron to continue drilling in Venezuela. According to federal data, U.S. oil imports from Venezuela have spiked from zero barrels in December 2022 to nearly 5 million barrels in January.

Dan Sullivan
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, speaks at a hearing on Feb. 3, 2021. (Brandon Bell-Pool/Getty Images)

In 2019, the Trump administration imposed heavy sanctions on the nation’s oil industry after a dispute arose between Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido over the 2018 presidential election. Those sanctions led to a precipitous fall off in U.S. imports of Venezuelan oil.

In a statement on Tuesday to Fox News Digital, Sullivan, who serves as the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee, expressed deep concern with Biden – both potentially for maintaining sanctions relief for Venezuela and recent actions his administration has taken to curb domestic production.

“Joe Biden needs to wake the hell up and stop appeasing dictators and the eco-colonialists – fast,” he said. “The world is on fire and Biden is still focused on appeasing his most far-left radical supporters at the expense of America’s national security.”

Sullivan noted that the Department of the Interior is expected to soon finalize regulations blocking off 13 million acres of land across the National Petroleum Reserve, an area in North Slope Borough, Alaska, set aside by Congress for resource development. Bloomberg reported last week the agency is expected to finalize those rules this week.

Deb Haaland in September 2023
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is expected to finalize a plan to block off half of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska from future drilling projects. (Shannon Finney/Getty Images)

“The NPR-A is one of the world’s most prolific oil basins and Biden wants to lock up more than half of it. Literally, during the same week, his administration is expected to renew their lifted oil sanctions for the Maduro dictatorship in Venezuela,” Sullivan said.

“Alaska, more than any other state, has taken the brunt of this administration’s failed energy policy,” he continued. “This rule, once finalized, is on track to be the 61st action by his administration targeting Alaska. Like many others, it ignores the laws on the books and has been done without real consultation of impacted Alaska Native communities.”

Oil pipelines stretch across the landscape outside Nuiqsut, Alaska, where ConocoPhillips operates the Alpine Field on May 28, 2019. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Calls placed to The White House were not returned at press time. 

Joining Sullivan in penning the letter to Biden were Republican Sens. James Risch of Idaho, John Barrasso of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida.

Thomas Catenacci is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

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Sen. Kyrsten Sinema calls for increased US oil production


Reported by ALEX NITZBERG | April 12, 2022

Read more at https://www.conservativereview.com/sen-kyrsten-sinema-calls-for-increased-us-oil-production-2657146312.html/

Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona called Tuesday for raising U.S. oil production to offset the loss of imported Russian oil, according to the Associated Press.

“The reasonable way to address what is going to be an oil shortage in America is for us to responsibly increase our own domestic oil production,” the senator remarked during a luncheon for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, according to the outlet.

Americans have been getting slammed by high gas prices — as of Tuesday, the AAA national average for a gallon of regular gas was $4.098.

Last month, President Joe Biden issued an executive order banning the import of crude oil and other products from Russia, a country that has been waging a devastating invasion in Ukraine.

“We can help our European allies do the same, but it is incumbent on us to help fill that gap,” Sinema said, according to the AP.

High fuel costs directly hurt American drivers each time they fill up their vehicle, but the financial pain does not necessarily stop there since high gas prices can also drive up the costs associated with transportation and lead to higher prices across the board.

On March 31, President Biden announced plans to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at the rate of one million barrels each day over the span of six months.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new consumer price index data on Tuesday which showed that rising prices are continuing to hammer Americans hard. “The gasoline index rose sharply in March, increasing 18.3 percent after rising 6.6 percent in February. (Before seasonal adjustment, gasoline prices rose 19.8 percent in March.),” the BLS noted.

Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin issued a statement about the nation’s rapidly rising inflation.

“Here is the truth, we cannot spend our way to a balanced, healthy economy and continue adding to our $30 trillion national debt. Getting inflation under control will require more aggressive action by a Federal Reserve that waited too long to act. It demands the Administration and Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, support an all-the-above energy policy because that is the only way to bring down the high price of gas and energy while attacking climate change,” Manchin said in the statement.

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Obama’s ISIS Oil Scandal Deepens As Russia Produces Stunning Photographic Evidence


waving flagReported by

URL of the original posting site:http://freedomoutpost.com/2015/12/obamas-isis-oil-scandal-deepens-as-russia-produces-stunning-photographic-evidence/#71kiF4X212zo6E2u.99

How is Barack Obama going to get out of this one? On Tuesday, thewas Russian military produced an impressive array of evidence that clearly shows that ISIS oil is being smuggled into Turkey on an industrial scale. The evidence included photographs taken by satellite and during aerial reconnaissance missions. What the Russians have shown the world is extremely compelling, and it raises some very disturbing questions. First of all, how involved is the Turkish government in all of this? There is no way in the world that a endless parade of trucks carrying ISIS oil could have marched through Turkish border checkpoints without the cooperation of the central government. Secondly, what did Obama know and when did he know it? The U.S. military has far better surveillance capabilities than the Russians do, and so it seems absolutely absurd to suggest that Obama didn’t know what was going on.

This new Russian evidence was presented to the world by Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, and he says that “thousands of oil trucks” have been going back and forth over the Turkish border…

According to Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, Russia is aware of three main oil smuggling routes to Turkey.

“Today, we are presenting only some of the facts that confirm that a whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region,” Antonov said, adding that this oil “in large quantities” enters the territory of Turkey via “live oil pipelines,” consisting of thousands of oil trucks.

But Antonov didn’t stop there. He went on to publicly accuse President Erdogan of Turkey and his family of running the entire operation…

“Turkey is the main consumer of the oil stolen from its rightful owners, Syria and Iraq. According to information we’ve received, the senior political leadership of the country – President Erdogan and his family – are involved in this criminal business,” said Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov.

“Maybe I’m being too blunt, but one can only entrust control over this thieving business to one’s closest associates.”

“In the West, no one has asked questions about the fact that the Turkish president’s son heads one of the biggest energy companies, or that his son-in-law has been appointed energy minister. What a marvelous family business!”

“The cynicism of the Turkish leadership knows no limits. Look what they’re doing. They went into someone else’s country, they are robbing it without compunction,” Antonov said.

And he is right.

The Erdogan family is knee deep in this scandal, and Barack Obama has known about it the entire time. For much more on the involvement of the Erdogan family in the smuggling of ISIS oil, please see my previous article entitled “The Biggest Obama Scandal? He Knows That Turkey Is Buying Oil From ISIS And He Is Doing Nothing To Stop It“.

During his presentation, Antonov gave us a lot of specifics. He even claimed that the Russians know precisely where much of this stolen oil ends up. The following comes from an Infowars report…

“The western route goes to Turkish ports on the Mediterranean coast, the north—to the refinery Batman in Turkey and the east—to the largest transshipment base in the village of Cizre,” the Russian Ministery of Defense web page states.

Oil from fields near the Syrian city of Raqqa—said to be the capital city of the Islamic State—is transported at night through the border town of Azaz, Syria and Reyhanli, Turkey to the port of Iskenderun and Dörtyol where the stolen oil is loaded on tankers.

The Russians claim the convoys are under the control of al-Nusra, the terror group funded by the Gulf Emirates and that cooperates with the Islamic State and supposed moderates in the Free Syrian Army.

Posted below is one of the charts that Antonov used during his presentation. As you can see, the Russians are not just making “vague accusations”…

Oil-Smuggling-From-Syria-And-Iraq-To-Turkey
If you would like to watch video of Antonov’s entire presentation, you can do so right here. What Antonov is saying in the video has been translated into English, so you will be able to understand it.To me, one of the most striking things about the presentation was when Antonov accused the Turks of supplying fighters, ammunition and vehicles to ISIS and Al-Nusra. The following comes from an RT article…

ISIS is containedUp to 2,000 fighters, 120 tons of ammunition and 250 vehicles have been delivered to Islamic State and Al-Nusra militants from Turkish territory, chief of National Centre for State Defense Control Lt.Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said.

“According to reliable intelligence reports, the Turkish side has been taking such actions for a long time and on a regular basis. And most importantly, it is not planning to stop them.”

If any of these allegations are true, Turkey should be immediately kicked out of NATO.

And if Barack Obama knew about any of this and refused to stop it, he should be facing impeachment proceedings.

For the moment, the official position of the U.S. government is that nothing that the Russians are saying is true…

Following Russian accusations, the US has again defended Turkey, denying any ties between Ankara and Islamic State.

“We flatly reject any notion that the Turks are somehow working with ISIL. Preposterous. And really very, kind of ridiculous,” Steve Warren, Pentagon spokesman, said.

Really?

As an American, I am utterly embarrassed that our “leaders” would continue to try to deny what Turkey is doing after everything that has come out. By flat out lying to the world, we are losing any credibility that we had left.

Hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stolen oil has been smuggled into Turkey, and our government still has the audacity to try to tell us not to look behind the curtain?

No wonder why most people over in Iraq are convinced that the U.S. is actually on the same side as ISIS. They don’t trust anything that we have to say anymore. The following comes from the Washington Post…

muslim-obamaOrdinary people also have seen the videos, heard the stories and reached the same conclusion — one that might seem absurd to Americans but is widely believed among Iraqis — that the United States is supporting the Islamic State for a variety of pernicious reasons that have to do with asserting U.S. control over Iraq, the wider Middle East and, perhaps, its oil.

“It is not in doubt,” said Mustafa Saadi, who says his friend saw U.S. helicopters delivering bottled water to Islamic State positions. He is a commander in one of the Shiite militias that last month helped push the militants out of the oil refinery near Baiji in northern Iraq alongside the Iraqi army.

The Islamic State is “almost finished,” he said. “They are weak. If only America would stop supporting them, we could defeat them in days.”

If we are going to continue to lie about the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of stolen oil that has been smuggled into Turkey, why should anyone believe anything else that we have to say? The Obama administration and the Turkish government have been caught in a massive, massive lie. In the end, this is the kind of scandal that could potentially bring down the Obama administration, leaders in Congress, and many among the top brass in the U.S. military.Partyof Deceit Spin and Lies

So what do you think about this emerging scandal?

About Michael Snyder

Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years. Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog. Michael and his wife, Meranda, believe that a great awakening is coming and are working hard to help bring renewal to America. Michael is also the author of the book The Beginning Of The End

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Energy industry: Thank fracking for Memorial Day driving on the cheap


waving flagBy John Siciliano | May 21, 2015

URL of the Original Posting Site: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/energy-industry-thank-fracking-for-memorial-day-driving-on-the-cheap/article/2564846
PumpingGas052115

The oil industry is touting shale oil and fracking for making Memorial Day driving more affordable this weekend.

“Thanks to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, the U.S. is experiencing a renaissance in domestic oil and natural gas production. The benefits for U.S. consumers — as well as manufacturers, the travel and tourism industry and frankly our entire economy — are hard to overstate,” John Felmy, chief economist with the American Petroleum Institute, said in a conference call with reporters.

Hydraulic fracturing is the process by which water and sand are injected deep underground to release oil and gas from large shale rock formations. The advent of new drilling technologies that enable oil producers to drill horizontally through the formations has made the process more affordable, leading to an energy renaissance in the country and the United States becoming a global leader in oil production.

The increased production has caused the U.S. to import less from Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. That has led to more supply being available on the global market, deflating the price per barrel of oil, which in turn has lowered gasoline prices for consumers.

Felmy said the national average price of gasoline is about $1 per gallon less than it was at this time last year, based on data from AAA. The association also said more drivers will be on the road over the weekend in the Mid-Atlantic region compared with last year, with some states projected to experience the highest number of travelers on the road in a decade.

Oil shale production has provided “welcome relief at the pump,” he said. Without the added supply, some have suggested price per barrel could have climbed as high as $150 per barrel. Today’s prices are between $59 and $66 per barrel, compared to nearly $100 a year ago.

Felmy said the advent of shale production should keep the “new equilibrium below the 100 dollar mark.” He said the government should not take low prices “for granted.” Instead, the more affordable gasoline prices should spur policymakers to keep regulations predictable for oil producers and avoid punitive tax regimes.

“In order to maintain a robust supply of domestic oil, it is essential that the industry be allowed to affordably and predictably explore for and develop new resources,” Felmy said.

“That means companies must be able to lease acreage and obtain permits in a timely fashion. It also means the federal and state governments should avoid punitive tax regimes that would cause energy companies to look elsewhere for the best opportunities,” he said.

“With the right policies, our energy renaissance can endure for decades and help even more families afford to take a vacation on Memorial Day weekend,” he said.Gas Prices the day Obama took office

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management is on track to implement new regulations for fracking that the industry is warning could increase the cost of production. Several states and industry are suing the agency over the rules that are set to go into effect next month.freedom combo 2

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Obama seeks wilderness designation for Alaska refuge, sets up battle with GOP


Published January 25, 2015, FoxNews.com

Obama_India.jpg
Jan. 25, 2015: President Obama in the gardens of the Hyderabad House in, New Delhi, India. (AP)

Imperial President ObamaPresident Obama announced a plan on Sunday to preserve Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that includes asking the GOP-led Congress to designate more than 12 million acres as a protected wilderness, which includes the potentially oil-rich Coastal Plain. The designation would halt oil exploration in Alaska’s northeast corner and give the region the highest degree of federal protection available to public lands. The refuge’s Coastal Plain has long been at the center of the struggle between conservationists and advocates of greater energy exploration in the United States. And Obama’s efforts to win wilderness designation will likely face stiff resistance in the Republican-controlled Congress.

Alaska’s top elected officials — including Gov. Bill Walker and senior Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, both Republicans — have already reacted angrily at the administration’s moves.

“I have tried to work with this administration, even though they’ve made it extremely difficult every step of the way,” said Murkowski, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “But those days are officially over. We are left with no choice but to hit back as hard as we can.”

Obama announced the move in a 60-second White House video.

“Alaska’s National Wildlife refuge is an incredible place — pristine, undisturbed,” he said. “It supports caribou and polar bears, all manner of marine life, countless species of birds and fish, and for centuries it supported many Alaska native communities. But it’s very fragile.”more evidence

Obama said the move is part of a comprehensive Interior Department plan to protect the refuge and designate new areas for preservation and that he will call on Congress “to make sure they take it one step further” by designating the area as wilderness. If Congress agrees, it would be the largest wilderness designation in the country.Picture1

The Associated Press contributed to this report.Freedom with Prayer

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Good News Out of Washington D.C.


Have any of you heard anything about this legislation? Me either.

Gary Miller is one of the very good Congressman. Please add him to your prayer time.

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June 28, 2013

 

Pro-Jobs Energy Legislation Passes House

As gas prices continue to rise as we head into the summer driving season, families across the Inland Empire will be forced to fork over more of their hard-earned money just to fill their gas tanks. Now more than ever, we need an all-of-the-above energy plan that includes promoting the development of clean and alternative energy sources such as natural gas and clean coal technologies as well as utilizing resources here at home. This week, the House of Representatives considered two pieces of legislation that would increase U.S. energy production and create jobs.

 

In February 2012, the Obama Administration and Mexico reached an agreement establishing a framework to guide energy development along the maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico. On Thursday, the House passed legislation to enact this agreement, which would open up areas for development that, according to the State Department and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, contain an estimated 172 million barrels of oil and 304 billion cubic feet of natural gas. Currently, there are 67 active lease blocks held by nine companies on the U.S. portion of the area just waiting for the agreement to be enacted. It is my hope that the Senate will take up this legislation to get this exploration underway to improve our energy independence and create good-paying American jobs.

 

In addition, the House passed legislation that would remove federal obstacles that are blocking development of energy resources and the creation of hundreds of thousands of new American jobs. Last year, the President implemented a five-year leasing plan which shuts off 85% of offshore areas to energy production. This plan will stifle job creation and weaken our energy independence by continuing our reliance on foreign and unstable sources of energy. The bill passed by the House today would open up those areas with the most oil and natural gas resources, which  a recent study has shown this legislation could create up to 1.2 million jobs long-term, and the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has stated this legislation would generate $1.5 billion over ten years.

In addition, reforms are included in the legislation to strengthen safety, accountability, and ethical standards of offshore energy exploration operations.

 

With 21st Century technologies and the strictest environmental standards in the world, America can produce more of our own energy and protect our environment at the same time.  I will continue to work in Congress to increase access to American-made energy that will create new job opportunities here at home, help reduce the burden of high gas prices on families here in the Inland Empire, and lessen our dependence on foreign oil.

 

House Passes Bill Extending Whistleblower Protections to Victims of Sexual Assault in the Military

Sexual violence in the military is a disturbing and, unfortunately, growing problem. According to data from the Department of Defense the number of reported sexual assaults rose 64% from 2006 to 2011. However, the actual number of assaults that have occurred is much higher as fewer than 20% of assaults are reported. The fear of retaliation for reporting these horrific acts is far too common, discouraging victims from coming forward. It has been reported that 62% of servicemembers who have been assaulted have experienced some form of retaliation. This is unacceptable.

 

This week, the House passed a measure to extend whistleblower protections to victims of sexual violence in the military in order to encourage safe reporting. Specifically, the bill would require the Inspectors General of the military departments to investigate acts of retaliation against servicemembers who report such heinous acts. I strongly supported this legislation, which is a critical step to eliminating the scourge of sexual assault and violence in the Armed Services.

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