Is it true we have a ton of oil in alaska?

Question

i heard we have enough oil in Alaska to fuel the country without havin to deal with crazy prices from saudi.... i also hear the reason we are not drillin is because some people are fightin about movin some freakin owls or something like that... Can Some One Pleae Enlighten Me??? theres gotta b an answer for this over 4bucks a gallon ISH....

Answer 1

The area where the oil is is basically an uninhabitable wasteland and technology has vastly improved when the area was closed off. We can access is cleanly and safely so no caribou will stub their toes on any pipes.

Failing that, I wonder how many miles to the gallon we could get by grinding up environmentalists and converting them to carbon/veggie fuel?

The new Soylent Green! Soylent Green is people!!!

Answer 2

There is a vast amount of oil in Alaska,  and off-shore some of the lower 48 states.  Government regulations and environmental issues currently prevent drilling for these supplies.

Answer 3

I live in Alaska and have been from each end of the pipeline and worked in some of the refineries here.

Alaska has enough oil to keep the US of A happy for a very long time.  And enough natural gas to keep everyone warm for about 300 years - after that you'll need to look somewhere else.

When the pipeline was started it sent 2.8million barrels of oil a day to Valdez where it was shipped to Los Angeles.  Today, thanks to the Democratic party - only 300,000 barrels are trickling out since no more drilling or exploration is allowed.

When the pipleine was built there were only 600,000 caribou and 5,000 polar bears around.  Now, 30 years later, we have 2 million caribou and 25,000 polar bears.

The pipeline was designed to last 25 years.  A few years ago they began updating it, and in 2010 it will have the ability to pump about 4.9 million barrels per day.   But, if no additional drilling is allowed, they will just batch pump it at this higer pressure and no run the line 24/7.

Bottom line.  The US has more oil in Alaska and the rest of the country than Middle East.

Answer 4

There is oil out there in Alaska and all over parts of North America. The price to get the fuel can be costly, not just

for the drilling but to the entire enviroment. One thing about us Americans ( whom I love ) , Is that we want everthing at the same time. We want cheaper fuel, and a beautiful clean enviroment. We want to get away from oil dependence with other countries but we won't sacrifice anything here in the US. In addition, there's always a black and a white side. How about a gray area.  Tap a few wells at first,

monitor the enviroment, watch the middle east drop their prices. Slow down the well drilling.   I know there's a lot more to it than this but see my point.....Hey, isn't it time to save some stuck whale for a few million dollars as eskimos sit there and watch a years supplly of food go bye byes.....By the way, do you know why China is sending all that merchandise over here with lead and other harmful materials in the product.

There shipping back all of the c**p we sent overseas just little by little.. Don't get me wrong here folks.. I love the USA..my home forever.... we just have to wake up and smell a little energy with our creamcheese. Don't you think other countries are a bit tired of us using them for manufacturring all the

enviromentally unfriendly stuff.....

Sorry bout that... I totally got carried away...

Answer 5

Yes, there are vast amounts of oil in ANWHAR.  It is an environmentally protected area.

j

Answer 6

1) There's not all that much oil under ANWR:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs-0028-01/fs-00...

2)  There's nothing in the tiny part of ANWR where they want to drill to be harmed...certainly no owls:

http://www.anwr.org/

3)  There's way more oil under North Dakota:

http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresourc...

4)  It takes more to get from drilling to gasoline than just drilling a hole.  Drilling is pretty sophisticated by itself, and then getting the oil out of the ground, transporting it to a refinery, refining it and adding all the required additives and getting it to market...it's not going to fix our current gas price problems for a long time, even if we start drilling today.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-dri...

http://science.howstuffworks.com/oil-ref...

Edit: Alaska is a fine state, I lived there myself for more than a decade and worked for the Trans Alaska Pipeline...but there certainly is not more oil in Alaska than in "the rest of the US put together."  That said, it's certainly easier to drill where there's nothing than where there's a ton of stuff built up.  And no, it wouldn't substantially reduce our dependence on foreign oil to drill the h*ll out of Alaska:

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/nati...

Answer 7

Yes.

Answer 8

oh! Yea!

but, probable we will never need it.

even that now the picture is not perfect.

From the Economics College Class..."the cost of the choice........."