The Cost of Obozo: Gulf Oil

Naturally, the Obozo-ites re-arranged the numbers when 'reporting' on oil activities in the Gulf.

But reality is this:

Fed Gov Revenues Off:  Lease sales that brought billions of dollars in bonus consideration as recently as 2008 returned only $36 million in 2011′s only lease sale. With production off (see below), royalty income is down

Actual Drilling Down:   Notwithstanding “official” rig statistics, the number of rigs actually drilling wells has declined from 27 before Macondo to 18 as of May 1

Net/Net:  current levels of oil production ... from the Gulf are running 30% below what was expected in the last pre-Macondo production forecast

So what's that mean to you?

....companies attempting to plan and execute enormously expensive, multi-year offshore energy projects are not receiving the transparency and predictably required to conduct business. When the market lacks confidence that the government will remove obstacles to energy production in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, traders incorporate this risk into current thinking and future price structures. Today’s offshore regulatory regime has bred a high “U.S. regulatory risk premium” that is dampening production and causing a hidden surcharge on the price of oil and gasoline in the market...

Remember that our Sec/Energy's 'goal' is $8.00/gallon gasoline, just like in Europe.