How do we ACCOUNT for the Strategic Oil Reserve?

How do we KNOW that the oil we have bought is actually down that hole?

How do we know that it isn't being covertly tapped and the oil stolen once it IS down the hole.

Perhaps this explains the government reticence about using it to control prices?

I am suddenly thinking of the Teapot Dome scandal, and how much worse such a thing might be in modern times.

....we USED to have representatives who would worry about such things in our behalf. But now, since they seem to be only interested in their OWN behalf....oh crap, crap, crap :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

we need to start demanding -- and LOUDLY -- that we never have such an incident again, where million-plus people are ordered to flee for their lives, and there is no gasoline, and any gasoline you buy is at twice the normal price

there is no point in funding a strategic reserve you don't use

when we were forced to leave our homes, when we were ordered to "keep going north" because katrina went 200 miles inland and destroyed electric, water, sewerage service as far north as meridian mississippi, there should have been gas for people to buy

i saw a family where the woman sat down and cried because she didn't know where to go or where to buy gas when we were deported from jackson

we produce the damn oil and gas, we drill it, we refine it, in our time of need, they damn well better start allowing us to have it

no one was asking for a free hand-out of gas

we were asking that the gas be made available for a fair price, so people wouldn't have to leave their vehicles at the side of the road

so people would be able to afford to return home when the evacuation was over

was that too much to ask?

i just saw an article abt a lady stuck in new york city, fema has to pay her hotel room every day, because there is no agency and no funding to give her the freakin $200 for gas to drive home to new orleans

what kind of sense is that?

give her the money they're giving a damn hotel chain

and if the gas is too expensive, tell the damn gas companies to stop freakin gouging

they are killing their own biggest supporters & defenders

Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Government Owned and Government Operated
FY 1993 Operating Budget $60,000,000
FY 1993 Staff 20

The Bartlesville Project Office (BPO) is the lead mission field office within DOE's Office of Fossil Energy for planning and implementing research on oil. Its program includes research related to the geosciences, reservoir characterization, and oil extraction and processing. More than 200 individual projects are designed to accomplish DOE's Advanced Oil Recovery Program goals: to arrest the abandonment of marginally productive oil fields and maximize economic recovery of domestic oil resources.

In fiscal year 1994, BPO has added a third reservoir class to its research program, which consists of projects tailored to specific oil reservoir classes. The 25 projects tailored to Class I and II oil reservoirs have drawn participation from major and independent oil companies, service companies, consultants, universities, and governmental agencies working in pairs or as teams. Technology resulting from these projects will be transferred to operators in applicable reservoirs, particularly independent oil producers, which constitute an increasingly large share of U.S. oil production.

Technology Transfer Contact

Herbert A. Tiedemann
U.S. Department of Energy
Bartlesville Project Office
P.O. Box 1398
Bartlesville, Oklahoma 74005
Phone: (918) 337-4293
Fax: (918) 337-4418

The Federal Government will allow the release of some of the nations stategic oil reserve to ease pressures caused by Hurricane Katrina, Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman told CNBC Wednesday morning. He said details would be forthcoming this afternoon.

The Energy Department says the reserve sits at record highs right now as ordered by President Bush after September 11, 2001. Here is the Energy Department's opus site on the SPR.

The department's Web site reports that it would be possible to draw down about four million barrels of oil a day and it would take a couple of weeks for that oil to hit the U.S. market. But there is a real question about whether it is the oil supply or refining capacity that is most at issue right now.

The DOE reports that the SPR has been drawn down in these past instances:

1985: Test sale -- 1.1 million barrels
1990/91: Desert Shield/Storm sale -- 21 million barrels
(4 million in August 1990 test sale; 17 million in January 1991 presidentially-ordered drawdown)
1996-97: Total non-emergency sales -- 28 million barrels
There have been some "exchanges," as well, to relieve temporary problems. The DOE reports:

September/November 2004: Exchanged 5.4 million barrels of sweet crude due to disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico caused by Hurricane Ivan.
April/May 1996: Exchanged 900,000 barrels of SPR crude with ARCO to resolve company's pipeline blockage problem.
August 1998: Exchanged 11 million barrels of lower quality Maya crude in SPR with PEMEX for 8.5 million of higher quality crude (more suitable for U.S. refineries).
June 2000: Exchanged 500,000 barrels each with CITGO and Conoco, due to blockage of the ship channel that allowed incoming crude oil shipments to those refineries. Action taken in order to avert temporary shutdown of both refineries.
July/August 2000: Exchanged 2.8 million barrels of crude oil for first-year tank storage and stocks for 2 million barrel Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve.
September/October 2000: Exchanged 30 million barrels in response to concern over low distillate levels in Northeast.
October 2002: Exchanged 296,000 barrels with Shell Pipeline Co. to secure Capline storage tanks in advance of Hurricane Lili.
September/October 2004: Exchanged 5.4 million barrels in response to physical shortages of crude oil supplies in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ivan.
The DOE includes a series of questions and answers, including:

Question: When can the Reserve be used?

Answer: The circumstances that might require the use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are defined in the Energy circumstances that might require the use of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are defined in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA). Generally, there are three possible types of drawdowns envisioned in the Act:

Full drawdown: The President can order a full drawdown of the Reserve to counter a "severe energy supply interruption." EPCA defines this as "a national energy supply shortage which the President determines -

(A) is, or is likely to be, of significant scope and duration, and of an emergency nature

(B) may cause major adverse impact on national safety or the national economy; and

(C) results, or is likely to result, from (i) an interruption in the supply of imported petroleum products, (ii) an interruption in the supply of domestic petroleum products, or (iii) sabotage or an act of God.

EPCA also states that a severe energy supply interruption "shall be deemed to exist if the President determines that -

(A) an emergency situation exists and there is a significant reduction in supply which is of significant scope and duration;

(B) a severe increase in the price of petroleum products has resulted from such emergency situation; and

(C) such price increase is likely to cause a major adverse impact on the national economy."


Limited drawdown: If the President finds that -
(A) a circumstance, other than those described exists that constitutes, or is likely to become, a domestic or international energy supply shortages of significant scope or duration; and

(B) action taken....would assist directly and significantly in preventing or reducing the adverse impact of such shortage"

then the Secretary may draw down and distribute the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, although in no case:

"(A) in excess of an aggregate of 30,000,000 barrels....

(B) for more than 60 days....

(C) if there are fewer than 500,000,000 barrels....stored in the Reserve."


Test Sale: The Secretary of Energy is authorized to carry out test drawdowns and distribution of crude oil from the Reserve. If any such test drawdown includes the sale or exchange of crude oil, "then the aggregate quantity of crude oil withdrawn from the Reserve may not exceed 5,000,000 barrels during any such test drawdown or distribution."

Jo Ann Rochon, DOE Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 504-734-4731
David Stoltz, DOE Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 504-734-4918

Teapot Dome

Teapot Dome, in U.S. history, oil reserve scandal that began during the administration of President Harding. In 1921, by executive order of the President, control of naval oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyo., and at Elk Hills, Calif., was transferred from the Navy Dept. to the Dept. of the Interior. The oil reserves had been set aside for the navy by President Wilson. In 1922, Albert B. Fall, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, leased, without competitive bidding, the Teapot Dome fields to Harry F. Sinclair, an oil operator, and the field at Elk Hills, Calif., to Edward L. Doheny. These transactions became (1922–23) the subject of a Senate investigation conducted by Sen. Thomas J. Walsh. It was found that in 1921, Doheny had lent Fall $100,000, interest-free, and that upon Fall's retirement as Secretary of the Interior (Mar., 1923) Sinclair also “loaned” him a large amount of money. The investigation led to criminal prosecutions. Fall was indicted for conspiracy and for accepting bribes. Convicted of the latter charge, he was sentenced to a year in prison and fined $100,000. In another trial for bribery Doheny and Sinclair were acquitted, although Sinclair was subsequently sentenced to prison for contempt of the Senate and for employing detectives to shadow members of the jury in his case. The oil fields were restored to the U.S. government through a Supreme Court decision in 1927.

See M. R. Werner and J. Starr, Teapot Dome (1959); B. Noggle, Teapot Dome (1962).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved

The oil industry classifies "crude" by the location of its origin (e.g., "West Texas Intermediate, WTI" or "Brent") and often by its relative weight (API gravity) or viscosity ("light", "intermediate" or "heavy"); refiners may also refer to it as "sweet", which means it contains relatively little sulfur, or as "sour", which means it contains substantial amounts of sulfur and requires more refining in order to meet current product specifications.

Go here for an excellent entry from Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crude_oil

The sweet stuff is where the money is. Much less refining. This is why Iraqi oil is so desired in that it is very sweet. Especially the oil fields around Basra. You will see US military installations in that vicinity for that reason. It is less the quantity that motivates the oil man than it is the profit margin. It comes down to how much investment it takes to get the oil to market for the oil barons.

As for the Petroleum Reserve let there be no mistaking the fact that that is primarily for military use. There will be a few occasions where exchanges or short term use of the Reserve is allowed for emergencies but those withdrawals, it is understood, are to be replaced shortly thereafter. That is the mandate from the Pentagon.

we still do not have the answer to the original OP and that is who monitors what is pumped in or out. Pentagon may mandate that the oil is replenished once it is withdrawn, but who is the oversite committee in charge of seeing that it is actually done?

can assist. Go to the website below and you can dig for more info. I do not think you will find a clear cut or satisfactory answer to the question until it is determined who runs/owns the country and its resources. The Pentagon will have final say on any large scale draw down of the reserves.

Petroleum Reserves

"The Administration has been clear that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a national security asset that can be used to protect American consumers and our economy in the event of a major supply disruption, including natural disasters. "
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman
August 29, 2005



Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the largest stockpile of government-owned emergency crude oil in the world. Established in the aftermath of the 1973-74 oil embargo, the SPR provides the President with a powerful response option should a disruption in commercial oil supplies threaten the U.S. economy. It also allows the United States to meet part of its International Energy Agency obligation to maintain emergency oil stocks, and it provides a national defense fuel reserve.

The recently enacted Energy Policy Act of 2005 directs the Secretary of Energy to fill the SPR to its authorized one billion barrel capacity. This will require the Department of Energy to complete proceedings to select sites necessary to expand the SPR to one billion barrels.

Profile of Reserve
Current Inventory
Filling the Reserve
Environmental Impact Statement for Expanding the Reserve
Crude Oil Assays
Quick Facts & Frequently-Asked Questions
The SPR Storage Sites
Releasing Crude Oil from the Reserve
Past News Announcements



Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve
The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve is a 2-million barrel supply of emergency fuel oil for homes and businesses in the northeast United States. Established in 2000, the Heating Oil Reserve as an "emergency buffer" that can supplement commercial fuel supplies should the heavily oil-dependent region be hit by a severe heating oil supply disruption.

Profile of Reserve
Guidelines for Release
Electronic Bidding & Sales Process
Past News Announcements



Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves
Since the early 1900s, the Naval Petroleum Reserves program has controlled oil bearing lands owned by the U.S. Government. Originally established in a series of Executive Orders, the lands were intended to provide U.S. naval vessels with an assured source of fuel. The Naval Petroleum Reserves operated three major oil fields located in California and Wyoming. The Government also held oil shale lands in Utah and Colorado that were opened to development during the 1980s as an alternate source of fossil fuels. Much has changed since 1996 when Congress authorized the divestment of several Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves properties. Today the Naval Petroleum Reserves manages associated closeout activities for the giant Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1, located in California, and coordinates public/private initiatives relating to possible oil shale demonstration and development programs from its headquarters office in Washington, D.C.

Profile of Reserves
Divestiture of Elk Hills
90 Years of Ensuring National Security
Oil Shale Activities
Past News Announcements

http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/reserves/index.html

They don't feel the need to account to anybody at any time.