Dearth of offshore rigs pumps up oil prices

Say what?? Not to mention that rigs meant for the gulf of Mexico have been shipped to the the middle east too!!

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article1180131.ece

Oil companies have run out of offshore exploration rigs for the first time in almost 20 years. Projects are having to be delayed or shelved because of the shortage of rigs, while hire costs have soared up to fivefold in two years.

The situation is helping to keep oil prices, which last week hit $78 per barrel, at record highs.

Mike Wagstaff, chief executive of the North Sea oil company Venture Production, said that by the autumn, companies would have to wait until 2009 at the earliest to hire rigs in the region. "There are a lot more wells to be drilled than available rigs."

years.. his crew had drilled thousands and thousands of wells and he said there were a LOT of crews out there.. he was in WA and drilling in Silverdale north of Olympia.. drilled 14 wells and capped them.. he said the rigs look like water drilling rigs so as not to draw attention.

that was in 1990 he said we have more oil than the Arab ever thought they had.. we were shutting down production out of existing wells and drilling and capping fast and furious all over the country.. he said there was oil everywere... when we used up the cheap Arab oil they were going to sell us ours for $6 or $8 a gallon..

Bu$h canceled the National Solar Project his 3rd day in office.. that would provide around 70% of all daytime electricity.. and anywhere they could pump water up 60 feet with cheap daytime power into a reservoir they could run it back down into the holding reservoir at about 90% efficiency through turbines to provide nite time power, there is also enough wind potential to provide nearly all national power.. non carbon polymer synthetic oil like AMSOIL that can give an engine a million miles wear and you only change the oil every 250,000 miles. the oil doesn't volatilize and that eliminates a lot of pollution.. the flash point of AMSOIL is about 980*F.. oils like AMSOIL alone could free us of foreign oil and domination of foreign influence.

his crew had drilled thousands and thousands of wells and he said there were a LOT of crews out there.. he was in WA and drilling in Silverdale north of Olympia.. drilled 14 wells and capped them.. he said the rigs look like water drilling rigs so as not to draw attention.

This ole wives tales has been around for a long time and is not given any serious thought by those actually in the oil industry.. WHY?? Why would an invester CAP a known oil well that could be producing INCOME?? Wouldn't capping an investment be a waste of time and money by the investor??