By GottaLaff
BuzzFlash Tweeted a link to this one. It looks like someone with the intials S.P. will have to change her mantra:
The great American drilling boom is over.The number of oil and gas rigs deployed to tap new energy supplies across the country has plunged to less than 1,200 from 2,400 last summer, and energy executives say the drop is accelerating further.
All those Drill-Baby-Drillbots will have to find themselves a new leader. It seems that theirs lacked-- What's the word again? Oh yeah-- foresight.
[T]he economic downturn has cut into demand. Global oil prices and American natural gas prices have plummeted two-thirds since last summer. Not even an unseasonably cold winter drove down unusually high inventories of natural gas.The drop has been good news for American consumers, with gasoline now selling for $1.92 a gallon, on average, down from a high of $4.11 in July. But the result for companies is that it is becoming unprofitable to drill.
WWGMcED?*
The reversal of fortune could have important implications for the future health of the nation’s energy companies, for consumer wallets and for national aspirations to rely less on foreign energy sources.
The drilling cutback has been particularly stark for natural gas. Gas exploration had soared in recent years after technology advances enabled the exploitation of gas trapped in huge shale beds found around Fort Worth, western Pennsylvania, upstate New York and elsewhere.
But that boom has created such abundant supplies that companies are not only drilling less but also deciding not to pump from wells already drilled.
Don't drill, baby! Don't drill!
John Richels, Devon’s president, said that if the slump lasted two years, it could then take 18 to 24 months for companies to reassemble rig crews.
Hopefully, we can compensate by revving up our green energy industries. While I have a lot of sympathy for anyone whose livelihood depended on oil and natural gas, I'm optimistic that the silver lining will be a new, cleaner, healthier wave of opportunity.
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