To: Jorj X Mckie who wrote (130 ) 8/30/2011 12:35:12 PM From: Brumar89 1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) | Respond to One problem with trying to raise the price of oil and natural gas for alleged externatlities involving the ME (or Africa or wherever) is that it works against a natural advantage the US has ... cheap, by world standards, energy. From a newsletter I recieve:The massive shale gas discoveries have made the United States one of the low cost natural gas regions of the world. We are seeing this pay off in investment and jobs. We are now seeing the second stage of the benefit for the huge shale gas discoveries—construction of the pipelines, gas processing facilities and chemical plants to process the gas.Dow Chemical recently announced a $4 billion expansion of chemical plants along the Gulf coast due to the low cost shale gas. Only three years ago chemical plants were being shut down because of uncompetitive US natural gas prices. In addition to Dow, Occidental Chemical, Chevron, and Formosa Plastics, among many others, have announced chemical plant expansions . This does not even include the many gas fractionating plants going in around the country. Royal Dutch Shell announced they want to build an ethane cracking unit in the Appalachian area for the Marcellus shale gas. It is the first new cracking plant in the area in fifty years! .... The third stage in the development of the oil and gas shale fields in the United States will be the renaissance of manufacturing in this country as companies move or expand manufacturing plants to take advantage of the lower cost energy available from the shale fields. Oil and gas shale fields are transforming our country by lowering the cost of energy and providing much needed jobs. These lower energy costs will transform the United States by helping make the United States a low cost manufacturing country. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now asking oil and gas companies to provide it with detailed information on shale gas field fracking. They are doing this as part of a liberal and Obama Administration attack on the oil industry and conservative states such as Texas . Oil field fracking is a long term, proven, safe technique. This SEC move on fracking in a nutshell is everything that is wrong with our government. Today we have out of control high frequency traders manipulating the stock markets and controlling over 75% of the trading volume at the expense of individual investors and institutions. These same high frequency traders are paying the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) for preferred trading access ahead of other investors and the SEC does nothing. But after 50,000-plus fracking operations in this country with little problems, they swing into action. Since when has the SEC been charged with regulation of the oil business? The American people depend on the SEC to provide a safe investment environment and a level playing field. The SEC needs to get out of the political vendetta business and go back to protecting individual investors. .....
