[djschnei]

We want to be green so we're trying to stop drilling for oil. But we also need oil because our society runs on it. This guy has oil. This guy can therefore do whatever he likes.

This is obviously way better than drilling at home.

[chinchilla2020]

America runs a close import/export balance now for oil.

Please stop repeating twitter talking points until they become truth.

https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/

[hamandcheese]

Oil prices abroad affect oil prices at home.

[redog]

I wonder how much cheaper Oil would be if we attacked SA after 911 instead of Iraq.

[elecush]

why

[dfxm12]

This guy has oil. This guy can therefore do whatever he likes.

There's lots of guys who had oil who, when they did things the US didn't like, found themselves without anyone to sell oil to, without a country to run or maybe worse.

I agree KSA has a special relationship with the US (and much of the west), but it's not just about oil.

[dmix]

The most controversial thing in recent times (here in Canada too) isn't even drilling, it's moving oil efficiently over pipelines vs via dirty trucks and busy rail lines.

There's much more opportunity for political activism when pipes go over lots of small pieces of land vs drilling one big piece of land.

[TremendousJudge]

Pipelines are notoriously dirty, since the owners can't seem to stop them from leaking, spilling, blowing up, or otherwise malfunctioning. Wikipedia has a handy list of lists: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pipeline_accidents_in_.... If somebody wanted to put an oil pipeline near my property I'd definitely wouldn't feel safe with it there.

[glogla]

It is not that they can't - they just keep more money if they don't. Which shouldn't be surprising in an industry that is literally destroying the world to make money.

[TremendousJudge]

I agree, that's why I said they can't seem to do it.

[mc32]

This is what activists fail to understand for ideological reason. Oil will flow, one way or another: be it truck, rail or pipeline. The only thing that would stop the flow is cessation in demand. Which means their efforts would be better used agitating for wind, solar and other renewables.

[elecush]

Activists understand that. What's unreasonable is not adjusting pipeline routes when they destroy livability of areas

[comte7092]

Literally just repeating oil industry talking points.

The US produces a ton of oil, we also have no export restrictions on oil products, so no matter how much we produce domestically, we are still dependent on the swings of the global market.

We get close to no oil from Saudi, yet as the head of the most powerful cartel in the world, they have immense power and influence. No amount of “drill baby drill” is going to change that.

[passion__desire]

America wants to save its national oil for the really rainy days. Especially when others' oil can be bought by printed money.

[ksidudwbw]

That printes money an be exchangwd for real goods though...

[adamc]

Have we no drones to eliminate troublesome Saudis?

Reality is that we have lots of tools to address bad actors. There are always consequences, true enough. But it isn't like we haven't used them.

In this case, we probably won't, but the Saudis are increasingly more trouble than they are worth.

[ww-picard-do]

> This guy has oil. This guy can therefore do whatever he likes.

The article explains that as head of state internal law grants him immunity.

[cmh89]

The United States is the largest producer of oil in the world. We just don't nationalize it. We give it away to foreign owned oil corporations who then gouge us at the pump.

[lazide]

The US is (and has been for a long time), an exporter of refined petroleum products such as Gasoline.

In 2021, it also happened to be a net exporter or petroleum overall, but usually it bounces around.

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/oil-and-petroleum-produc...

Saudi Arabia is key in keeping global energy prices lower by increasing global supply, and is also a key ally in a historically unstable region which impacts those prices.

[cmh89]

>Saudi Arabia is key in keeping global energy prices lower by increasing global supply, and is also a key ally in a historically unstable region which impacts those prices.

The key to keeping energy prices low for the US is to stop giving away our oil and then focus on shifting our economy to an energy source that can't be manipulated by foreign powers trying to influence our elections.

[lazide]

You seem to have strongly worded opinions, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what exactly you're asking for.

Petroleum is ~ 8% of the US GDP, and produces about $1.7 trillion dollars a year in direct economic activity, employing about 10 million folks.

Near as I can tell, the US doesn't give away any of our oil at all. It sells it, at market rate, often after doing a lot of value add refining.

Some of it goes to domestic use, some of it gets exported internationally, depending on the specific mix of market demands at the moment.

Are you proposing the US... ban exports of Oil or oil products? Or ban imports or Oil or oil products? Or invest a lot of money in alternative energy/renewable energy? Or take over enough oil producing countries no one can manipulate prices except us?

Or something else?

[cmh89]

Well, its a bit tongue in cheek in that I'm not proposing anything really. My overall point is that the US government massively subsidizes foreign-owned oil and gas companies

https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fossil-fuel-subs...

Of course, those are written subsidies. There is the major subsidy of allowing them to drill for oil on the publics land.

Of course, we've massively increased the amount of drilling we've allowed do the drum beat of "energy independence", when the reality is that because the oil is privately owned, no amount of oil drilling will actually make the price of gasoline stable or cheap for consumers.

What we actually need to do is move away from a gasoline based economy, but until then the government should heavily tax exports of oil to discourage foreign-owned companies from exporting it while we have a shortage here. Oil and gas lobbyist have been using their corporate owned politicians in Congress to block moving to sustainable energy since the Carter administration. We need massive investment in sustainable energy and energy efficient transit and manufacturing.

But we wont. The price of gas will go down again. Americans will buy even bigger cars, and then cry when OPEC jacks the price up again.

[LegitShady]

>and is also a key ally in a historically unstable region which impacts those prices.

they were until democrats spent their last two presidencies trying to fund and justify the nuclear research of SA's biggest regional rival who is already funding catspaw wars against SA - Iran.

Then when you ask them to lower the price of oil they wonder why you've spent multiple years working against them while coming now to beg for their kindness.

[comte7092]

Saudi is not a reliable or good ally and there’s no reason why the US should favor them over Iran.

[LegitShady]

Iran is not an ally, they're a sworn enemy that the democrats have imagined they can bribe into becoming a friend because they don't understand Iran's motivation is not money but religious ideology.

It's the worst kind of political delerium - funding you enemies and your ally's enemies and then wondering why your allies aren't "reliable" - hint its you not being reliable while you're funding their enemies and trying to excuse their nuclear weapon program. Its the US that was a fickle ally.

[comte7092]

Never said we needed to have Iran as an ally.

All of the major players in that region are motivated by religious ideology, including US allies.

You also seem to be confused, the JCPOA actively halted their nuclear weapons program, which was all that it intended to do, not “make iran into a friend”. Hawks like yourself are the ones who have set everything back.

The US should be less involved in the region. Seeking to balance power between Iran, Saudi and Israel rather than actively getting in the middle of their conflicts.

[dforrestwilson]

You ignore the benefits of taxation.

[selectodude]

If you don't think Exxon-Mobil, Chevron, Marathon, and ConocoPhillips aren't a de facto arm of the US Government I'm not sure what to tell you.