CA-46: Debbie Cook Speaks Up on the Calls to Lift Offshore Oil Drilling Ban

This just in from the Debbie Cook for Congress campaign. There’s a whole lot of buzz this week about Republican efforts to lift the federal ban on offshore oil drilling. Well, it looks like Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook is now speaking out on the rush to drill.

Democratic Congressional Candidate Debbie Cook’s statement on proposals to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling:“There has been a lot of talk in the last couple of days about lifting the ban on drilling for oil along the coast. Dana Rohrabacher, John McCain and today President Bush have joined in a chorus of “drill, drill, drill,” as if that will solve our energy problems. “Time is not on our side, and continuing to divert our attention away from the real problem is a disservice to our citizens and a failure of leadership.

“World oil production has been flat for three years. America’s oil refineries are configured to refine light sweet crude and are currently operating at 88% capacity and paying a premium for this short supply. There is no point for the Middle East, the only region that may have spare capacity, to increase production of heavy sour crudes until new refineries are built or existing refineries have been modified. 

“Three fourths of the world’s oil and gas wells have already been drilled in North America. Our continent is so heavily explored that it looks like swiss cheese. Eighty percent of the oil available on the Outer Continental Shelf is already open to leasing and drilling. Will opening the remaining 20 percent make any difference when it takes 5-10 years to bring any new oil discoveries to market?

“Perhaps we should just call the President’s bluff, sell off the leases and then get on with the real work ahead of us, leaving fossil fuels before they leave us.

“The world economy depends upon the flow of oil, not the oil that remains in the ground. The fact is, more than 50 nations are now past their peak in oil production: Mexico, Norway, UK, USA, Russia, perhaps even Saudi Arabia to name a few. If you use ExxonMobil’s estimate for the decline rate from these existing wells (-6%), then from now until 2017, we need to find and develop 37 million barrels per day of additional crude production just to stay even with what we consume today. That assumes no growth in demand for oil. That is the equivalent of finding FOUR Saudi Arabias. Does anyone think we have overlooked resources of that size and quality?

“George Bush and Dana Rohrabacher’s failure to understand the fundamental economics and geology of oil and gas production is matched only by their failures as leaders.

“The true solution to our energy problems starts with conservation efforts, and investment in alternative and sustainable energy sources, which will create new American industries and jobs and jumpstart the sluggish economy.”

Debbie Cook is the mayor of Huntington Beach and Democratic Nominee for the 46th Congressional District. Cook is a two-term member of the Huntington Beach City Council, currently serving as mayor. She has devoted much of her adult life and her legal career to environmental protection and energy policy. She considers reducing America’s dependence on fossil fuels an environmental and national security imperative.

The 46th Congressional District covers a two-county area bounded by Costa Mesa on the south and the Palos Verdes Peninsula on the north.