Oil And Gas

A Danish expedition is scheduled to set out today to join in the unseemly rush to establish sovereignty claims in the Arctic. The Russians put a flag on the sea floor earlier this month, and the Canadians, after sneering at the Russian "stunt," then sent their prime minister to the Far North to wave the Maple Leaf over what may become disputed territory. All three nations are impelled by deadlines established in the Law of the Sea Treaty - a pact the United States has not ratified, which is why it has so far remained on the sidelines.

Has OPEC infiltrated Congress? That sure would explain the latest energy bill. Make that the "anti-energy" bill. Both the Senate-approved version and the forthcoming House one are bad enough for what they contain. But they're worse for what they lack: even one drop of additional domestic oil. America remains the world's only oil-producing nation that has placed a significant amount of its reserves off limits. Yet the lawmakers behind these misguided "energy" bills seem more than happy to keep it that way. A recent Interior Department study estimates that 21 billion barrels of oil lie untapped beneath federally controlled lands, mostly in the West and Alaska.

What do you think will happen with my shares of Chevron Corp.? - C.C., via the Internet The second-largest U.S. oil company, created by the 2001 merger of Chevron and Texaco, is expected to continue its long track record of using strong cash flow to reward shareholders. Its financial results are directly affected by the price of crude oil, which has provided a dramatic boost over the past two years, and its ability to expand international exploration and production. The company operates in oil and gas in more than 180 countries.

The siren call of the oil drillers sounds so sweet. More jobs, lower energy prices, greater independence from foreign fuel sources - all accomplished in an environmentally safe and sound manner. Ha! President Bush and his allies in the energy industry are once again trying to play the American people for suckers, promising far more than they can deliver with no accounting for the considerable cost. And directly in their sights this time is a 2.9 million-acre tract off the coast of Virginia, where spills and other damage threaten Assateague Island, the Delmarva Peninsula and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia officials have foolishly exposed themselves to this potential exploitation by approving legislation that would allow exploration for natural gas, signaling a willingness to ease a 25-year ban on oil and gas drilling on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Why haven't my ConocoPhillips shares done better this year? They had been great. - R.M., via the Internet Oil and gas price movements are the overriding consideration for this company, one of the nation's largest oil companies and refiners. It also must cope with oil-producing nations that can extract better contracts from it than before energy prices began their substantial run. ConocoPhillips, the result of the 2002 merger of Conoco and Phillips, owns a 20 percent equity stake in Russia's Lukoil, giving it access to significant hydrocarbon reserves but also political risk.

Alternatives to autos offer better future Michael Dresser seems to think that traffic is our main transportation problem ("Pile-up," March 18). That's not so. Our current highway-sprawl-long-distance-commuting traffic problem is a product of cheap oil, and the days of cheap oil are numbered. Many oil experts believe we are at or near the peak of global oil production. We've been burning more than we discover since around 1980. As oil production declines, we will find we have bigger problems than traffic.

Folks who have to pinch local government pennies down in the states along the Gulf of Mexico can barely control their glee at the windfall Congress provided them shortly before adjourning last weekend. Lawmakers voted to lift a ban on far-offshore oil and gas drilling in the gulf, and to share royalties on the leases with Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. The states should take care to ensure, though, that those royalties actually get collected. It seems the federal agency in charge of monitoring the leases is so lax there are no guarantees.

America's ability to accomplish its main foreign policy goals - winning the global war on terrorism, spreading freedom and democracy around the globe and preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons - will be compromised as long as we are dependent on oil to the degree that we are today. Five years ago, oil prices averaged less than $20 per barrel. A year later, they stood at $30. This year, they are more than $70, and oil-rich countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela make $50 per barrel more than they earned in 2001.

I think it is great the way my Exxon Mobil Corp. shares have been doing, but it seems like this can't last. Should I continue to hold? - K.V., via the Internet Exxon Mobil is the largest firm in the oil and gas business at a time when global turmoil has pushed energy prices to record levels, which doesn't translate to either popularity or freedom from troubles. Federal and state authorities have asked the company for $92 million to clean the remaining oil from the devastating Exxon Valdez tanker grounding of 17 years ago. The nation's largest oil spill emptied 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska's Prince William Sound and onto the beach.

WASHINGTON -- Why would the most powerful economy in the world leave so much of its own energy sources untapped? Alone among countries, the United States has placed a substantial amount of its oil and natural gas potential off limits. Other countries drill just off our shores. But U.S. firms face restrictions on drilling in most offshore areas, even as American drivers face sharply higher prices at the gas pump. Congress seems poised to do something about this policy by taking up the Deep Ocean Energy Resources (DOER)