CAN WE DRILL OURSELVES OUT OF THE ENERGY CRISIS?

The answer to the title question is yes, but.

According to rig suppliers (instead of politicians) it takes 1 to five years to bring a new well on line depending on the distance to existing infrastructure. In ANWAR and some places in the Gulf, it would take about a year. In other places it could take 5 to 10 years. But there is a worldwide shortage of rigs.

The long term solution is to become totally energy self sufficient in environmentally friendly nuclear energy. It is necessary to repeal a 1977 act so as to permit waste recycling like the French have safely been doing for decades. The generated electricity can then be used to charge batteries to replace fossil fuel in many applications including cars. A good reprocessing article is at shttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318688,00.html. If nuclear plant development were federally subsidized, we could quickly not only escape the crises, but become independent of non-North American oil.

To placate the ecoterrorists we could continue developing visually unfriendly wind and inefficient solar while building environmentally friendly, efficient nuclear plants.

There is this nagging feeling within me that says is it really a question of not having enough oil, but having enough infrastructure to extract, refine, and distribute it. Presently, the US government does not have the ability to do any of this. Even though we decide to lease Anwar just like BP presently drilling and extracting elsewhere in Alaska, where will this Anwar oil go? I have many questions since I am ignorant of the subject and would like someone to write about the mechanics of who, what, where, and when. Where does the oil go after? What does the government get for this barrel oil? What does BP get for this barrel of oil? Do we get some oil before it goes into the world market and hence, buy it back? Whether BP drills in Cuba or in the US, if the oil goes into their account and if we have to buy it from the world market, then what difference does it make if it is foreign or domestic oil? Do we get the first bid for this oil before it goes into the international market? Who will refine this oil for us? Will refineries be in the game on how much they want to refine and play the demand and supply game? Please somebody answer my very simple questions about the logistics of oil business as you were to explain it to a child. All the media is ranting and raving about the opening up of Anwar for drilling and extracting, but what happens after whatever company gets the lease to drill?