John McCain on Energy Costs
Remarks by John McCain while visiting an Oil Rig in the Gulf
(Article By Press Office)
Americans across our country are hurting because of the cost of energy. Gas prices are through the roof. Energy costs have seeped into our grocery bills, making it more expensive to feed our families. And now, as people prepare for the winter, they are going to be hit with higher costs for home heating oil. It is time for America to get serious about energy independence, and that means we need to start drilling offshore at advanced oil rigs like this.
Two decades ago, this rig (see below) would not have been possible. But since then, technology has enabled us to drill further offshore with even greater efficiency and environmental safety.
Senator Obama opposes new drilling. He has said it will not “solve our problem” and that “it’s not real.” He’s wrong, and the American people know it.
This platform we are at today sits above a field of 160 million barrels of oil, and is capable of producing on a daily basis 55,000 barrels of oil and 72 million cubic feet of natural gas.
Our nation is sending $700 billion overseas every year to countries that don’t like us very much. When I’m president that’s going to stop. We’re going to achieve energy independence, and we’re going to do it by using every resource at our disposal to get the job done, including new off shore drilling.
New drilling has to be part of our energy solution. It will not solve this problem alone. Alternative energy will not solve this problem alone. Conservation will not solve this problem alone. Solving our energy crisis requires an “all of the above” approach. It will require aggressive development of alternative energies like wind, solar, tidal and bio-fuels. It also requires expanding traditional sources of energy like clean coal, nuclear power, and off shore drilling like that done on this rig.
According to Todd J. Gillman, Dallas Morning News in an August 20, 2008:
WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain flew to an oil rig deep in the Gulf of Mexico to illustrate the case for more drilling Tuesday — setting a new standard for dramatic backdrop as the candidates maneuver for an edge with voters feeling the pinch at the pump.
Republican presidential candidate John McCain talked with Joe St. Ann, offshore installation manager, aboard the Chevron Genesis oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. But gas prices have eased since their all-time peak this summer. And if the trend continues — as analysts expect — energy could subside as the focus of voter discontent, campaign stump speeches and attack ads. It was natural for skyrocketing fuel costs to overtake worries about Iraq, inflation and health care, but this campaign has seen many issues come and go. Candidates couldn’t ignore $4 gasoline. But $3.50? And what if prices fall even lower?