The Death Spasm's of OPEC and the Rise of American Energy Independence.

"It isn’t often you see the death of a major worldwide industry. Last week I saw the death of the “Big Oil” economic model. It just died at the hands of Texas oil frackers who have developed a new “disruptive technology” that has made obsolete all the pillars of technology underpinning large, vertically integrated oil companies. More importantly, the same is true of all the petro-states that nationalized Big Oil’s assets in the 1960s to make all the state oil companies around the world today.

I found this out doing my day job last week as a Defense Department quality auditor visiting a mid-sized oil service company diversifying into federal contracts. The meeting was about issues with the contract they won and touched on others they have bid on. As a side bar at lunch the following points about their main business came up:

1. Oil field spending has died. Rig count in the USA is the lowest it has been since 1940.

2. One oil rig controller company these folks worked with saw a year over year drop of 72% in its business.

3. Another company they supplied had their “Cap-X” budget drop from ~$400 million for 2015-2016 to little over $30 million for 2016-2017.

4. One drilling company they supplied went from 120(+) new wells last year to _12_ this year.

5. This supplier sold a lot of copper tubing for “frack-log” drilling. That is the drilling of holes in good oil-bearing rock without fracking rock for oil immediately — and here is the new part — to take advantage of a new long-flow fracking technique.

While most of the points above are due to the Saudis’ oil price war on Texas frackers. An ex-Big Oil geologist I know put it this way —

The entire reason for the price drop was because the Saudis wanted to destroy fracking in the United States in order to keep us dependent upon them in order to keep them getting a free defense. The Saudis will have to diversify and start spending money on defense before the price goes back up, or they will be in serious trouble.

The technique in Point #5 above marks another “fracking revolution” that is of growing importance to the USA. This new fracking energy revolution will upend the world order as we know it. Political winds willing, America may well be a net hydrocarbon exporter in five to eight years."

What this means, is that the possibility that America, might be able to knock down the influence of not only Saudi Arabia, Russia and China, but also, Iran and it's proxies ie: ISIS

If the US can dominate the Oil Markets and Dictate the price of a barrel of oil, America can make it so Iran, Saudi Russia China and all the other rabble rousing countries can't AFFORD to bankroll their proxies anymore.

Save Us Chuck - Iran

Save Us Chuck - Iran

Chuck Woolery - Iran - Al Jazeera

How can Congress do their job when Obama and the Dem's hamstring it?

"WASHINGTON — No one knows if the Obama administration will manage in the next five weeks to strike what many in the White House consider the most important foreign policy deal of his presidency: an accord with Iran that would forestall its ability to make a nuclear weapon. But the White House has made one significant decision: If agreement is reached, President Obama will do everything in his power to avoid letting Congress vote on it.

Even while negotiators argue over the number of centrifuges Iran would be allowed to spin and where inspectors could roam, the Iranians have signaled that they would accept, at least temporarily, a “suspension” of the stringent sanctions that have drastically cut their oil revenues and terminated their banking relationships with the West, according to American and Iranian officials. The Treasury Department, in a detailed study it declined to make public, has concluded Mr. Obama has the authority to suspend the vast majority of those sanctions without seeking a vote by Congress, officials say."

Remember this is the man who time and time again blames Republicans in Congress for not passing Bills he wants passed.  And yet he and the Media also ignore the over 300 Bills The House of Representatives HAVE passed and his buddy Harry Reid have not even allowed to come to the floor for a vote.  (That last link goes directly to to the GOP.GOV site which lists ALL of the bills passed.)

I'm sorry Mr. President, you don't get just the Bills YOU want passed.  You get the Bills that many of the Congressperson's Constituents want passed, because we are TIRED of you thinking this is a Theocracy, Monarchy or Dictatorship run by you and your Cronies.

Oh this is good

Iranian hacking of Navy computers reportedly more extensive than first thought

You notice just HOW long they had access to our systems?  And why isn't this on ALL of the networks?

President Petulant relaxed Sanction against Iran months ago

Without consulting Congress, without informing Congress, without informing the United Nations (Ptui).

"The Obama administration began softening sanctions on Iran after the election of Iran’s new president in June, months before the current round of nuclear talks in Geneva or the historic phone call between the two leaders in September.

While those negotiations now appear on the verge of a breakthrough the key condition for Iran—relief from crippling sanctions—began quietly and modestly five months ago.

A review of Treasury Department notices reveals that the U.S. government has all but stopped the financial blacklisting of entities and people that help Iran evade international sanctions since the election of its president, Hassan Rouhani, in June."



Is it safe to say he is a Dictator now?

It was my understanding that the President does have the authority to do this, it was only after consultation with the pertinent Congressional Committees.

Or is my understanding of that wrong?

Our Infrastructure is being attacked

"Jan 16 (Reuters) - A computer virus attacked aturbine control system at a U.S. power company last fall when atechnician unknowingly inserted an infected USB computer driveinto the network, keeping a plant off line for three weeks,according to a report posted on a U.S. government website."

Coupled with the Malware from Iran could this be considered an actual attack against the US?

Iranian cyber attacks?

Son of STUXNET? Iran Believed Behind US Bank Attacks

ultimaratioregis has the skinny over at XBrad's place.

It's Vuja De all over again

Or is that Deja Vu?

"It's Totally Ridiculous To Say It's 1979 All Over Again* *Oh, but, fyi and btw, Three Mile Island Just Shut Down "Unexpectedly" —Ace"