House Energy Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) has proposed the government build a “Pentagon-only” refinery to provide refined petroleum products solely for the Defense [sic] Department. In response, bless them, Democrats have proposed that the US government create a Strategic Refinery Reserve, that is, build (and, I suppose, own and operate) refining equivalent to 5% of current capacity, to ensure “adequate” gasoline and deisel in the event of, well, some kind of crisis. The Dems proposal would “set-aside” some production from that extra 5% for the Pentagon.
Gotta have its fuel for war.
In more legislative silliness from the energy front …
Spiking gasoline prices and supply problems in the wake of the recent hurricanes are giving fresh impetus to Senate Democrats to push for creation of an emergency reserve of gasoline and jet fuel along the lines of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the nation’s emergency crude oil stockpile.
Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Charles Schumer (N.Y.) introduced legislation Thursday that establishes a 47.5 million barrel strategic fuel reserve, comprising of 40 million bbl of unleaded gasoline and 7.5 million bbl of jet fuel.
It recommends setting up the reserve in three to five locations to be decided by the Energy Secretary, such as one each in the Northeast, Midwest and California.
“We must be prepared for another natural disaster, refinery shutdown or pipeline disruption,” said Durbin, pointing out that the hurricanes knocked offline nearly 2 million b/d of gasoline and jet fuel production because of refinery shutdowns.
Yes. Absolutely. We must. At all costs.
2:47 pm on September 29, 2005
