The military base loophole? 4

Via the Oil Drum, I see that President Bush is "encouraging new oil refineries be built at closed military bases."
Speaking to small business leaders on Wednesday, Bush will call on federal agencies to encourage construction of new oil refineries at the sites of former military bases closed in recent years.

The agencies would work with states, local communities and potential investors to encourage the use of the sites, the administration officials said.

The lack of adequate refining capacity is frequently cited by experts as one reason why gasoline prices have surged dramatically in recent years. No new refineries have been built in recent years even though the demand for gasoline has risen.

Hmmm.

UPDATE: The Pentagon press release is out now, which indicates that this wasn't just some off-the-cuff remark.

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  1. Ana Unruh Cohen Posted 2:35 am
    27 Apr 2005

    Like the House proposal with a twistThe President seems to be echoing House legislation that was developed last year and included in the recent House Energy bill, the Refining Revitalization Act. While the Pres went with closed military bases, the House R's would site them in areas that have high unemployment (10% above national average) and either a closed refinery or large manufacturing jobs layoffs. Either way seems like you'd be dumping more pollution in communities that probably already bear more than their fair share of pollution. And who knows if this criteria would even increase capacity where it is needed...
    Plus refining capacity is a bit of a red herring in the face of $50 per barrel oil prices. I'm no expert on oil economics, but I happened to talk to one the other day. He hadn't looked at the numbers since 2003 but at that point US gasoline demand was growing slower than companies were adding refining capacity at existing plants. Economics - demand in the future, future price of oil, etc - influence the construction of refineries much more than what environmental regulations have to be met.
    If the Pres is serious about solving problems in the refining industry, he might want to look at whether recent mergers are hindering competition and driving up the price for us consumers...

    beltway bandit

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  2. jdhlax Posted 6:31 am
    27 Apr 2005

    High Oil Prices = Less Environmental DestructionEnvironmentalists should be hoping for the highest oil prices possible.  The higher the prices, the less people will consume.  The less of this stuff that people consume, the less environmental destruction will be caused by drilling, refining, transporting, and burning it.

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  3. hardisun Posted 8:56 am
    27 Apr 2005

    ahaWhy stop a military bases?  The Mall in Washington is just one big open area begging for exploitation.  In fact, let's add refineries and storage units to all excess space on national monument grounds.
    The real missing story here is that putting refineries on former military bases is a neat way to avoid super-funding those sites.  Way to think outside the septic tank, RNC!

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  4. jdhlax Posted 3:38 pm
    27 Apr 2005

    Military & Oil Belong TogetherThis is so fitting, because the main job of the U.S. military is to fight for U.S. businesses, primarily oil companies.

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