Obama: Brazil Should Drill Offshore!

Obama: Brazil Should Drill Offshore!
By Katie Pavlich
3/22/2011

While the President refuses to lift a 7-year ban on offshore drilling here in the United States, continues to demonize the oil and gas industries, as energy prices continue to rise and as unemployment still hovers around 9 percent, Obama told a group of Brazilian businessmen at a CEO Summit during his trip to South America over the weekend they should begin drilling in their offshore oil reserves so the United States can be a paying customer in the future, adding that the United States would help them do it.

“We want to help you with the technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely. And when you’re ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers. At a time when we’ve been reminded how easily instability in other parts of the world can affect the price of oil, the United States could not be happier with the potential for a new, stable source of energy.”

Really?!

Yep, as part of the White House U.S.-Brazil Strategic Energy Dialogue, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and President Obama have developed the Strategic Energy Dialogue, a plan that helps Brazil develop the country's offshore oil reserves.

The two Presidents also discussed intensified sharing of best practices with respect to the safe and environmentally benign exploitation of offshore oil and gas resources. Brazilian officials will meet with representatives of the U.S. Department of the Interior within two weeks to advance the dialogue on safe offshore oil and gas development. The United States and Brazil will hold workshops on deepwater production technologies and environmental management, the first planned for early October in Rio de Janeiro.

Not only is President Obama going against those in his base who believe offshore drilling is bad for the environment and that the burning of oil contributes to global warming, Obama is blatantly supporting the economic growth of another country while purposely hindering the economic growth of the American economy.

Doc Hastings, Natural Resources Committee Chairman, is not impressed:

“Rather than creating American energy and American jobs, President Obama is in Brazil advocating for deepening the United States’ reliance on foreign energy."

“The President has clearly learned nothing from recent world events. He appears to believe the answer is to shift our foreign energy dependence from one part of the world to another. The real answer is to produce more American energy. The ‘potential for a new, stable source of energy’ can be found with our own resources here at home. Resources that the Obama Administration is purposely choosing to keep under lock-and-key.”

Let's not forget Obama has blocked access to U.S. oil and natural gas production by issuing a moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and has revoked onshore leases since taking office. Don't be fooled when the Administration says they have been working to open up energy resources in the United States as the Administration has only issued three permits allowing for deep water exploration, not drilling.

So much for keeping jobs from going overseas and so much for lessening our dependence on foreign oil.