Prudhoe Bay shut down by BP.
Severe corrosion. Small spill from a transit pipeline.
Pipeline repairs expected to take months.
Expected loss: 400,000 barrels daily.
Translated: $6.4 million a day in royalties and taxes right down the old pipeline.
Prudhoe Bay produces 8% of U.S. domestic output.
Biggest oil field in the nation.
People panic and fill tanks before gas reaches $4 bucks a gallon.
Interesting enough...
Gas prices fail to rise.
In fact, gas prices in my neck of the woods... DROP.
Strange.
Oil demand is high. Nation's petroleum supplies are tight.
Oil prices up. Higher prices at the gasoline pump.
And prices drop?
BP executives abandon plans to completely shut down the vast Prudhoe Bay oil field for fear of pipeline leaks.
A closer look at key pipes showed the western half of the field could keep pumping safely.
Uh huh.
Right.
Oil companies contributed $34 million, 78% to Republicans.
George Bush received $1,800,000 from oil and gas companies in his bid to become president.
Two former oilmen (Bush and Cheney) are commanders in chief.
BP earned 22 billion last year.
The "shutdown" is poorly timed.
It's an election year.
Voters vote their wallet.
$4 bucks a gallon "drives" folks to the polls.
In droves.
The U.S. government offered "mixed guidance" to BP on the extent and duration of the crude oil production outage.
My hopes are the NSA caught that phone call between the big Dick and BP America President Bob Malone.
"Get that m0+#3r f~$king sh!&*hole excuse for an oilfield up and running or...
...God d!$@ it.....we're all f!$%&d!"
BP takes one for the Gipper.