So much for "energy security"

May 6, 2008

For those concerned about our “dependence upon foreign oil,” Leiberman-Warner’s cap and trade tax bill would increase—no—double it.

From E and E (subscription required):

API's analysis of a pending Senate climate bill from Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and John Warner (R-Va.) projects tens of billions of dollars in new compliance costs for U.S. oil and natural gas companies as they deal with emission limits linked to their fuel production as well as overall consumer use.

The added costs, API said, translate over the next 20 years into fewer gas well drilling operations and an overall reduction in domestic natural gas production -- as much as 40 percent by 2030.

The API study, prepared by ICF International, an international consulting firm, also looked into the potential effects of the Lieberman-Warner bill on U.S. petroleum refinery production. The report concluded that the domestic refining industry would face increased competition from overseas, where plants would not have to deal with the same emission requirements.

API said investments in U.S. refineries could fall $11.5 billion per year by 2020 -- equating to a cut of 3 million barrels a day in petroleum throughput. That, in turn, will lead to increased U.S. imports of crude oil and refined petroleum from a projected 2020 level of about 15 percent, to about 29 percent, API said.

Doubling our imports of oil.