Classical Gas Palin

It was a sad day when the jerks at the helm gave Keith Olbermann time off for good behavior. Then they used the opportunity to terminate him as one of the last remaining “honorable statesmen” supporting good and truthful journalism. Chalk up this affair as a win for the FOX, raiding the hen-house of Constitutional Democracy, an attack upon this Republic called the United States. I am sure the Murdoch Madness had a say in this fallout, something about a General Electric connection. See, Olbermann violated the seldom used code of ethics, for failing to report campaign contributions. Of course it was time off for “good behavior” as he was behaving just like a Congressional representative, wherein ethics is just a suggestion laughed upon - as in the real world of politics it doesn't work, to be ethical. I challenge any and all sitting representatives to practice “ethics” as it will be a short lived career! A simple mistake is what cost Olbermann his job, which tanked the ratings of MSNBC. It left Rachel picking up the slack for this slap in the face upon decent reporting. So it was a relief when Ed showed up on the scene. Now here is one guy I would like to get drunk with! But once again we see the jerks in control giving Ed time off for, one again “good behavior”, as the trend seems to be towards softening of the 1^st Amendment so the 2^nd can takeover – the battle continues. It is boiling down to those that can read and write, to those that are trigger happy. Constitutional erosion is in high gear full speed ahead! Look, Ed gave an honest assessment of the FOX “sluts”. But he was wrong, as they are “Bimbo Sluts”. I am talking the likes of Laura Ingraham, Michelle Malkin and Ann Coulter, what a joke. But the saddest day upon us may be the soon to be opening of Sarah Palin's fantasy movie, wherein she tries to clear it up that she is not a bonafide idiot. She failed her 1^st show, so now some guy “slut” has funded a TV movie in efforts to take her on a tour for the presidency. In this soon to be released movie, which is all about her “part-time” in office as Alaska's AWOL governess, Palin takes credit for forcing Exxon to develop the Pt. Thomson lease, held dormant for many years. See, this movie tries to convince the “slut society” that Palin was tough and would take on “Big Oil”. When she was hot-tubbing it down in Juneau as her husband Toad was trying to fire Walt - the brightest police commissioner this state ever enjoyed - the state started threatening Exxon to either develop the lease or give it up. But one doesn't threaten the Tiger, especially when Lee Raymond was at the helm. Costly court battles commenced and in the end the State of Alaska under Sarahstein - Frankenstein's libel by blood twin sister - did indeed prevail. At least that is what it looked like with respect from the decree issued form the court. Seriously speaking, here it is in a nutshell what is really going on. To date, the state treasury has realized a “big fat zero” from the Pt. Thomson lease. Why? Big Oil in Alaska has polished every loophole there is, well versed in this after 30-years in operation wherein trillions in profits have been realized for sending oil down the 800-mile Trans-Alaska-Pipeline. The Pt. Thomson lease is known to contain enormous recoverable resources. So even though for years it has remained as nothing but vast open wilderness and pristine tundra pocked marked with watering holes for rare geese nesting during the short summer migration upon this “Serengeti of the North”, Prudoe Bay, just the fact that it has a hidden potential, it became a valuable asset utilized in Exxon's portfolio. It looked good for investors, as even though it was not producing a drop of anything, well it is situated within close proximity to the “slope” infrastructure, so was promising from many different aspects and interests. And it was half-way between the producing oil fields and ANWR. So this site was a very valuable asset, worth hundreds of millions on the books for no apparent reason except it was under Exxon's “lease ownership”. Basically, it was a value added asset without a penny spent, except for the cost of the lease. Now under State of Alaska law, an oil & gas lease is only good for 5-years, if left undeveloped. Many leases are bid on then fall prey to this “sorry” clause, wherein some companies loose millions – including Exxon when it gave up several leases tied to the Pt. Thomson area. It is all worth the gamble though. So over the years, Exxon kept finding excuses when the state came knocking. And Lee Raymond usually got his way. Until Sarah entered the scene. Herein exists the catch. Exxon held on to the Pt Thomson lease because of what was underground. It wasn't “black oil” that held the interest to hold on to this lease. And without a natural gas pipeline heading south, the interest upon this lease wasn't for gas that could be produced, as it could not be sold. It was an underground strata that contains vast amounts of Natural Gas Liquids – a.k.a. NGLs. Now in the lower 48, this would be a producing “gold mine”, as this stuff is valued as a feedstock in the petrochemical industry. But without a dedicated pipeline or a petrochemical desire here in the state, there is no production. Which means the state gets nothing in return. And with the pipeline finding less and less production to fill the void, the state was starting to panic and Sarah started slutting her struts. Once again, regardless of these difficulties to utilize the good stuff, it was the value as an asset that kept Exxon holding on, at the same time it allowed this pristine area to stay that way – undeveloped. See, NGL has a very high API gravity. Regular crude oil has a gravity between 22 and 28 degrees. With NGLs, it hovers about 45-degrees, which means it is very high in BTU content quality, which is basically an enhanced product. And in this case it is not a by-product, but a pool of “gold”! Bottom-line, it is so clean it can be burned in a combustion engine without any refining. Now for years, with enhanced oil recovery utilizing re-injection of the natural gas that comes topside with normal oil exploitation, there comes the fallout of NGLs. This stuff, on a limited basis, it has been commingled into the “black crude” and sent down the pipeline to Valdez. But there exists a problem with this mixture which limits its throughput on a percent mixing basis. The addition of this “hot” stuff raises the vapor pressure. Now the TAPS was not designed to handle a vapor pressure greater then atmospheric pressure, or 14.7psia, as when it goes above this limit it causes all kinds of problems. The pumps on the pipeline find giant gas bubbles entering the suction, which can over-speed a pump and if not detected early on, well a pump can self-destruct into shrapnel. Not a good thing when a rebuild is in the thousands and without the pumps capacity, throughput suffers. And there is also the need to mention that this stuff that is mixed, it is allowed to vent into the atmosphere, causing pollution problems with discharges of benzene and other nasty stuff. And the venting is required, as tankers cannot enter some American ports with a pressure greater then 11psia, so this “hot stuff” is wilted down through natural conditioning. What I am getting at is this. Where once upon a time there was never a near-term desire to develop the Pt. Thomson lease, it is now the scene of activity, as Exxon has been forced to do something it did not want, not now or for that matter any near future interests in attempting a development, drilling and production strategy. For now, the tranquility of what should have been left alone suffers. It includes a drilling pad, and in the works, the construction of a pipeline to tie the NGLs into the TAPS. Get the point, as by now we are seeing a move towards ANWR. But there will come very little production, because of the reasons mentioned above. Which means the state looses out, after spending all that money on litigation. What a joke, part of Sarahstein's legacy. She had no idea what she was doing. There is no room for this volatile stuff, as the production on TAPS is so low that even the fabricated NGLs have been curtailed, especially in the summer months! The state will never see anything worthwhile from this “Wayne Anthony Ross” - a.k.a. WAR - attitude, of being tough without examining all the reasons why. He was the guy that ran for governor and is known for forming neighborhood vigilantes. He's head of the NRA in Alaska – get the point? So Exxon continues to drag its feet on this project, as it realizes that it is a lost cause. So Exxon spends several million just to satisfy the state idiots, like Palin, when all the time this corporate giant was doing the best thing so far, keeping it undeveloped. So what that it benefited from the asset value. Look I would rather see the corporate world take advantage the “asset” value over unreasonable and Force Majeure development, especially in pristine areas, coastal areas that should remain off limits to all future oil exploration and exploitation. And this is what the Pt. Thomson fiasco is all about. Palin knew very little about Alaskan oil. Her staff knew a little bit more but not enough to produce anything worthwhile when considering the repercussions of tangling with those entities - like Exxon - that realize what they are doing. This is not to exonerate Exxon, but give me a break for nature's sake. So now we have this movie that tries to portray Palin as tough, taking on “Big Oil”, especially when gasoline prices are so high along with “Big Oil” profit margins – maybe this asset thing has merit if it indeed protects the environment! And she did take on “Big Oil” to the detriment of many, as “Big Oil” dropped the hammer when she raised the corporate oil taxes and hundreds of jobs went missing as projects for the “slope” were shelved. But at the same time she gave the “carte blanche” green light to the “Independents”. So called oil interests that have one and only one objective, to exploit, take the money and run. When Palin was in control, this state lost all semblance of “oversight”, as all eyes were placed on income, profits and misguided leadership. Palin – Sarahstein – has created a monster here in Alaska, besides herself inflicted stage presence of fright, as we have upon us now irresponsible “mom & pop” oil companies coming in droves to rape and pillage, as they have been given a “Get of of Jail” pass from such misguided leadership. Palin's Alaskan legacy will be not only the fact that she was a quitter, it will be a legacy of abuse and the environment will be the recipient of this no give a rat's ass attitude! But it takes time before we see the abuse like side effects, and by this time Palin has moved away and will be good at a twitter response, allowing her to laugh away the responsibility to someone else. She is good at that! So upon those that read this, the movie is a bombardment of fabricated “untruths”, but lemmings only listen, and don't question!