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Ad Attacks Udall On Issue Of Off-Shore Drilling

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Aug 20, 2008 9:40 pm US/Mountain

Ad Attacks Udall On Issue Of Off-Shore Drilling

Reporting
Raj Chohan
DENVER (CBS4) ― A recent attack ad by an out-of-state conservative group called American Future Fund targets Democratic Senate candidate Mark Udall on the issues of off-shore drilling and domestic oil shale.

The ad states: On the issue of gas prices, think about this. The U.S. has more oil resources than Saudi Arabia

The claim is true if we're talking about oil shale. There is an estimated 800 billion barrels of potentially recoverable oil from a massive oil shale formation covering parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. That's roughly the amount of oil the U.S. would use in 100 years at current consumption rates.

But it's not the whole story. Oil shale is complicated stuff and energy companies are still many years away from making oil shale commercially viable. Even with cutting-edge technology, extracting oil from Colorado rock requires enormous amounts of electricity and water. It would require building several coal-fired power plants to make enough electricity to remove the oil. Also, it takes at least three barrels of water to produce one barrel of oil from oil shale. Under current assumptions, full-scale oil shale production would have a significant impact on water available for agriculture.

AD: Congress has put up to 85 percent of these resources off limits

Not exactly. The 85 percent statistic refers to off-shore drilling, not oil shale. However, Udall was a key sponsor of a one-year moratorium on funding for a commercial oil shale program. There are number of policy reasons behind the moratorium including a desire to protect the value of federal lands until the extraction technology is proven to be viable. In the long run, a slower approach to oil shale development may mean larger royalty payments to federal, state and local governments.

AD: Cuba is preparing to drill off the Florida coast, but America can't

The claim is true. Cuba is planning to drill off its own coast which by geographic definition also happens to be off the coast of Florida.

AD: Mark Udall has repeatedly voted against the development of American energy

This claim is true in that Udall voted against bills and amendments that would have expanded leasing for off-shore development and oil shale exploration. However, in a recent change of position Udall joined Sen. Ken Salazar to embrace more expansive off-shore drilling. Also, Udall correctly points out that he has long supported the development of renewable energy sources.

AD: No surprise the Wall Street Journal says gas could go up to $6 a gallon

Here's the spin. The ad implies that oil shale and offshore drilling will impact prices at the pump in the short term. They won't, at least not significantly. In 7 to 10 years offshore drilling would have a small impact. In 15 to 30 years oil shale could potentially have a much greater impact.

Bottom line: the ad correctly points out that Udall's past votes have obstructed off-shore energy exploration. But it doesn't appear his votes have had any lingering impact on oil shale development because the energy industry still isn't technologically ready for it, even on the Colorado lands it already owns.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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