UK: Drill Here, Drill Now
The United Kingdom is an oil exporter. Due to falling supplies, that could well change. In fact, by [that most magical of years] 2010, The Land of Hope and Glory is set to become a net oil importer. And so the UK government has issued a record 97 new licences to 54 applicants for onshore oil and gas exploration. (Five years ago, only eight licences were granted.) Companies from the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom are ready to sink their bits. Speaking to The BBC the managing director of Egdon Resources, an exploration and production firm that operates an oil field in the Lincolnshire Wolds, says it might be done in snap. “If we find oil, it’s quick and easy to put in small, low-key production facilities and then tanker the oil out to refineries.” Strangely, not everyone is happy at this prospect. The director of the South Downs Society, says the drilling would lead to the destruction of trees and hedgerows. (Go figure.) Yes, and the visual impact of the drilling tower and its lighting would be “inappropriate.” “It’s very quiet, full of wildlife when you walk along the footpaths,” Jacquetta Fewster insists. “You’ll often come a across a deer.” Mamby-pampby NIMBY?
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I don't think a drilling rig is half as beautiful as a cell tower. Along the winding hills of the Ozark Mountains, it is really exciting to see so many! And once in a while, I get lucky and see them in family groups of 3 or more! Like plastic deer families...only bigger.
So when the UK and Mexico both become net importers, will the price of oil shoot up again?
When the North Sea oil runs out, the UK is screwed. The income from oil has propped up successive governments for the last 30 years while manufacturing has evaporated. Without oil even the traders in London will have less things to play with. Maybe as the economy crumbles and the workforce becomes less expensive, the British car industry will rise again as companies like Tata set up factories to build Nanos for export to India.