If Those Numbers Are Really Accurate, Then We Should Get Drilling Right Away . . .

ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson said it’s “astonishing” that Bush keeps asking Saudi Arabia to pump more oil, rather than working harder for increased oil production at home. Tillerson called this “terribly upside down,” and went on to say the president should be fighting to open U.S. coastal waters to drilling and production on the outer continental shelf. He correctly wants to end the federal moratorium on such off-shore drilling, where kajillions of barrels of oil and natural gas are being completely ignored.

Hmmmm, didn't realize it was a full kajillion barrels of oil off our coast. How to sell offshore drilling, though?

My thought, don't just build offshore oil derricks, build floating resorts/casinos out just beyond the horizon. People hate oil companies, but they love gambling (so long as it's not in their backyard) and new places for recreational activities. Much easier sale to the public, and if you build cool stuff above the waterline and hide all the industrial stuff below the waterline, folks who would complain for aesthetic reasons could be mollified. Folks afraid of industrial accidents would be harder to deal with, but screw those folks, everyone knows they are just a bunch of neo-luddite hippies. Throw in a few massive tidal power energy projects to emphasize the 'green' nature of ExxonMobil and their commitment to helping find energy sources for the 21st century (or some such nonsense, I forget which 'green' slogan they go by), that ought to help give any Congressperson who wants to end the ban on coastal drilling a little political cover from those damn tree huggers.

ExxonMobil could afford to finance a massive building project like this one, so long as they have assurances that the coastal commission types wouldn't shut down the operation just as it was starting to make money. If it gave them access to kajillions of dollars worth of oil extracted, they could even afford to split a chunk of the profits with the citizens of the states near where the drilling is happening.