GOP stands for Grand Old Petroleum

[JoseCuervo]

Always good to have a President and Veep that are willing to work hard for the Oil Industry....

The government has eased proposed Clinton-era oil and gas drilling restrictions on a large tract of desert grassland in New Mexico in a decision that benefits a large Republican donor in the state.


The donor, George Yates, says his contributions and fund-raising assistance to Vice President Dick Cheney had nothing to do with the decision. The Interior Department says its drilling plan, while opening up more land in Otero Mesa, will be the most restrictive ever.


The Bush administration “would allow 141 oil and gas wells over about 7 million acres; Interior is committed to protecting our public lands,” department spokesman Mark Pfeifle said.


However, environmentalists are crying foul.


The Bureau of Land Management “surrendered to the demands of one oil company and the political power of the name to which it was connected,” the Campaign to Protect America’s Lands said Thursday in contrasting the Bush administration’s plan for Otero Mesa with the Clinton administration’s.


The environmental group said the Interior Department’s estimate of 141 wells is based on an outdated plan for Otero Mesa before Yates drilled a successful well there in the late 1990s.


Pfeifle called the environmental organization “a special interest fund-raising group that focuses exclusively on partisan misinformation.” Among its supporters is Eric Schaeffer, who resigned from the Environmental Protection Agency, contending the Bush White House was undermining anti-pollution efforts at power plants that violate clean air laws.


One of Yates’ companies, HEYCO, drilled a successful natural gas well six years ago at Otero Mesa.


The BLM subsequently proposed restricting drilling in many areas to near roadsides, drawing sharp criticism from HEYCO.


Two months ago, the Bush administration eased the proposed drilling restrictions, saying that well drilling in Otero Mesa should be limited “to no more than 5 percent” of a leased area at any one time.

 

[pawclaws]

Aha; I see you have fallen under the spell of the guerilla farm movement!! You see the dollar isn't fueled by oil; but by corn and corn syrup! (The secret is out!)