While Obama’s administration slow walks any domestic oil company approvals for leases on the OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) it’s looking like Obama is willing to fast track the Chinese to take U.S. oil leases! Considering Obama’s love of the Chinese flag, should we be surprised?

China’s state-owned energy firm buys U.S. off-shore leases UPDATED!

The deal, which requires approval of the U.S. government, is between Norway’s Statoil and China National Off-Shore Oil Corporation (CNOOC). This is the same CNOOC that would have bought Unocal four years ago for $18.5 billion but for pressure from Congress, according to The New York Times, quoting an energy industry trade publication.

snip…If the administration approves the deal, it will be more vulnerable to charges that the White House is being careless with U.S. national security issues in the energy sector, and that it is putting the interests of a foreign power before those of U.S. energy consumers.

If Obama and Salazar reject the deal, it will likely complicate relations with China, the emerging Asian superpower that defense experts predict will be able at will to challenge U.S. legitimate national security interests around the globe in the near future.

The deal also focuses renewed attention on Salazar’s slow-walking of a new plan for approving energy exploration and development in the OCS, which includes approximately 1.7 billion acres, and, according to Interior, holds up to 86 billion barrels of recoverable oil and more than 400 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

The administration is moving much too slowly to open more of the OCS to development for domestic U.S. uses, according to Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, who said recently:

China US oil leases, Obama selling US oil resources

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