China's push for oil in Gulf of Mexico puts U.S. in awkward spot

[WhiskeyGirl]

Why doesn't the 'US' drill and use the oil from the Gulf of Mexico?  That seems like a no-brainer.  Oops!  It looks like America is giving away the farm.  I seem to recall something about using this water for fish farms...

Reporting from Beijing - A Chinese company's gambit to drill for oil in U.S. territory demonstrates China's determination to lock up the raw materials it needs to sustain its rapid growth, wherever those resources lie.

The state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp., or CNOOC, reportedly is negotiating the purchase of leases owned by the Norwegian StatoilHydro in U.S. waters in the Gulf of Mexico, the source of about a quarter of U.S. crude oil production.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china-oil22-2009oct22,0,2776603.story