Oil Prices Reach a 21-Year High Today (Reuters)

Oil Prices Reach a 21-Year High Today
By Andrew Mitchell -- Reuters
Friday, May 14, 2004
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LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices vaulted to a 21-year high on Friday for fear that supplies already stretched by world economic expansion could be hit by an attack on Middle East oil facilities.
(...)
Economic expansion in China, bolstered by renewed U.S. growth, has placed world supplies under increasing strain, leaving the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, bar top producer Saudi Arabia, pumping almost flat out to meet demand.
Oil's price surge has alarmed consuming nations worried that economic growth could suffer. So far the fears appear to have proved unfounded.
(...)
In the United States refineries are struggling to make enough of new green grades fuel grades ahead of peak U.S. summer holiday driving demand.
U.S. gasoline demand, about 45 percent of world gasoline consumption, is booming at more than three percent this year because of the growing numbers of low-mileage-per-gallon sports utility vehicles on America's highways.
Runaway Chinese consumption has sucked away supplies from other regions and eroded Asia's cushion of spare refining capacity. More than 1,000 new cars hit the roads of Chinese capital Beijing each day as vehicle ownership widens.
Concern that Islamic militants could target oil infrastructure in the Middle East has steepened oil's surge.
Iraqi exports from its southern Gulf terminal were still running one-third below normal on Friday as engineers struggled to repair a pipeline sabotaged last week. U.S.-led forces foiled a suicide boat attack on tankers at the terminal three weeks ago.
The U.S. government, especially sensitive about rising energy costs ahead of November's Presidential election, has led calls for OPEC to rein in runaway prices by raising production.
Saudi Arabia has proposed that OPEC raise output quotas by at least six percent when it meets on June 3 in Beirut. Ministers will also meet informally next week on the sidelines of an energy forum in Amsterdam.
But OPEC's proposed output hike may do little more than legitimize existing production as it is already pumping more than two million barrels a day in excess of its official limits of 23.5 million bpd.
(...)
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Read the rest here.

Our government will force the oil wars to maintain our addiction until the fuel is gone.

The current unpleasantness isn't a supply problem in the sense that there isn't enough oil. It's more of a political/economic vicious rampage. The oil is there, they just don't want to produce it right now for a variety of reasons.

This country has no alternative means of transport. Everything is built to require Oil.

Remember, OBL's strategy was to destroy our economy. Oil prices driven up by fear of a terror attack on the loading facilities? Everything is progressing according to plan.

The hired blowhards from the Big Three spent years proclaiming that Americans "didn't want" fuel efficient cars. I always thought that was transparently a self-fullfilling prophecy, seeing as how they never actualy built any fuel efficient cars.

The Japanese finally showed what a crock it all was by allowing consumers the option to buy a hybrid, and -- imagine -- they literally can't build them fast enough.

Because of China's booming economy, lack of any pollution regulation and its enormous oil consumption, the Neo-Cons see control and/or influence in the oil markets (starting with Iraq) as a way to control the Chinese economy and prevent it from being a threat to US economic hegemony.

I read a really good article on the economics of Iraq and its oil supplies, vis a vis China in particular, and for the life of me, I can't remember where. Economist? Janes? It was one of those types of publications. Was sometime last summer I think.

Anyhow, the underlying theory was to checkmate China by controlling its access to oil and therby hinder its economic growth.

...it becomes profitable to crank up the domestic wells in Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. I learned this from a fellow who happens to own a lot of those wells. No surprise--he thinks George Bush is just great.

That's just great for the small contingent of landowners who still retain the mineral rights to these reserves, but at the same time it compromises America's dwindling strategic petroleum reserve--the real strategic petroleum reserve. Our nation's untapped resources are critical to our future. You'll be burning our future on your trip to the beach this summer.

Forgive me for sounding like a bastard, but I'd much rather burn my enemies' oil reserves now and save my own reserves for a rainy day. That's the real reason why Saudi Arabia remains our "friend."

But then again, every day is a rainy day in America now.

And the Gulf of Mexico.

I have friends who believe that drilling in Alaska will be no problem at all, and that the claims of environmental damage are overly hyped, blah, blah, blah.

What are those ads running now with the state of the art drilling in the Gulf? Kerr-McGhee??

I would love to see the day when I never have to make another trip to a gas station. I don't care what the price of gas is, I hate doing it period.

from every gas buyer in America will affect the economy, drawing alot of money away from other necessary and unnessary purchases.

with the average of 17mpg, a fill up cost about $1.5x17gallons=$25.50 now that fillup is costing $35.70 at $2.10/gallon.

two fillups a week, $20, and over a month $80.

to someone taking home less than $1000/month, this is huge and even for everyone else who like myself keeps a tight budget to make ends meet, it means cutting back on some extras.

to someone taking home less than $1000/month, this is huge and even for everyone else who like myself keeps a tight budget to make ends meet, it means cutting back on some extras.

Exactly. And what are "extras" to some are others' livelihoods. Across the economy, shocks will be felt.

This is fire that our foolish leaders and our greedy gas guzzlers are playing with; let us hope we are all not burned.

:shrug: We need to give the oil industry some tax cuts I think.

No @#$%! ferriner is gonna keep me from filling up my brand new Ford Genocide!

It's that attitude, of course, that the state media wish to encourage.

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