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Oil Slick Stuff
- Thread starter nnuut
- Start date
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
Democratic Congressmen say they'll take another stab at closing loopholes that allow unbridled 'speculation.'
By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: June 20, 2008: 12:12 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- "Speculation," a dirty word across America as Wall Street traders take the blame for record oil and gasoline prices, drew more attention Friday from Congress as three Democratic House members introduced yet another bill attempting to limit activity.
To underline his case, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said speculators now control 71% of oil on the market. That means only 29% control the physical oil being traded, down from 61% eight years ago.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/20/new..._legislation/index.htm?postversion=2008062012
By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Last Updated: June 20, 2008: 12:12 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- "Speculation," a dirty word across America as Wall Street traders take the blame for record oil and gasoline prices, drew more attention Friday from Congress as three Democratic House members introduced yet another bill attempting to limit activity.
To underline his case, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said speculators now control 71% of oil on the market. That means only 29% control the physical oil being traded, down from 61% eight years ago.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/20/new..._legislation/index.htm?postversion=2008062012
Last edited:
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
Europe split over oil price plan
EU leaders want a plan to tackle high energy prices by October
European Union leaders have agreed to a 3-month study to find ways of cushioning the impact of soaring energy prices on the region's citizens.
At an energy summit in Brussels, ministers discussed plans to ease the pain of record oil and gas prices on consumers and companies.
They asked French President Nicolas Sarkozy to report back to the commission with a plan by October.
The plan follows protests across Europe by farmers, truckers and fishermen.
But opinion was divided about what action the European countries should take.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said there were no easy solutions.
"We have sent out a very clear message that there will not be a quick fix for the issue of the oil prices," Mr Barroso said.
The EU wants to prevent another spate of militant action across the region, but there is little common ground on exactly how to tackle the oil prices spike.
France had proposed to cap Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel, a plan that was rejected by Germany.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said: "I will not give way, I will fight for the issue."
"It is a case of justice," he added.
'Cool response'
The Italian government has introduced a windfall tax on oil companies, with the money being redistributed to the needy.
This plan received a cool response from other EU nations, who said it was difficult to decide who should get the money.
Meanwhile, oil companies complain the tax will prevent them from reinvesting their profits into further exploration.
In the official concluding document of the summit, European leaders said they would support investment in energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources.
But they stopped short of backing France and Italy's radical proposals.
EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told the BBC: "There are already EU directives which can be used to help the most vulnerable families to counter the effect of high fuel prices. "Heads of government should agree to restructure some industries so that they can respond to higher oil prices," he said. The meeting comes as key energy consuming and producing countries meet this weekend in Saudi Arabia to discuss the volatile world oil market. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7466446.stm
European Union leaders have agreed to a 3-month study to find ways of cushioning the impact of soaring energy prices on the region's citizens.
At an energy summit in Brussels, ministers discussed plans to ease the pain of record oil and gas prices on consumers and companies.
They asked French President Nicolas Sarkozy to report back to the commission with a plan by October.
The plan follows protests across Europe by farmers, truckers and fishermen.
But opinion was divided about what action the European countries should take.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said there were no easy solutions.
"We have sent out a very clear message that there will not be a quick fix for the issue of the oil prices," Mr Barroso said.
The EU wants to prevent another spate of militant action across the region, but there is little common ground on exactly how to tackle the oil prices spike.
France had proposed to cap Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel, a plan that was rejected by Germany.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said: "I will not give way, I will fight for the issue."
"It is a case of justice," he added.
'Cool response'
The Italian government has introduced a windfall tax on oil companies, with the money being redistributed to the needy.
This plan received a cool response from other EU nations, who said it was difficult to decide who should get the money.
Meanwhile, oil companies complain the tax will prevent them from reinvesting their profits into further exploration.
In the official concluding document of the summit, European leaders said they would support investment in energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources.
But they stopped short of backing France and Italy's radical proposals.
EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told the BBC: "There are already EU directives which can be used to help the most vulnerable families to counter the effect of high fuel prices. "Heads of government should agree to restructure some industries so that they can respond to higher oil prices," he said. The meeting comes as key energy consuming and producing countries meet this weekend in Saudi Arabia to discuss the volatile world oil market. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7466446.stm
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
Can Saudi summit lower oil prices?
By Andrew Walker
Economics correspondent, BBC News
Saudi Arabia has said it will boost oil production next month
It will be, according to the summit's own website, a momentous event.
Saudi Arabia has invited senior figures from energy producing and consuming countries to discuss what to do about oil.
It was a rather stark development in the oil market that seems to have prompted the Saudi authorities to call this meeting - the relentless rise of the cost of crude oil, which this week came within a whisker of $140 a barrel in New York.
'Badly-timed boost'
It has been a remarkable 10-year climb in the price of crude oil.
A decade ago, demand for oil weakened following the Asian financial crisis.
That coincided with a badly-timed boost in production by the producers' group Opec. The price went to about $10.
It was a dismal time for the oil producers' organisation.
Amazingly, some analysts believe the fear of making a similar mistake still haunts some of them.
It is called the "ghost of Jakarta", after the Indonesian capital where that production decision was taken. How times have changed since, as strong demand, especially from fast-growing economies in Asia, has helped take the price to new highs. Politics [more]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7464753.stm
By Andrew Walker
Economics correspondent, BBC News
It will be, according to the summit's own website, a momentous event.
Saudi Arabia has invited senior figures from energy producing and consuming countries to discuss what to do about oil.
It was a rather stark development in the oil market that seems to have prompted the Saudi authorities to call this meeting - the relentless rise of the cost of crude oil, which this week came within a whisker of $140 a barrel in New York.
'Badly-timed boost'
It has been a remarkable 10-year climb in the price of crude oil.
A decade ago, demand for oil weakened following the Asian financial crisis.
That coincided with a badly-timed boost in production by the producers' group Opec. The price went to about $10.
It was a dismal time for the oil producers' organisation.
Amazingly, some analysts believe the fear of making a similar mistake still haunts some of them.
It is called the "ghost of Jakarta", after the Indonesian capital where that production decision was taken. How times have changed since, as strong demand, especially from fast-growing economies in Asia, has helped take the price to new highs. Politics [more]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7464753.stm
GQ Saudi-fashion dude needs to stop dining with Calista Flockhart.
http://www.calistaflockhart.eu/calistaflockhart.jpg
http://www.calistaflockhart.eu/calistaflockhart.jpg
Buster
Well-known member
OPEC was Founded in Baghdad
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a group of thirteen states made up of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Angola, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Indonesia. Recently, Indonesia has decided to leave the organization, which is completed in May 2008. The organization has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, hosting regular meetings between the oil ministers of its member states.
According to its statute, the principal goal is the determination of the best means for safeguarding their interests, individually and collectively; devising ways and means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations; giving due regard at all times to the interests of the producing nations and to the necessity of securing a steady income to the producing countries; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations, and a fair return on their capital to those investing in the petroleum industry."
OPEC's influence on the market has been negatively criticized. Several members of OPEC alarmed the world and triggered high inflation across both the developing and developed world when they used oil embargoes in the 1973 oil crisis. OPEC's ability to control the price of oil has diminished somewhat since then, due to the subsequent discovery and development of large oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico and the North Sea, the opening up of Russia, and market modernization. OPEC nations still account for two-thirds of the world's oil reserves, and, as of March 2008, 35.6% of the world's oil production, affording them considerable control over the global market. The next largest group of producers, members of the OECD and the Post-Soviet states produced only 23.8% and 14.8%, respectively, of the world's total oil production. As early as 2003, concerns that OPEC members had little excess pumping capacity sparked speculation that their influence on crude oil prices would begin to slip
Buster
Well-known member
OPEC was Founded in Baghdad
Venezuela was the first country to move towards the establishment of OPEC by approaching Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in 1949, suggesting that they exchange views and explore avenues for regular and closer communications between them. In September 1960, at the initiative of the Venezuelan Energy and Mines minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo and the Saudi Arabian Energy and Mines minister Abdullah al-Tariki, the governments of Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela met in Baghdad to discuss the reduction in price of crude oil produced by their respective countries. OPEC was founded in Baghdad, Iraq triggered by a 1960 law instituted by American President Dwight Eisenhower that forced quotas for Venezuelan oil and favored Canada and Mexico's oil industries. Eisenhower cited national security, land access to energy supplies, at times of war. Venezuela's president Romulo Betancourt reacted seeking an alliance with oil producing Arab nations as a pre-emptive strategy to protect the continuous autonomy and profitability of Venezuela's natural resource: oil.
As a result, the OPEC cartel was founded to unify and coordinate members' petroleum policies. Original OPEC members include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Between 1960 and 1975, the organization expanded to include Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), and Nigeria (1971). Ecuador and Gabon were members of OPEC, but Ecuador withdrew on December 31, 1992 because they were unwilling or unable to pay a $2 million membership fee and felt that they needed to produce more oil than they were allowed to under the OPEC quota. Similar concerns prompted Gabon to follow suit in January 1995 . Angola joined on the first day of 2007. Indonesia is reconsidering its membership having become a net importer and being unable to meet its production quota. The United States was a member during its formal occupation of Iraq via the Coalition Provisional Authority. Indicating that OPEC is not averse to further expansion, Mohammed Barkindo, OPEC's Secretary General, recently asked Sudan to join. Iraq remains a member of OPEC, though Iraqi production has not been a part of any OPEC quota agreements since March 1998. In May 2008, Indonesia left the OPEC group because of the soaring prices and the rising oil demand in East Asia. Economists think that the withdrawal of Indonesia will have little effect on OPEC and on the oil prices even though it has a high percentage in world oil production
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
Not Enough?:suspicious:
Saudi will increase oil output to cut prices
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- Saudi Arabia has increased its daily oil production from 9 million barrels to 9.7 million in a move to counter the sharp rise in international oil prices, Saudi King Abdullah said Sunday.
Saudi Arabia has announced an increase in oil production ina bid to ease the pressure on oil prices.
King Abdullah's announcement came at the end of the Jeddah energy summit, where he also called for OPEC to set aside $1 billion for a strategy to ease the oil price crisis.
He said $500 million should be given to developing nations to help them get the energy they need.
His comments came one day after U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, attending the summit, said that oil kept hitting record highs because production has not kept pace with increasing demands.
"All nations must be better at conservation, and the U.S. is at the top of that list," said Bodman.
Some observers have blamed speculators for driving up oil prices. A key adviser to Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Friday that a number of factors, including speculators and currency fluctuations, are to blame for rising oil prices.
"We need stability," Dr. Ibrahim al Muhanna said, adding that Saudi Arabia would like to see producers, consumers and distributors cooperate.
But Bodman said he did not believe that they are the cause. Since 2003, he said, global demand for oil has increased because of industry in China, India and the Middle East. But from 2005 to 2007, there was very little increase in supply.
need an additional supply of energy to market, whether that energy is nuclear, coal, fossil fuels, solar or wind power, Bodman said.
But, "we spent 30 years digging ourselves into this hole," he said. "It won't be solved soon."
On Wednesday, U.S. President George Bush asked Congress to permit drilling for oil in deep water off the U.S. coast to combat rising oil prices.
He also renewed his demand that Congress allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, clear the way for more refineries and encourage efforts to recover oil from shale in areas like the Green River Basin, which encompasses parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
"In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil, and that means we need to increase supply here at home," Bush said in a Rose Garden statement.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/22/oil.summit/index.html
Saudi will increase oil output to cut prices
- Saudis increased daily oil production from 9 million barrels to 9.7 million
Announcement at Jeddah energy summit to help ease pain of oil price hike
Saudis: OPEC should give $1B for strategy, $500M of which for developing nations
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- Saudi Arabia has increased its daily oil production from 9 million barrels to 9.7 million in a move to counter the sharp rise in international oil prices, Saudi King Abdullah said Sunday.
Saudi Arabia has announced an increase in oil production ina bid to ease the pressure on oil prices.
King Abdullah's announcement came at the end of the Jeddah energy summit, where he also called for OPEC to set aside $1 billion for a strategy to ease the oil price crisis.
He said $500 million should be given to developing nations to help them get the energy they need.
His comments came one day after U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, attending the summit, said that oil kept hitting record highs because production has not kept pace with increasing demands.
"All nations must be better at conservation, and the U.S. is at the top of that list," said Bodman.
Some observers have blamed speculators for driving up oil prices. A key adviser to Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Friday that a number of factors, including speculators and currency fluctuations, are to blame for rising oil prices.
"We need stability," Dr. Ibrahim al Muhanna said, adding that Saudi Arabia would like to see producers, consumers and distributors cooperate.
But Bodman said he did not believe that they are the cause. Since 2003, he said, global demand for oil has increased because of industry in China, India and the Middle East. But from 2005 to 2007, there was very little increase in supply.
need an additional supply of energy to market, whether that energy is nuclear, coal, fossil fuels, solar or wind power, Bodman said.
But, "we spent 30 years digging ourselves into this hole," he said. "It won't be solved soon."
On Wednesday, U.S. President George Bush asked Congress to permit drilling for oil in deep water off the U.S. coast to combat rising oil prices.
He also renewed his demand that Congress allow oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, clear the way for more refineries and encourage efforts to recover oil from shale in areas like the Green River Basin, which encompasses parts of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
"In the short run, the American economy will continue to rely largely on oil, and that means we need to increase supply here at home," Bush said in a Rose Garden statement.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/06/22/oil.summit/index.html
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
Who knows why oil prices are so high?
By Anthony Reuben
Business reporter, BBC News
Various reports have attributed the recent record breaking rise in oil prices to different reasons, but who is correct?
New York oil prices have hit record highs this week
Some say it is because the Opec cartel is unwilling to boost its supply levels.
Others say it is because of fears about supplies from other countries such as Nigeria and Venezuela.
But the truth is, it could be something completely different.
The fundamentals
"Why did it happen on Tuesday? Nobody really knows for a fact what's happening or where it's going," says John Hall from the energy consultancy John Hall Associates.
So what is it that moves oil prices up and down?
"It's the fundamentals, stupid," says Mark Lewis from Energy Market Consultants.
The fundamentals are factors that influence the supply of, and demand for, oil.
Things such as the increasing demand from China and India, as well as fears that a stand-off between the US and Iran could interrupt supplies, have been raising oil prices.
Alternatively, financial factors may be at work, such as a hedge fund having to sell a particular oil contract so it does not end up receiving a tanker-load of oil - or a trader deciding it would be fun to be the first to trade oil above $100 a barrel.
The problem is, much fundamental information is not freely available.
No sense
"We really don't know what the fundamentals are doing at any point in time," Mr Lewis says.
"The markets are looking for signals from the fundamentals. Some of them are irrelevant, some of them are wrong, some of them are meaningless, but they affect prices nevertheless."
When the New York oil price broke through $100 a barrel for the first time at the start of 2008, one of the factors cited as being behind it was the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan on 27 December 2007.
It's like the dotcom boom in the 1990s
Mark Lewis, Energy Market Consultants
"That didn't strike us as making any sense at the time," says Sean Cronin, editor of Argus Global Markets.
He says that people are too keen to attribute market moves to geopolitical factors.
He attributes rising prices to over-optimistic expectations of oil production by non-Opec countries - and also to signs that Opec members appear to have a greater tendency to stick to their output limits.
'Can't sit around'
These long-term trends are all very well, but oil traders have to make quick decisions.
"You can't sit around a day or two and see what happens," says Mr Hall.
"So the rocket testing in North Korea [previously cited as a reason for rising prices] or the assassination of Benazir Bhutto turned out to have no real effect, but they might have done."
Some of the factors that are more likely to influence oil supply and demand, such as figures of oil demand from China, are not available.
That means that minor news of fundamentals, such as the output of a single refinery, may be given too much weight.
"Little changes in insignificant parts of the fundamental picture, if they're visible, can have a substantial impact on the oil price - substantial in the sense of several dollars," Mr Lewis says.
Dotcom boom
So there appears to be a distinction between the factors that raise the oil price because they affect sentiment and the ones that genuinely affect supply and demand for oil.
And it may be that rises due to the former are vulnerable. "It's like the dotcom boom in the 1990s," says Mr Lewis. "It was overinflated, but as long as everyone kept believing in it, the price went up." "When they stopped believing in it, the price went down. And that's a warning."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7255447.stm
By Anthony Reuben
Business reporter, BBC News
Various reports have attributed the recent record breaking rise in oil prices to different reasons, but who is correct?
New York oil prices have hit record highs this week
Some say it is because the Opec cartel is unwilling to boost its supply levels.
Others say it is because of fears about supplies from other countries such as Nigeria and Venezuela.
But the truth is, it could be something completely different.
The fundamentals
"Why did it happen on Tuesday? Nobody really knows for a fact what's happening or where it's going," says John Hall from the energy consultancy John Hall Associates.
So what is it that moves oil prices up and down?
"It's the fundamentals, stupid," says Mark Lewis from Energy Market Consultants.
The fundamentals are factors that influence the supply of, and demand for, oil.
Things such as the increasing demand from China and India, as well as fears that a stand-off between the US and Iran could interrupt supplies, have been raising oil prices.
Alternatively, financial factors may be at work, such as a hedge fund having to sell a particular oil contract so it does not end up receiving a tanker-load of oil - or a trader deciding it would be fun to be the first to trade oil above $100 a barrel.
The problem is, much fundamental information is not freely available.
No sense
"We really don't know what the fundamentals are doing at any point in time," Mr Lewis says.
"The markets are looking for signals from the fundamentals. Some of them are irrelevant, some of them are wrong, some of them are meaningless, but they affect prices nevertheless."
When the New York oil price broke through $100 a barrel for the first time at the start of 2008, one of the factors cited as being behind it was the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan on 27 December 2007.
Mark Lewis, Energy Market Consultants
"That didn't strike us as making any sense at the time," says Sean Cronin, editor of Argus Global Markets.
He says that people are too keen to attribute market moves to geopolitical factors.
He attributes rising prices to over-optimistic expectations of oil production by non-Opec countries - and also to signs that Opec members appear to have a greater tendency to stick to their output limits.
'Can't sit around'
These long-term trends are all very well, but oil traders have to make quick decisions.
"You can't sit around a day or two and see what happens," says Mr Hall.
"So the rocket testing in North Korea [previously cited as a reason for rising prices] or the assassination of Benazir Bhutto turned out to have no real effect, but they might have done."
Some of the factors that are more likely to influence oil supply and demand, such as figures of oil demand from China, are not available.
That means that minor news of fundamentals, such as the output of a single refinery, may be given too much weight.
"Little changes in insignificant parts of the fundamental picture, if they're visible, can have a substantial impact on the oil price - substantial in the sense of several dollars," Mr Lewis says.
Dotcom boom
So there appears to be a distinction between the factors that raise the oil price because they affect sentiment and the ones that genuinely affect supply and demand for oil.
And it may be that rises due to the former are vulnerable. "It's like the dotcom boom in the 1990s," says Mr Lewis. "It was overinflated, but as long as everyone kept believing in it, the price went up." "When they stopped believing in it, the price went down. And that's a warning."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7255447.stm
In addition to the laws and regulations that gave a free hand to international speculators, isn't a significant factor in the price of crude oil and gasoline the fact that we do not have sufficient refining and distilling capacity.
Someone recently posted a new agreement to build refineries between China and Venezuela. Perhaps the U.S. has waited and wasted precious time arguing about the cost of building new refining capacity and this has given a free hand to other nations to fill in the gap and the need. This is another example of industrial assets falling into the control of foreign governments, much to our loss.
Without reasonable controls, wouldn't the oil people prefer to sell excess oil production in the international markets rather than supply the daily needs of the american consumer? Isn't this somehow related to being patriotic? Or is this an intellectual exercise of leftist individuals?
Someone recently posted a new agreement to build refineries between China and Venezuela. Perhaps the U.S. has waited and wasted precious time arguing about the cost of building new refining capacity and this has given a free hand to other nations to fill in the gap and the need. This is another example of industrial assets falling into the control of foreign governments, much to our loss.
Without reasonable controls, wouldn't the oil people prefer to sell excess oil production in the international markets rather than supply the daily needs of the american consumer? Isn't this somehow related to being patriotic? Or is this an intellectual exercise of leftist individuals?
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
It's simple, they want all the profit they can get!! CROOKS!View attachment 4125
Gas prices climb to record $4.10
Gasoline is costing U.S. drivers a record $4.10 per gallon on average, but pump prices may be at a peak and could start to come down, an industry analyst said on Sunday. A barrel of oil has doubled in price over the past year, stoking inflation, triggering protests from Asia to Europe, and compounding the financial pain of U.S. consumers already grappling with a sagging housing market, job uncertainty and soaring food costs. Top officials, policy makers and oil company executives met on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for emergency talks on how to bring prices down.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080622/us_nm/gas_lundberg_dc_1;_ylt=AqBLGgFO02AIBKkp6Mo_5U7qxQcB
Gasoline is costing U.S. drivers a record $4.10 per gallon on average, but pump prices may be at a peak and could start to come down, an industry analyst said on Sunday. A barrel of oil has doubled in price over the past year, stoking inflation, triggering protests from Asia to Europe, and compounding the financial pain of U.S. consumers already grappling with a sagging housing market, job uncertainty and soaring food costs. Top officials, policy makers and oil company executives met on Sunday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for emergency talks on how to bring prices down.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080622/us_nm/gas_lundberg_dc_1;_ylt=AqBLGgFO02AIBKkp6Mo_5U7qxQcB
Colombian oil pipeline closed by attacks
Colombia's Cano Limon-Covenas oil pipeline has been closed by rebel bomb attacks carried out on Saturday and Sunday, a source at state petroleum company Ecopetrol told Reuters. "The pipeline has been paralyzed by the two attacks," said the source, who asked not to be named. The pipeline, which has capacity to carry 225,000 barrels per day, was transporting an average of 96,000 bpd from Arauca province to the Caribbean coast.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623...ttacks_dc_1;_ylt=ApykP1Wx.zJdgJ1g_Ly_i3eb.HQA
Colombia's Cano Limon-Covenas oil pipeline has been closed by rebel bomb attacks carried out on Saturday and Sunday, a source at state petroleum company Ecopetrol told Reuters. "The pipeline has been paralyzed by the two attacks," said the source, who asked not to be named. The pipeline, which has capacity to carry 225,000 barrels per day, was transporting an average of 96,000 bpd from Arauca province to the Caribbean coast.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080623...ttacks_dc_1;_ylt=ApykP1Wx.zJdgJ1g_Ly_i3eb.HQA
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
Not too much good news on the Oil front tonight!
Chevron production in Nigeria disrupted
Breached pipeline causes company to shutter onshore oil production.
June 21, 2008: 12:50 PM EDT
WARRI, Nigeria (AP) -- Chevron Corp. said Saturday that a breached Nigerian pipeline has prompted the company to shut down its onshore oil production.
Nigerian media reported that militants had sabotaged the pipeline in the southern Niger Delta late Thursday. But the region's most-potent armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, told The Associated Press it was not involved.
U.S.-based Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) said in a statement Saturday that it shut off its onshore production after the pipeline breach to protect the environment, but gave no firm figures on how much production would be lost. Oil industry officials said the loss would be around 120,000 barrels per day.[more]
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/21/new...n_Nigeria.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008062112
Chevron production in Nigeria disrupted
Breached pipeline causes company to shutter onshore oil production.
June 21, 2008: 12:50 PM EDT
WARRI, Nigeria (AP) -- Chevron Corp. said Saturday that a breached Nigerian pipeline has prompted the company to shut down its onshore oil production.
Nigerian media reported that militants had sabotaged the pipeline in the southern Niger Delta late Thursday. But the region's most-potent armed group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, told The Associated Press it was not involved.
U.S.-based Chevron (CVX, Fortune 500) said in a statement Saturday that it shut off its onshore production after the pipeline breach to protect the environment, but gave no firm figures on how much production would be lost. Oil industry officials said the loss would be around 120,000 barrels per day.[more]
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/21/new...n_Nigeria.ap/index.htm?postversion=2008062112
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
What's he know anyway?
Oil production lagging - U.S. official
Energy secretary says that United States and other nations must conserve more. Speculators not to blame for high prices, he adds.
Last Updated: June 21, 2008: 6:19 PM EDT
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- The reason for record-high oil prices, which are putting the squeeze on the United States and others worldwide, is that oil production has not kept pace with increasing demands, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Saturday.
"All nations must be better at conservation, and the U.S. is at the top of that list," said Bodman, who met with journalists ahead of a Sunday international meeting of oil producing and consuming nations focusing on high oil prices.
While some have blamed speculators for driving up oil prices, Bodman said he did not believe they are the cause.[more]
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/21/news/international/saudi_summit/index.htm?postversion=2008062118
Oil production lagging - U.S. official
Energy secretary says that United States and other nations must conserve more. Speculators not to blame for high prices, he adds.
Last Updated: June 21, 2008: 6:19 PM EDT
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- The reason for record-high oil prices, which are putting the squeeze on the United States and others worldwide, is that oil production has not kept pace with increasing demands, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Saturday.
"All nations must be better at conservation, and the U.S. is at the top of that list," said Bodman, who met with journalists ahead of a Sunday international meeting of oil producing and consuming nations focusing on high oil prices.
While some have blamed speculators for driving up oil prices, Bodman said he did not believe they are the cause.[more]
http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/21/news/international/saudi_summit/index.htm?postversion=2008062118
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
Who wants oil prices to fall?
By Nils Blythe
Business correspondent, BBC News
There's been an international shouting match about why the oil price is so high.
Opec members blame speculators for high oil prices
On one side, the oil producers cartel Opec yells that there's plenty of the black stuff available and the price is being forced up by "speculators".
On the other side, the big oil consuming countries shout back that the real problem is supplies have failed to keep up with demand - so would Opec kindly start producing more.
In fact, the two arguments are both partially true.
The balance between demand and supply is very tight.
In that tight market even a rumour of supply disruption can send prices soaring, yielding huge profits for traders.
And after each lurch upward, the price seems to settle at a higher level.
Market forces?
This brings us rapidly to the role of Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia offers the best hope for consuming nations
It's the world's largest oil producer and the only one which the markets think could rapidly increase its output, though how much and how quickly is a matter of intense debate.
But does Saudi Arabia really want to bring oil prices down?
The old argument in Opec was that if prices went too high, developed countries would plunge into recession and - in the long run - the price would collapse.
In recent times that simply hasn't happened.
In 1999 the average price of a barrel of oil was less than $13. In 2007 it was about $72 and still the world economy was booming.
Only now - with oil over $130 - are the cracks beginning to appear, with a marked slowdown in America and Britain.
Golden opportunity?
But arguably this has more to do with the credit crunch and the bursting of housing market bubbles than the soaring cost of hydro-carbons.
Demand for oil is soaring across the world
And demand for oil from China and India just keeps on growing - and may continue to do so even after the recent reductions in government fuel subsidies.
So, put simply, Saudi Arabia may have its political reasons for wanting to help allies like America with increases in oil production. But it has little economic incentive to do so.
Of course, you might think that for a producer, high prices are an opportunity to make big profits.
But this ignores two really fundamental truths: there is only a finite amount of oil in the world; and no-one knows quite how much.
Saudi Arabia is believed to have by far the largest reserves - with something like one fifth of the world's total.
But as Saudi's oil production is in the hands of a tight-lipped, state-owned company it is hard to be sure of these estimates.
Those who believe that the world is very close to its maximum production already - the so-called 'peak oil' theory - point to the uncertainties about how much more Saudi Arabia can actually produce.
But for the oil consuming countries Saudi arabia is still the best hope. Not least because its two nearest rivals in terms of reserves are Iran and Iraq.
Long game?
All this the Saudi's know well.
So when talking to their customers they tend to take a very long view.
As already mentioned, oil reserves are finite. The less they produce now, the more they'll have in future generations. Oh, and if this means the price happens to stay high, well so be it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7466510.stm
By Nils Blythe
Business correspondent, BBC News
There's been an international shouting match about why the oil price is so high.
On one side, the oil producers cartel Opec yells that there's plenty of the black stuff available and the price is being forced up by "speculators".
On the other side, the big oil consuming countries shout back that the real problem is supplies have failed to keep up with demand - so would Opec kindly start producing more.
In fact, the two arguments are both partially true.
The balance between demand and supply is very tight.
In that tight market even a rumour of supply disruption can send prices soaring, yielding huge profits for traders.
And after each lurch upward, the price seems to settle at a higher level.
Market forces?
This brings us rapidly to the role of Saudi Arabia.
It's the world's largest oil producer and the only one which the markets think could rapidly increase its output, though how much and how quickly is a matter of intense debate.
But does Saudi Arabia really want to bring oil prices down?
The old argument in Opec was that if prices went too high, developed countries would plunge into recession and - in the long run - the price would collapse.
In recent times that simply hasn't happened.
In 1999 the average price of a barrel of oil was less than $13. In 2007 it was about $72 and still the world economy was booming.
Only now - with oil over $130 - are the cracks beginning to appear, with a marked slowdown in America and Britain.
Golden opportunity?
But arguably this has more to do with the credit crunch and the bursting of housing market bubbles than the soaring cost of hydro-carbons.
And demand for oil from China and India just keeps on growing - and may continue to do so even after the recent reductions in government fuel subsidies.
So, put simply, Saudi Arabia may have its political reasons for wanting to help allies like America with increases in oil production. But it has little economic incentive to do so.
Of course, you might think that for a producer, high prices are an opportunity to make big profits.
But this ignores two really fundamental truths: there is only a finite amount of oil in the world; and no-one knows quite how much.
Saudi Arabia is believed to have by far the largest reserves - with something like one fifth of the world's total.
But as Saudi's oil production is in the hands of a tight-lipped, state-owned company it is hard to be sure of these estimates.
Those who believe that the world is very close to its maximum production already - the so-called 'peak oil' theory - point to the uncertainties about how much more Saudi Arabia can actually produce.
But for the oil consuming countries Saudi arabia is still the best hope. Not least because its two nearest rivals in terms of reserves are Iran and Iraq.
Long game?
All this the Saudi's know well.
So when talking to their customers they tend to take a very long view.
As already mentioned, oil reserves are finite. The less they produce now, the more they'll have in future generations. Oh, and if this means the price happens to stay high, well so be it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7466510.stm
James48843
Well-known member
I just drove by an Chevron Station less than a mile from LAX airport.
Regular $ 4.64
PLus $ 4. 79
Premium $ 4. 98
Not much longer before it hits $5 in California.
p.s.- this is also two miles from the Chevron refinery complex in El Segundo. I can see the tanker offloading off the coast. I can see the flames from the refinery. And I can see the actual gas station. I bet they don't even have to truck the fuel- they should be able to pipe it from over there down the hill to the station. Yet it's still $4.64.
Go figure.
Regular $ 4.64
PLus $ 4. 79
Premium $ 4. 98
Not much longer before it hits $5 in California.
p.s.- this is also two miles from the Chevron refinery complex in El Segundo. I can see the tanker offloading off the coast. I can see the flames from the refinery. And I can see the actual gas station. I bet they don't even have to truck the fuel- they should be able to pipe it from over there down the hill to the station. Yet it's still $4.64.
Go figure.
nnuut
Moderator | TSP Legend
What no MIDDLE MEN? They won't go for that!!:nuts:
The RICH will not be happy until the Middle Class goes to work in the back of a Pickup.