Oil

[Angel of Death]

The cost of a barrel light sweet crude just reached the 50 dollars. Still want to dismiss Peak Oil as yet another conspiracy theory?

[A18]

Weren't the Saudis going to lower the price of oil to help Bush win?

Idiot conspiracy theorists.

[KEmperor]

*Cough*....Hurricanes in the Gulf disrupt oil supplies.....*Cough*

[John Dibble]

*Cough*....Hurricanes in the Gulf disrupt oil supplies.....*Cough*

But those were caused by Bush.

[zachman]

Weren't the Saudis going to lower the price of oil to help Bush win?

Idiot conspiracy theorists.

The already thried a bit with their August production announcement. I'm glad I decided not to follow my gut on that, I didn't realize how much real demand outdoes small changes in OPEC pricing.

[Angel of Death]

OPEC is finished. The quota raising was purely symbolic as the members were already producing oil above their current quota.

[DA]

Weren't the Saudis going to lower the price of oil to help Bush win?

Idiot conspiracy theorists.

That theory doesn't make sense, as far as I can tell. A) SA doesn't run OPEC (but it is the biggest producer). 2) Bush has interests in companies that compete with Soudi oil doesn't he?  Or am I missing some puzzle pieces?

[Shira]

The cost of a barrel light sweet crude just reached the 50 dollars. Still want to dismiss Peak Oil as yet another conspiracy theory?

What do you think is the real reason for the war in Iraq?

[KEmperor]

The cost of a barrel light sweet crude just reached the 50 dollars. Still want to dismiss Peak Oil as yet another conspiracy theory?

What do you think is the real reason for the war in Iraq?

To remove Saddam?  We did it.  Why?

[The Duke]

The cost of a barrel light sweet crude just reached the 50 dollars. Still want to dismiss Peak Oil as yet another conspiracy theory?

What do you think is the real reason for the war in Iraq?

To piss you off.

[muon2]

The demand side is absolutely critical here. It is so strong that indeed any little fluctuation in supply can affect pricing. As a raw material, oil is not only a mainstay for energy production, but it is also the basis of many sectors of the chemical industry, including most synthetic materials.

We forget that over the last many years the world has been somewhat spared the oil crunch that has been due. In the early 90's the Japanese economy went slack for the decade and there was the US recession of 1991-92. Before oil demand got too pumped up there were a series of international economic disruptions, the most significant being the Asian monetary crisis of the late 1990's. Then the tech sector collapsed begining in 2000.

All these events put off the inevitable fact the base level for oil demand has been growing faster than the base level for production. Without massive new exploration and drilling, or significant oil alternatives, the crunch can only be met by rising prices to offset demand.