Oil - Demand, Supply, and President Bush, pt 4
Posted by Moonage on 02 Sep 2004 | Tagged as: Oil Supply
Iraq’s oil shipments to the US and worldwide are substantially higher today than they have been in the past decade. You do recall that Iraq was only shipping out through the Oil for Food (and associated UN bribes) program, don’t you? They WEREN’T shipping their full amount available. And recall that the oil production infrastructure in Iraq was a shambles from more than a decade of neglect. If anything, the stream of oil from Iraq is a net positive. Thanks, George.
Graphically speaking, in the first 6 months of 2003, 519 thousand barrels of oil per day on average came from Iraq. In June of this year it was 636 thousand, even including the losses due to pipeline sabotage (wouldn’t want to blame the saboteurs for anything). The amount of oil coming in from Iraq is HIGHER. I.E. the demand/supply imbalance does not come from there.
Now, if you can figure out how to blame the massive strikes against the pro-Cuba Venezuelan government which shut down a supplier of 3 TIMES as much oil to the US on this administration, then knock yourself out. Thanks, Chavez.
Further, if you can explain how strikes and unrest in Nigeria which knocked out a supplier DOUBLE the size of Iraq is the fault of this administration, then I’d also be intrigued by the logic that brings about that conclusion. Thanks, Obasnajo.
Somehow, given your other ramblings, I doubt that you would have supported a more pro-active protection of our economic interests by sending troops in to either place to ensure that our oil prices here did not rise. Or did I miss something?
Conversely, there was a news item this past week where the Chinese government had finally decided to raise retail gas prices 6%. Seems the government was afraid of inflation, so instead of raising prices for consumers, it about let its refiners bleed to death. The end result, of course, was that Chinese consumers were not bearing the full price of their gasoline, and consumed untold millions of extra gallons, because, hell, it’s cheap. Thanks, Wen Jiabao.
I surmise that you do not support an invasion of China so we can make them and their 3 million new cars in the last year alone raise their gas prices so their own supply and demand will fall into equilibrium.
Further, in Russia, the seventh largest oil producing company in the world, Yukos, is being brought to its knees by Vladimir Putin’s government over a trumped up tax evasion charge. Basically, it is a way for Putin to destroy one of his rivals, a billionaire who made the mistake of getting involved in politics in opposition to Putin. Yukos accounts for 20% of Russia’s production of oil, and it is in shutdown since even its operations accounts have been frozen by the government.
No, not our government, theirs. Thanks, Vladdy.
Yes, I’m sure deep down that they had a great deal to do with all of this. I’m sure also that the decision not to drill in Alaska was also just a clever ploy by the Bush administration to make you have to pay more to punish you for your insolence.
Demand for oil is up, substantially, worldwide, including the U.S. NO ONE could have done anything about it, but I’m completely baffled why someone for whom “no blood for oil” was a slogan with some attraction would POSSIBLY think about griping about oil prices now. Either your economic well being is something the government is supposed to protect, or it is not. Make up your mind. But the “problems in Iraq” kvetch doesn’t withstand even the basest numeric challenge.
I’m also constantly baffled that people actually believe that government has much control over economic ebbs and flows at all. There is more demand for oil worldwide, including speculative demand, than there is supply. But the supply issues have absolutely, positively not come due to anything that has happened in Iraq. Heck, as a result of the actions in Iraq, we have MORE supply, from Libya, which we wouldn’t purchase from before. I guess we’ll just pile the blame for that on top of everything else. Thanks, George.
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