$200 Oil

[jackoroe]

Truth is, it's been OK by me so far. I simply line my errands up on a big circle and go out one time to do them all at once. I got a great deal on a new Buick Enclave, because it's bit thirsty, but I really don't care. It's very comfortable.

Other than that, there's somewhat less traffic on the roads and I can park a little closer to the beach.

 

[nautiboyjeff]

30% of oil is traded on a dark market, thanks to George and his buddies at Enron - remember those guys who blew out the electricity rates in California? It took a 100 years of regulation to manage the oil companies and we are now acting like we don't know what's wrong and it can be fixed with a congressional act to open the markets - here's the whole story from NPR's Marketplace -

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/16/cftc/

and from Market Watch
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/gas-could-fall-2-if/story.aspx?guid={2673C102-68E0-41D9-9C9A-10EE2E723948}&dist=msr_13

 

[metta]

Despite rocketing prices, outlook is bleak for oil majors



http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080706/bs_afp/oilenergycommodities;_ylt=ApNHM2IKmBptiF99MSTRebwDW7oF

As paradoxical as it may seem, high oil prices do not mean a golden age for the likes of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Totalor BP.

Of course, with a barrel of oil at more than 140 dollars, they are seeing major profits, but the future has never seemed so uncertain.

The problem is access to reserves. The oil majors now control less than 10 percent of world resources of gas and oil, against 70 percent in the 1970s, according to figures released by the office of Ernst and Young at the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid.

But the majors still hold some aces, such as their expertise in more ambitious projects or their financial bases.

"The increasingly massive size of oil and gas projects and their complexity ensure that oil companies continue to play a key role," as they have the advantage over service industries of being the sole representative throughout the project, Ernst and Young said.

"In most of the cases, we (Shell) will continue establishing alliances with state companies, in their and our countries, specially with gas, which needs big investments," said Linda Cook.