The Green Screen

The bottom line tells it all. I happen to believe, as this writer does, this has been a man-made shortage, not a real one.

I wonder if she drives a truck..........I can dig it.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,9...63,00.html

Brown Urges Increase In Oil Production
Updated:18:53, Wednesday May 28, 2008

Gordon Brown has pledged to review a planned increase in fuel tax amid soaring oil prices.

Tuesday's fuel protests in LondonChancellor Alistair Darling said he would revisit a 2p increase in fuel tax set to be introduced in October.


But gas-guzzling 4x4s could still be clobbered as the Prime Minister warned that the fuel crisis was something the world had to deal with, not just Britain.

The Government also announced plans to help improve fuel supplies by increasing North Sea oil production.

Ministers said the extra 70,000 barrels a day would help but acknowledged it was only part of a global equation.

Speaking in Scotland after a meeting with oil executives, Mr Brown said: "Of course in the current situation we are trying to do things that will help those families who are hardest hit.

"This is not just a national problem. It is a global problem of supply and demand, not just in the short-term but the medium-term and the long-term."

He added: "All of you know the impact that is having on household bills, prices at the petrol station, prices of gas and electricity, and the follow through for prices of consumer goods like food."


Mr Brown at fuel summitTwo new North Sea developments, West Don and Don South West, are due to start production in the first half of next year, producing up to 50,000 barrels a day at their peak.

However, the maximum increase would still only be a tiny fraction of the 1.8 million barrels consumed daily by the UK.

Meanwhile, the world's leading producers say oil is too expensive and they plan to increase supplies.

A source at Opec said its 13 members were uncomfortable with the current price of crude, which last week hit a record $135 a barrel.

Based on present supply and demand, he said it should be fetching $60-$70 a barrel.

Saudi Arabia said it would increase production.



AK

Demand went up about 1% in 07. Prices went up about 30%. Good thing demand didnt go up 3%.

Prices are set by the collective action of all the buyers and all the sellers. Price focuses not just on current supply and demand but projected supply and demand, in the case of oil, of a commodity with finite quanitites.

The solution to the global oil crisis is high prices. It curbs usage and makes other forms of energy more viable.

I expect that oil rices will rise until a recession occurs which is what really curbs demand.

Mountain Man Wrote:Prices are set by the collective action of all the buyers and all the sellers. Price focuses not just on current supply and demand but projected supply and demand, in the case of oil, of a commodity with finite quanitites.

The solution to the global oil crisis is high prices. It curbs usage and makes other forms of energy more viable.

I expect that oil rices will rise until a recession occurs which is what really curbs demand.

But my question would be.......what exactly is a "global oil crisis" and is it natural or man made? If it is just greed then that is a different set of issues than a natural one. I guess it depends on who you talk to.


AK

A.K. Wrote:

Mountain Man Wrote:Prices are set by the collective action of all the buyers and all the sellers. Price focuses not just on current supply and demand but projected supply and demand, in the case of oil, of a commodity with finite quanitites.

The solution to the global oil crisis is high prices. It curbs usage and makes other forms of energy more viable.

I expect that oil rices will rise until a recession occurs which is what really curbs demand.

But my question would be.......what exactly is a "global oil crisis" and is it natural or man made? If it is just greed then that is a different set of issues than a natural one. I guess it depends on who you talk to.


AK

No one really knows whether we will 'run out of oil in 20 years or 100 years. What is certain is that the supply is finite.

Price discovery is in an open auction and the price is discovered by prices going'too high' and 'too low' There are so many participants in the auction, that this is really the only way to discover price, which changes through time.

The alternative is Fidel's method of price discovery, the state simply dictates what prices are, and deals with the disastrous results.

To me, the question whether the oil crisis is real or manufactured, is moot. If it is manufactured, prices will come down again. If it is real, then the high prices make alternative sources and conservation much more effective.

To me, it is abit of both.