OPEC upset over low gas prices -

[Martin]

OPEC, which pumps about 40 pct of the world's crude oil, has been pumping close to its fastest rate for 25 years to guard against price shocks and ease pressure on consumer economies.

'But forecasts that demand for their oil will decline in 2007 are beginning to worry some of its members,' said Fimat analyst John Kilduff, noting the cartel had left the door open for a supply cut before the end of the year.

http://www.lse.co.uk/FinanceNews.asp...eigh_on_market

Yeah the "supply cut" is to keep prices higher. They dont HAVE TO make the supply cut, but they will just to increase the price.

This is just one quote that I found. There are several other news stories on this matter how OPEC is upset over the lowering of gas prices.

Is it just me or does this ENRAGE you aswell? These big wigs are sittin in their office all day watching their stocks rise and fall and their angry over low gas prices. The kind of CRAP we had to deal with over the spring and summer with these soaring gas prices and their upset. Im guessing their upset about their record profits aswell.

Sooooooo angry... I cant even think about it anymore or i'll have a heart attack.

[Big Red 11]

That's how it goes. We get screwed and they make even more money.

[Martin]

Only 18% of the world reserves have been tapped so far globally. Can you BELIEVE this crap? And people were complaining of shortages.

http://news.bostonherald.com/interna...ticleid=157340

World has tapped just 18 percent of global oil supplies, Saudi executive says
By Associated Press
Wednesday, September 13, 2006 - Updated: 07:19 AM EST

VIENNA, Austria - The world has tapped only 18 percent of the total global supply of crude, a leading Saudi oil executive said Wednesday, challenging the notion that supplies are petering out.

Abdallah S. Jum’ah, president and CEO of the state-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co., known better as Aramco, said the world has the potential of 4.5 trillion barrels in reserves - enough to power the globe at current levels of consumption for another 140 years.

Jum’ah challenged oil ministers and petroleum executives at an OPEC conference in Vienna to step up exploration “and leave the minimum amount of oil in the ground."

“The world has only consumed about 18 percent of its conventional potential,” Jum’ah said, contending that should lay to rest fears that the world is in danger of being tapped out within a few decades.
Many experts estimate that the planet’s recoverable oil resource is at least 3 trillion barrels and potentially more than 4 trillion barrels. If global consumption rises about 2 percent a year from today’s levels of about 85 million barrels a day, they say, the low end of that range would only be enough to last until roughly 2070.

Rex W. Tillerson, the chairman of Exxon Mobil Corp., said world demand for oil will increase by 50 percent in the next decade.
“When nations threaten to stop this flow, it stops economic progress worldwide,” Tillerson said.
Industry leaders have gathered this week to take stock of new challenges at the conference sponsored by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Earlier this week, the 11-nation cartel agreed to leave its current production target of 28 million barrels a day unchanged, but made clear it would keep close tabs on falling oil prices and consider a possible cut in its output quota before the end of the year.
Crude prices have tumbled to five-month lows and have dropped by more than $12 a barrel since hitting record highs in mid-July. Analysts say a combination of ample supplies and an easing of political tensions such as the cessation of hostilities in Lebanon and progress in talks on Iran's suspect nuclear program have driven prices lower.

“When prices are high, passions can run high,” Tillerson said. “Economic nationalism may gain in popularity” at the expense of developing global markets and the world economy, he said.
“The new era we face, like all of the previous ones, is not an era of easy oil - nor will it be an era of easy answers. But it can be an era of continued economic advancement,” he said.

Jum’ah challenged explorationists to find enough new oil resources to add 1 trillion barrels to world reserves over the next 25 years, saying new technology and higher recovery rates would make it possible to hit that target.
Already, he noted, drilling is now going on as deep as 10,000 feet below the Gulf of Mexico and 7,000 to 8,000 feet elsewhere. Experts say a newly discovered petroleum pool beneath the Gulf of Mexico eventually could yield anywhere from 3 billion to 15 billion barrels.

[Big Red 11]

That's all well and good, but the problem is that if these reserves are tapped, people will stop worrying and whatever current funding alternative energy research has will be severely cut. Then we'll be screwed in 140 years.

Guess OPEC gonna be upset about this...

US farmers aim for record corn crop, ethanol riches
Fri Mar 30, 2007 - US farmers plan to cash in on the ethanol fuel boom by planting the largest area to corn in 63 years, potentially yielding a record crop and calming fears that renewable fuels will steal grain needed for food and feed, the federal government said on Friday.

Even with record output, this year's corn crop could sell for a record $3.50-$3.60 a bushel at the farm gate, market watchers said. Corn prices have doubled since last fall due to explosive growth of the ethanol industry, driving up costs for cattle, dairy, hog and poultry producers.

Based on a survey of 86,000 farmers earlier this month, the Agriculture Department projected corn (maize) plantings of 90.454 million acres, which would be the largest acreage since 1944. With normal weather and yields, the harvest would be 12.5 billion bushels (317 million tonnes) -- 700 million bushels more than the record set in 2004.

"With a medium yield, we could get just about enough corn in the year ahead," said private consultant John Schnittker. USDA forecasts corn usage of 12.3 billion bushels in 2007/08, including 3.2 billion bushels for making ethanol, up 1 billion bushels from the 2006 crop.

MORE

[Martin]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Guess OPEC gonna be upset about this...

US farmers aim for record corn crop, ethanol riches
Fri Mar 30, 2007 - US farmers plan to cash in on the ethanol fuel boom by planting the largest area to corn in 63 years, potentially yielding a record crop and calming fears that renewable fuels will steal grain needed for food and feed, the federal government said on Friday.

wow 90 million acres is a ton of corn. Im glad were finally starting to wake up and do something about it.

Who knows how high the gas prices are going to be this year.

OPEC and speculators milkin' it for all they can...

Drivers brace for higher gas prices despite oil's dip
30 Mar. 2007 — Oil prices ended lower Friday as investors took profits after Thursday's rally and ahead of the weekend, but oil and gasoline prices may well continue their stunning ascent in the coming days, if not weeks, as strong demand tests tight supplies and geopolitical tensions further strain world oil markets.

Light, sweet crude futures for May delivery fell 16 cents to settle at $65.87 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price of a barrel of crude oil rose $1.95, or 3% Thursday, to the highest closing price since Sept. 8. Brent crude for May delivery rose 22 cents to settle at $68.10 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.

"Often when prices trend hard Monday through Thursday, we have short-term traders who are reluctant to carry their positions through the weekend," said Tim Evans, an energy analyst with Citigroup Global Markets. The nationwide average price of a gallon of regular gasoline, meanwhile, rose Friday to $2.639, highest in 6½ months, according to motor club AAA.

Retail gasoline prices have risen 25 cents in the past month and oil costs are up 17% since the recent low of $56.59 hit March 19. Several analysts said they expect more of the same. "All the pieces are in place for higher prices," Alaron Trading analyst Phil Flynn says.

MORE

See also:

Oil extends rally on Iran fears
March 30, 2007 -- Oil extended a nearly two-week rally on Friday amid escalating tensions over Iran's capture of British military personnel and worries over U.S. gasoline supplies ahead of the summer driving season.

= snip=

"We had a very strong rally yesterday and for the last 10 days, so there is some profit-taking," said Olivier Jakob, an analyst at Petromatrix. "The market is driven by Iran and can go up or down easily by 50 cents depending upon the next headline." A week after Iran detained 15 British sailors and marines in the Gulf, Britain is still trying to secure their release. It plans to urge the European Union to help isolate Iran at a meeting of EU ministers starting on Friday.

The issue, coupled with new U.N. sanctions imposed on Tehran at the weekend over its nuclear program, fed traders' fears about a disruption in exports from Iran, the world's fourth-largest exporter, or through the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for roughly two-fifths of all globally traded oil. At a time of increased sensitivity, the United States sent two carriers to the Gulf but said "they are not there to provoke any kind of conflict with Iran."

The Iran tensions come as energy traders eye dwindling stockpiles of gasoline in the United States leading into the summer driving season. U.S. gasoline supplies have fallen about 7.5 percent since early February, due in part to slow production from refiners undergoing seasonal maintenance.

French strike meeting

[DansDarkSide]

I truly wish all those big wigs up there die a long and painful death.

Get ready for gas prices to go even higher...

Oil prices rise as OPEC cuts production
Apr 12, 2007 -- New York crude oil prices rose nearly 3 percent to top $63 a barrel Thursday after the International Energy Agency said OPEC`s supply cuts began kicking in.

March crude from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries dropped 165,000 barrels to 30.1 million barrels a day, the lowest in 27 months, the IEA said.

At the same time, oil inventories in developed countries fell an estimated 1 million barrels a day in the first quarter, the IEA said.

=snip=

AAA said Thursday the average U.S. retail regular unleaded gasoline price was $2.805 a gallon, up 0.01 cents from Wednesday`s $2.795 a gallon.

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[DansDarkSide]

Ahhh, this is just what I need, 5 days after I got my new car.....