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OIL, OPINIONS & NEWS * Luxembourg - What does it take to bring down oil prices?
The widely-reported forecast from Alexei Miller, head of Russian energy giant Gazprom, at the European Business Congress meeting with energy companies in France’s Deauville that oil will hit USD 250 per barrel in the foreseeable future sent shock waves through the world markets
Luxembourg -The New Europe, by Kostis Geropoulos -16 June 2008: -- ... Actually that’s not what the Gazprom CEO said exactly, but 250-oil was all everybody was talking about. Anisa Redman, an EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) oil and gas research analyst with HSBC Bank in London, who was present at the event, told there was widespread confusion. “It sounds to me like his personal opinion. This particular comment doesn’t mean that it’s Gazprom’s official line of thinking ... but 250 is the highest number I have heard.” ... The confusion is indicative of the uncertainty and speculation that have fuelled high oil prices, hovering around USD 135 per barrel, boosting inflationary fears. Trying to look concerned for geopolitical reasons, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, has called for a head-ofstate- level meeting of oil producers and consumers... The meeting due June 22 in Jeddah to discuss record-high crude prices will also be attended by US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, representing the world’s top energy user...
* USA - Oil's Brave New World - If you want to see the future of oil, look at Europe
New York,NY,USA -Forbes, by William Pentland -13 June 2008: -- Since 1999, Europe has increased oil imports more than 20% to compensate for declining domestic production. In other words, Europe is running out of oil and scrambling to secure new supplies to fill the losses... And those losses are coming more quickly than predicted, primarily in the once-prodigious oil fields of the North Sea... Disruptions in supply are more critical to Europe than to the United States. Having already eliminated the most obvious inefficiencies that cost the least to change, Europeans will find it harder to reduce oil dependence though curbing consumption. They already drive small, fuel efficient cars and use public transportation. There's not a Suburban in sight. European governments might reduce taxes on fuel, but that would actually increase demand for crude rather than decrease it... Europe, of course, is far from alone. In 2006 and 2007, for the first time in decades, global oil production sunk for two consecutive years. The combined impact of declining supplies and raging energy demand has redefined the economics of crude oil. Outside of OPEC, oil supplies cannot expand to increases in demand as quickly or cheaply as many believed it would if oil prices climbed high enough... The United States will effectively lose a key supplier when Mexico becomes a net oil importer, which is happening much sooner than predicted... Like Europe and the North Sea, the United States will need to find replacements for Mexican oil, which has historically been a key U.S. supply source. Some will come from Canada's oil sands, but at a much higher price... Since 2000, oil prices have risen relentlessly under the strain of an equally relentless rise in demand that is projected to last for decades. Oil companies sunk considerable sums into oil exploration, igniting a global scramble for new supplies. Despite these efforts, nearly a decade has passed since substantial new sources have entered production. It could be another decade or more before any do... Right now, Europe faces the most risk... And now that it's slowing Europe has no significant new reserves to tap. In 2001, Europe's oil production rose to 7.2 barrels per day and has fallen every year since. In 2006, Britain became a net importer of oil for the first time in decades. Yet Europe's energy needs are projected to rise by 2030. In the absence of new discoveries or breakthroughs in alternative energy, the continent will need to import more and more oil to meet the demand, an expensive and politically treacherous path. Welcome to the new world...
* China - Oil Prices Rebound Following Slide on China’s Price Hike
New York,NY,USA -AP/Bloomberg/Transport Topics -20 June 2008: -- Oil prices rose in early trading Friday, a day after sliding almost $5 on reports that China would raise fuel prices... Light sweet crude futures jumped $4 to more than $136 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following Thursday’s $4.75 slide to a closing price of $131.93, reported... China said Thursday that beginning Friday it would boost diesel prices by 16% and gasoline prices by 18%, the Associated Press reported... Also, Iraq said it would open up to more Western oil companies, in an effort to boost its crude output...
Labels: oil opinions
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