|
|
| Alternet wrote: | The invasion of Iraq by Britain and the US has trebled the price of oil, according to a leading expert, costing the world a staggering $6 trillion in higher energy prices alone.
The oil economist Dr Mamdouh Salameh, who advises both the World Bank and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (Unido), told The Independent on Sunday that the price of oil would now be no more than $40 a barrel, less than a third of the record $135 a barrel reached last week, if it had not been for the Iraq war.
...
Production in eight of the others -- the US, Canada, Iran, Indonesia, Russia, Britain, Norway and Mexico -- has peaked, he says, while China and Saudia Arabia, the remaining two, are nearing the point at of decline. Before the war, Saddam Hussein's regime pumped some 3.5 million barrels of oil a day, but this had now fallen to just two million barrels.
Dr Salameh told the all-party parliamentary group on peak oil last month that Iraq had offered the United States a deal, three years before the war, that would have opened up 10 new giant oil fields on "generous" terms in return for the lifting of sanctions. "This would certainly have prevented the steep rise of the oil price," he said. "But the US had a different idea. It planned to occupy Iraq and annex its oil." |
What this articles claims is basically that due to the war the Iraqi oil export is much lower than it was before (instead of a potential big increase), causing the oil prices to rise enormously.
In my opinion part of the price rise of oil is due to the weak dollar losing value, but of course part of the dollar losing value might be due to the high oil prices.
If the goal of the war in Iraq was not primarly because of WMD, but mostly for oil, than I guess the Bush administration failed even more in the execution of it. Unless - of course - the goal was higher oil prices, but I doubt that very much.
| Bondings wrote: | | Unless - of course - the goal was higher oil prices, but I doubt that very much. |
I doubt that....but I don't doubt it very much considering the Administrations connections.
The demand for oil seems to be on an ever increasing slope. I just saw some figures on how many new cars they put on the road every day. It won't be long before they use more than we do.
| liljp617 wrote: | | Bondings wrote: | | Unless - of course - the goal was higher oil prices, but I doubt that very much. |
I doubt that....but I don't doubt it very much considering the Administrations connections. |
Exactly,, who benefits from high oil costs, perhaps even more than oil producing countries?
The oil companies of course. And given that Bush and Chenay links with texaco, that are reaping billions from rise in oil, these men are not exactly down on their knees crying.
But oil is not that high still. I mean this is considering the instability in midEast, the threat of war against Iran, the huge demand for energy from China and India, the weak dollar, global inflation, attacks of plants in Nigeria, poltical situation of US toward Venezuela (Venzuela provides 10% of US oil), proven reserves of "MidEast oil" falling, the russians-US relationship, and so much more...
The question you really should be asking is,, why the heck was oil so cheap???
C'mon, the orgs that benefit from high oil prices the most are ... the tax-collecting gov'ts!
Why not check on how much the US gov'ts (including state) and EU gov'ts get from oil sales for no direct cost, versus the oil company purchase price costs, refinery costs, distribution costs, and finally some 6% profit, not much different than profit levels in other businesses.
Falling dollar, due to the house bubble plus trade deficit and the attempt to save the banks from their silly loans to people who lied about their income but all the investors didn't care since "house prices always go up".
"Oil prices always go up" is going to proven wrong, too, at some point. It's just not clear to me or most folk when that point is. Perhaps as China and India go on big nuke power building binges, and hybrid electric cars become more widespread, and solar power panels become cheaper than oil-fired power plant power...
But the oil price will keep going up until it is "too high", and then it will drop, fast.
It's really stupid to be upset at the oil companies.
Iraq's oil infrastructure is weak, but if the USA had wanted Iraqi oil, buying it would certainly have been much cheaper than invading and then buying it.
It would be excellent if there was less "aid" to Iraq, and more loans that the Iraqs totally control, but also promise to pay back.
|
