Saudi oil production below 8 million pbd's....

[addyguy]

Because of falling demand, Saudi Arabia is pumping less than 8 million pbd's:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090506.wsaudioil0506/BNStory/energy/home

BUT, notice that they have quietly been working on expanding their capacity to be able to pump 12 million pbd's - they are very strategically positioning themself to be able to control oil prices through production level changes when the prices start to rise....

Very smart, those Saudi's!

 

[Tempest]

It's there life blood. They have to be smart about it. We on the other hand are doing everything we can to limit our domestic oil production...

 

[Samilcar]

"The U.S. government should focus less on energy independence and more on getting fuel from a variety of sources, including conventional petroleum, Mr. Falih said."


You can almost hear the pleading in his voice.

 

[Gary Allan]

Did anyone ask him, "Why?".

 

[jmac]

So we still have some of our own after using up everyone else's?
That is what I have been thinking would be the smartest thing the last 15 years or so.

 

[firemachine69]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Did anyone ask him, "Why?".



Why not? Remember what happened when those refineries down south got hit with a hurricane? What happens if another large, un-planned disaster hits a large continental source? You're now SOL, because you played hardball with your fellow "finance" world partners.

 

[Gary Allan]

We import liquid energy at a totally unsustainable rate. We're 5% of the global population and consume 25% of the current output. We're peaked in global production.

I don't really think that finding other sources (Canada is our primary, iirc) will do anything besides shift where others get theirs.

Our own alleged untapped reserves don't amount to more than a drop in the bucket in terms of a long term energy strategy and are worth much more as a sequestered reserve(s) than they are being brought into full development now.

Our current costs are way too impacted by global stability issues. To keep all the western and para-western (or western development interests) trains on time, we have too much vested interest in these strategic supplies being secure. We defend them ...but we don't pay those costs at the pump.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
We import liquid energy at a totally unsustainable rate. We're 5% of the global population and consume 25% of the current output....

I don't feel at all guilty about that. The rest of the world is welcome to consume the oil also. Nobody is stopping them.

 

[Gary Allan]

I don't feel guilty about it either, Kestas ..and conservation will not save any global supply of petroleum. It will just make more available to the remaining 75% of the globe. No, I do not feel guilty. I think we commanded 95% of the developed resources at one time. It was simply due to having the lion's share of the global capital to develop and pay for them.

I think that if you could have the globe's resources triple over the last 100 years, the divide of distribution would be the same. We'd still have the lion's share ..we would just consume more of them.

That said, I think the development of alternatives is essential to maintaining the standard of living. That is, my desire for this evolution is purely from a defensive standpoint. It goes to reason when push comes to shove, even if you manage to continue to command your share of global resources, there is going to be belt tightening. One would reason that where the most elective and unchecked waste resides ..is where the most sacrifice will occur.

..and that's us

 

[Cutehumor]

I like to know how much oil, Iraq is pumping out a day, and how much of it are we getting.

 

[Shannow]

At least they are selling it in Greenbacks, rather than those evil Euros.

Wonder where those WMDs went too...

 

[ZZman]

Let them use their supply up because that is all they have. Then we can tap into ours and alternative energy sources.

 

[Gary Allan]

Yes. It will give us a few months after they've run out.

In reality, long before they run out (not long in terms of time), we would have already had those alleged sources kicking in ..in an attempt to maintain the status quo.

 

[Samilcar]

Originally Posted By: Shannow


Wonder where those WMDs went too...


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25546334/

Canada. (Shhh... don't tell anyone.)

 

[Shannow]

Ahh, those ones that the UN was controlling for over a decade...

 

[Lyondellic]

For what it's worth, I work at a petroleum refinery and things happen everyday in the refining industry that don't seem to make any sense. The issue is complex, but everything boils down to refining assets, supply and demand. The USA has not opened any new oil refineries in a very long time. There have been upgrade/revamp projects, but those really don't amount to a large slice of the pie so to speak.

Bottom line, even if we were pumping millions of barrels of domestic crude oil there are simply not enough refineries to process the crude oil into fuel.

 

[Gary Allan]

I look at that as an indicator that there's no ROI in expanding refining capacity. There was an article ..heck, I think it was pre-Bitog for me (before 2002) where some outfit, who was a leader in the sector, got out of the deep water exploration and platform business.

 

[wannafbody]

I was in a terminal a couple years ago when oil was climbing and profits were high. The company decided to upgrade the piping since it all was installed in the 1930's. Don't expect companies to build refineries when it costs a fortune to get permits. Heck, congress still hasn't authorized some rigs to be restarted after Katrina and Ike-they want to extort more money for the drilling rights.