Are we going to punish the Saudis? Two-thirds of our Middle East oil comes from Saudi Arabia, and despite the ups and downs of the relationship with Saudi Arabia, they tend to be our friends. |
Crude oil isn't the problem right now but may be in a few weeks. The helicopters that are needed to get repair crews on the platforms are busy saving people from rooftops. |
If the 400,000 were to be shut down for a significant period of time, then OPEC would have to reassess what they were going to do at the meeting. |
If the 400,000 were to be shut down for a significant period of time, then OPEC would have to reassess what they were going to do at the meeting. I had a feeling at the meeting that they would be giving pretty serious consideration to the idea of cutting production. |
Iran and Nigeria have got people extremely nervous. |
Iran and Nigeria have got people extremely nervous. There's a concern that around two and a half million barrels per day of Iranian exports could be removed. |
It's not going to be of much help unless we get refineries running again. Releasing oil from the SPR right now would be actually inappropriate because there would be no place to put it. |
Let's get the high-consuming cars off the road, start paying for them and recycle them -- put them in a crusher. |
Maybe what we need is surreptitious federal regulation that forces gasoline prices up for good reasons that politicians can explain. |
One-third of the production in OPEC is deteriorating and doesn't have very good prospects of improving in the short run. |
The biggest impact may be damage to the port facilities south of New Orleans. We have no way of knowing now how badly they are damaged. |
The economic stimulus from rebuilding will help offset the economic drag caused by higher energy prices. |
The market's mesmerized by what appear to be low demand numbers. Product supplied is not the same as demand, since it measures what is leaving refineries, not what's being consumed. |
The potential for a cyclical downturn in 2008-09 -- or sooner if we have a global economic recession -- is realistic. |
There is still a great deal of damage that will keep natural gas and refined products tight for the next few months. The next move will be back up. |