Oil Hits $77 with Surprise Prudhoe Shutdown

[Bill]

Oil rose to over $77 a barrel today, because of a major US oil infrastructure shock, and may go higher. Will it crack the $80 mark this week?

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2006-08-07T195052Z_01_SP991_RTRUKOC_0_US-MARKETS-OIL.xml

This is another failing of the neocon revolution - they've abandoned traditional conservative principles, which includes ignoring the need to update and invest in infrastructure.

Traditional conservatives would have worked harder to invest money in the electrical grid amd the oil infrastructure.

But, this is only 400k barrels a day - think how we would benefit if we abandoned Baghdad and focused all our efforts on fortifying and developed the oilfields of southern Iraq.

We saved the Iraqis from Saddams rape rooms, they OWE us that 5 million barrels a day.

[SirMoby]

Think what will happen if Chavez and Ahmadinejad cut production for a few months.

[Tommy]

shit like this happens, sooner or later everything breaks down

bill, what was the reason we went to war
was it for the oil in south or was it to bring democracy to the Iraqi people ??

[SirMoby]

shit like this happens, sooner or later everything breaks down

bill, what was the reason we went to war
was it for the oil in south or was it to bring democracy to the Iraqi people ??
Remember the official Presidential statement was that we're going to war because Iraq is an immediate threat to the USA.

Once it was determined that they were no threat to anyone in North America we changed the reason to "Liberating The Iraqi People". Now that it appears they're in worse shape then before, we'll probably change the reason again.

As long as we avoid the most logical reason of "To Increase Oil Company Profits" we can still feel good about ourselves.

[Tommy]

how much you wanna bet when that pipeline is fixed
oil prices wont come down more then half a buck

I always wondered why the government is so pro big oil

but the people are always the opposite

[SirMoby]

how much you wanna bet when that pipeline is fixed
oil prices wont come down more then half a buck

I always wondered why the government is so pro big oil

but the people are always the opposite
Because the people are sheep and many will support the administration no matter what.

Fox News will tell them that oil prices are fine, the oil companies deserve the profits and that they should really be concerned about some one using the phrase "Bloody Hell".

[Kinky Jones]

Because the people are sheep and many will support the administration no matter what.

Fox News will tell them that oil prices are fine, the oil companies deserve the profits and that they should really be concerned about some one using the phrase "Bloody Hell".


yep.. i'm sick of rich people telling us the oil companies deserve the profits and that we have to pay more so they can finally upgrade their refineries and that we also need to pay more so that they have the money to invest in other energy sources... why are we supposed to finance all their future endeavors? what are they doing with their huge profits? Prudhoe hadn't been properly cleaned or inspected since 1992... there was a gas main failure where I live a couple years ago and prices were at like $4 for a long time... then some inspections were done and they almost shut down huge amounts of pipeline for not being upkept properly... why are the oil companies not taking care of their own operations?

[Bill]

bill, what was the reason we went to war
was it for the oil in south or was it to bring democracy to the Iraqi people ??

I'm not a neocon, I'm a traditional conservative

Which means I believe in straight talk, altho, admittedly, when talking to my fellow conservatives I do fall prey to the tendency to adopt their rhetoric.

I believe we went to war with Iraq for two reasons.

The first was revenge against the arab world for 9/11.

The second was for the oil.

Anyone who has studied military history and strategy as much as I have knew that it was unlikely that Saddam had real WMD.

Altho, he did use gases against the Kurds and against Iran - I thought it was very possible that he had thousands of rocket warheads filled with mustard and binary gases. They might still exist, buried in the sand somewhere.

But, as someone who knows something about weapons, I also knew that such rocket warheads would be decaying at a rapid rate. Poison gas warheads have a very short shelf life, and they work best when freshly made.

[Bill]

I do feel bad about the cheap trick of using Saddam as an argument point, even tho it's commonly used among my conservative and neocon peers.

It's become a habit, a conveinience, which I think I'll have to stop.

The reality is simpler - for whatever reasons, we did attack Iraq. All Americans attacked Iraq. Now we are stuck with that decision, and we have to make the best of it.

[SirMoby]

I believe we went to war with Iraq for two reasons.

The first was revenge against the arab world for 9/11.

The second was for the oil.

I almost totally agree with you here Bill, but ...

I think the American people wanted revenge against the Arab world and most of us are too stupid to know the difference between Saudis and Iraqis.

The administration used the above to go get the oil and make grotesque amounts of money. I don't think it's the oil thye really wanted but the profits from the oil.

Every day we seem more like those evil countries of the past. :(

[Bill]

I was trying to think of why the conservatives use Saddam as the boogeyman in conversations about Iraq. And I think I've come up with the best explanation for it.

It's because our soldiers use the removal of Saddam almost continuously as the argument that they are doing good in Iraq.

And conservatives, and I, want to support the soldiers.

But it's a weak rhetorical device, it's beneath me as a traditional conservative. I'm going to stop using it.

---

S.M., I think the american people knew this was about oil. They wanted cheap gas, and thought that if we invaded Iraq we would have cheap gas for another decade or so.

War is always about self-interest and wealth. All war.

[SirMoby]

IS.M., I think the american people knew this was about oil. They wanted cheap gas, and thought that if we invaded Iraq we would have cheap gas for another decade or so.

War is always about self-interest and wealth. All war.
History shows that when there's an evil aggressor or any thing destabilizing that in the Middle East that oil prices rise. I love to discuss these issues and have spent a lot of time in bars around the south (where I've feared for my life) and everyone comes down to revenge or hate.

Maybe up north where people think they knew it was about oil but in the south where people always turn to hate it's was about revenge and they really don't understand that Iraqis were not on the airplanes.

They don't see the difference between Iraqis, Muslims, Lebanese, Hindus, Buddhists or anything other then white baptists even though The Supreme Court is nothing but Catholics and Jews. Of course they hate The Court as much as Tom Delay.

[Bill]

Back to the original subject, the Prudhoe oil.

As I recall, the Prudhoe field is running out anyway, I wonder if they thought the pipeline would last?

Maybe it would be a good idea to do some test drilling in the Alaska reserve, just to see if the new technology would be easier on the environment.

I wonder if they were planning on pumping the oil from the Alaska reserve down that same pipe, the one that is falling apart?

[Bill]

Yes, I thought I'd read something like this, I found this article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/06/AR2005060601742_pf.html

"PRUDHOE BAY, Alaska -- Oil keeps flowing through a maze of aging wells, pumps and pipelines that poke through the snow on this desolate North Slope tundra.

But this vast field is ailing: Output has fallen by nearly 75 percent from its peak in 1987 and is expected to continue dropping.

The Prudhoe Bay field sprawling over an area the size of Howard County still pumps more oil than any other site in the United States. But its shrinking production reflects a trend throughout the country: After years of pumping, fields in the U.S. are drawing less oil from the ground.

The implications for U.S. energy policy are profound. At a time when President Bush and members of Congress are talking about the need to be less dependent on foreign oil, the country is becoming even more dependent. As U.S. production declines, demand has been increasing."

[SirMoby]

The implications for U.S. energy policy are profound. At a time when President Bush and members of Congress are talking about the need to be less dependent on foreign oil, the country is becoming even more dependent. As U.S. production declines, demand has been increasing."
Talk is cheap, actions count but money buys you power.