Personally, I would have made the same decision as the Saudis. Also, fun fun between that and the mention of Russia wanting to "punish" the EU and US. :(
LOL Yeah I finally read something about that yesterday. *shakes head* Another quote of another famous person was "I can't believe I'm flying commercial." OH NOEZ! BEING NORMAL!!
But OPEC is the cartel controling oil production, and apparently the Saudis bailed because OPEC was demanding they cut production (a measure that would prevent oil prices from dropping, or possibly encourage a price rise.
On the other hand, OPEC throttling "production" is, I think, one of the essential pieces needed to conserve what's left of the oil supplies, and encourage people to seek alternate energy storage mediums.
If we just constantly increase oil "production" to match demand, the price of oil stays level until we run full tilt into the big looming wall of No Oil. Then we discover that nobody's really bothered to work on replacements AFTER we're out and desperately need the alternatives.
So yeah. Um. I have no clue. But it's worrying.
[1] I say "production" in quotes because oil isn't produced, it's extracted from finite reserves.
Though that is worse-case - it's still quite possible for the Saudis to throttle production to meet their own profit-making ways, especially given they are still in a relatively monopoly-style position at the moment being the largest producers. I don't know the figures to be able to judge if they can still affect the market, but I figure the answer is probably. What it does mean is that OPEC can't control the market effectively any more, as the Saudis will be setting the price now. OPEC would still be wise to keep together, as they can still affect the world price to a degree, just not as much as previously. *removes quasi-economist hat*
Anyway, even if oil prices fall, imho it's unlikely to stop western governments from seeking green alternatives because we do know oil will run out. And the shift in public opinion is likely to be hard to change (I hope).
Yeah, they all say Saudi is still a member and is cutting back but not so much. If everyone else cuts production then Saudi takes a greater share anyway, but they haven't left the organisation and the MSN blog is using hyperbole with the headline.
On their way from there to here, those have changed to "Saudi Arabia tries to placate fellow OPEC members". Either that or we in the not same way the English read. But I'm subscribing to a bunch of economic news streams anyway, I'll keep an eye out. Thanks for the heads-up.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 08:36 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 08:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 08:48 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 10:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-09-11 09:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 10:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 11:08 pm (UTC)But OPEC is the cartel controling oil production, and apparently the Saudis bailed because OPEC was demanding they cut production (a measure that would prevent oil prices from dropping, or possibly encourage a price rise.
On the other hand, OPEC throttling "production" is, I think, one of the essential pieces needed to conserve what's left of the oil supplies, and encourage people to seek alternate energy storage mediums.
If we just constantly increase oil "production" to match demand, the price of oil stays level until we run full tilt into the big looming wall of No Oil. Then we discover that nobody's really bothered to work on replacements AFTER we're out and desperately need the alternatives.
So yeah. Um. I have no clue. But it's worrying.
[1] I say "production" in quotes because oil isn't produced, it's extracted from finite reserves.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-12 08:25 am (UTC)Anyway, even if oil prices fall, imho it's unlikely to stop western governments from seeking green alternatives because we do know oil will run out. And the shift in public opinion is likely to be hard to change (I hope).
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 11:03 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 11:46 pm (UTC)Is this hyperbole from that reporter or something?
(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-12 12:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-12 10:10 am (UTC)We'll see for full effect I guess.
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Date: 2008-09-12 12:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-11 11:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-12 12:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2008-09-12 12:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-09-12 04:03 am (UTC)