Unforeseen events playing havoc with oil prices

[lovuian]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/krwashbureau/20050706/ts_krwash...

By Kevin G. Hall, Knight Ridder Newspapers
Wed Jul 6, 5:59 PM ET



WASHINGTON - When a tropical depression in the Caribbean was upgraded to Tropical Storm Dennis this week, crude oil prices immediately began climbing on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

ADVERTISEMENT

Traders feared that at least one of the four tropical depressions off the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts could become a hurricane that would delay oil deliveries, damage offshore oil rigs and threaten onshore refineries. That means temporary oil shortages are possible, a fear that drives up fuel prices.

Volatile oil prices look as if they're here to stay, experts agree, at least for a year or two. Why? Partly because world oil demand is growing faster than oil production. Partly because financial speculators are gaming the markets. And partly because nobody knows just how much oil is available, not least because it's unclear just how much oil Saudi Arabia has.

It is clear that the growing appetite for oil in China, India and other emerging economies has reduced the world's margin of extra oil-production capacity. The world now consumes about 84 million barrels of oil per day. If every well in the world is producing flat out, analysts said, total production could equal no more than 86 million barrels a day.

That small margin of extra capacity isn't much of a cushion against unforeseen events such as a terrorist attack, refinery fire, pipeline rupture or a natural disaster such as last September's Hurricane Ivan, which damaged oil rigs and platforms and removed about half a million barrels a day from the U.S. market for months.

That's why markets are nervous and fuel prices are high. Right now, U.S. oil inventories are near all-time highs, so there's no supply shortage here. But if anything cuts oil production anywhere in the world, there could be a shortage, very soon.

more...

Oil prices hit a new high!!! heading for higher prices!!!!!!!

[stevietheman]

1. Makes me wonder...

if this is a sign al Qaeda is about to strike again. This would be a very nice hit below the belt, and would sink the world into a major recession.

[lvx35]

3. Al Queda is in no position to strike

Or at least I dount they are...But it is a delicate situation, any other number of things could happen.

Or maybe they are just notching up the oil prices off making $$$ off the fear of peak oil!

[Tesha]

6. Have you seen the news this morning?

> Al Queda is in no position to strike

Have you seen the news this morning? I think you'd better not buy
any lottery tickets or trade any stocks today, your prognosticator
appears to be broken.

Tesha

[GiovanniC]

11. Ouch

That statement is gonna sting for a while.

[lvx35]

18. Burn!!!!

hehe. Yeah I came to find this post after reading that. Just my luck after posting that!

My impression is that US security around oil supplies is probably adequate. Its just that with US involved with the middle east due to oil interests, I just wasn't counting on Al Queda declaring a war on public transportation!!!

[stevietheman]

17. Now wondering if I was prescient...

now that these "public transportation" bombings may push people to start using more personal transportation, which uses more oil, which creates higher oil prices and an oil crisis, which creates a major recession.

Am I now delirious, or making sense? You decide.

[lvx35]

2. Alternative energies????

Why? Partly because world oil demand is growing faster than oil production. Partly because financial speculators are gaming the markets. And partly because nobody knows just how much oil is available, not least because it's unclear just how much oil Saudi Arabia has.

And partly because the vice president and president are both ex-oil men, with strong ties in the industry, who don't want alternative energies coming in too fast.

[mrdmk]

4. Oil companies will find any reason to drive up prices of oil

Besides, reading the article does not mention the fall of the U.S. Dollar. If someone can find a chart with this info, TIA.

[Massacure]

7. China and the United States game up the price of oil.

Of course the oil companies make tidy profit off of it and have no reason to counter it by increasing supply. Of course, OPEC is already near max production, it is entirely possible that non-OPEC nations are too.

[no_hypocrisy]

5. With the tragic multiple explosions in London, I dread seeing crude oil

prices for a few days.

[gratuitous]

8. According to the story . . .

One of the "unforeseen events" that are playing havoc with oil prices is apparently hurricanes in the Carribbean. Now, I'm no meteorologist or fancy-pants financial speculator, but even I'm smart enough to know that hurricanes boil up in the Carribbean, oh, about roughly every freakin' year.

[Cobalt Violet]

9. A hurricane in hurricane season is an "unforeseen event"?

Like the Atlantic and gulf coast don't always get at least a dozen of them a year.

[phantom power]

10. yeah, exactly.

It's like building a house, but not planning for rain.

[Cobalt Violet]

12. And it's only a level 2 storm!

So every low level tropical storm has the potential to raise our gas prices? Are we really suppose to be stupid enough to believe that?

[dArKeR]

14. You took the post right out of my fingers! What kind of idiots of

planning/thinking are we dealing with in our governments and Media Whores (Kevin G. Hall, Knight Ridder Newspapers)?

You can tell Kevin "Shit-for-Brains" this yourselves here:
http://66.39.131.116/contact/index.php?&form_id=2

++++++++++++
A hurricane in hurricane season is an "unforeseen event"?
Like the Atlantic and gulf coast don't always get at least a dozen of them a year and Asia gets 2 dozen!

What kind of idiots of planning/thinking are we dealing with in our governments and media?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/krwashbureau/20050706/ts_krwash...
++++++++++++


Specific newspaper:
http://66.39.131.116/contact/index.php?&form_id=1

[rman]

13. It's not exactly the first time there are tropical storms,

it is however the first time these are claimed to be the cause of reduced supply. Which in fact may be true, but given that it has not been such a problem in the past means that new factors are in play. New factors such as world wide supply being quite tight these days.

[Love Bug]

15. No kidding....

Went to buy gas this morning and I saw one Superamerica at 2.11/reg and a BP at 2.13/reg. All the other stations I passed were at 2.29. I suspect the Superamerica and the BP will also be 2.29 by the end of the day.

[mrdmk]

16. Orange County, California

Reg: $2.39

Plus: $2.49

Prem: $2.57

Diesel: $2.59

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/USGas_ZipSearchResults.asp...


http://www.gaspricewatch.com/usgas_index.asp

[underpants]

19. A hurricane? In the Gulf of Mexico? During hurricane season?

No one would have thunk it