the next psychological oil barrier - $125 a barrel.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

The price toyed with $100 for some time, until one trader decided to force it up by playing with the futures' market.
Now, that we see 109, even 109.50, the next signal number is 125. Just far enough to be scary, and close enough to be realizable. Of course, both the 100 and the 125 figures mean little in themselves, and it is humanity's weakness to search for patterns where none exist. (why do we have religions, anyway?)

There is one side effect, unintended, that might actually take root. Real energy reform. Solar, wind, geothermal, nuke (if clean) and most importantly, CONSERVATION. To that extent, reaching a psychological barrier is actually good thing, because as much as we need a rational response to energy issues, an emotional one is more likely to result in real gains.

[Fovea]

1. Kansas City, Atlanta, Phoenix

are going to be screwed at this price.

ALready ex-urban lifestyles are in danger, and I think this is going to get a lot worse before we fix it.

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. OTOH, Atlanta and Phoenix will see a huge boom in solar.

They have the sun, and at these oil costs it will be competitive. KC, not so much - long, cold winters kind of start at the I-70 line.

[Fovea]

13. Even here in KC

Earthship style construction could give you a lot fewer heating days a year.
central steam heating in the urban cores would also help, but the key is mass transit
and KC sucks large at it.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. There is a bidding war going on now with the Chinese.

The big push for free trade with China is leading to some unintended consequences.

[ryanmuegge]

4. There is nothing unintended about this.

The powerful are doing something about the world's population problem. Unfortunately, the average person will be the ones dealt with.

[Krueg235]

3. I haven't heard either Hillary or Barack mention much about

the oil prices that every single person who is now struggling a little harder to get by must deal with. This is now approaching a crisis. We need someone to make a bold policy.

[stellanoir]

5. I've been saying since our botched invasion of Iraq and Katrina's damage

that gas would hit 5 bucks a gallon before we're through this mess.

The SCOTUS just gave Exxon Mobile total immunity in for the Exxon Valdez's spill in Prince William's Sound. They've got tax breaks and record profits and are robbing each and every one of us blind.

Unbelievable.

Aren't we all pleased as punch to have two oily ones in the WH. . .?

/sarcasm

[Cant trust em]

10. Right after our gov't invaded Iraq, we should have bought Chevron stock

but then I'd be conflicted with my moral and financial compasses. I guess I'll just have to wait for the next iPod to boost my portfolio.

[stellanoir]

14. Those entirely bereft of moral compasses, undoubtedly invested in Halliburton

back in '03 as the writing was clearly on the wall. Now the consciously challenged company has gotten to relocate to Dubai with totally apparent immunity. Talk about looting the treasury and running. OMG

That and the Paraguay thingy are really totally disconcerting.

As a deluded optimist I hope these war profiteers will someday have to pay reparations to military families and Iraqi victims.

I live in a tiny town and the one independently owned gas station was shut down for about 6 months. It was a whole complicated deal because the station is perilously and precariously located near a wetland area so environmental precautions and the related expenses were sort of prohibitive to it making a profit.

Some of the locals who work in town had to commute 30 miles round trip just to fuel up for those months.

I was flirting with the notion of writing a guilt ridden LTTE calling out any local war profiteers to just revive the gas station and eat the investment for the good of the environment and the community. You see this is a summer colony for some outrageously affluent folks. But I never did get around to writing that letter.

Fortunately, a good townie managed to reopen the gas station and is now selling a lot more groceries than it used to sell. I hope the biz will prosper.

Rest assured that your moral compass has earned you brownie points with the "Cosmic Parole Board" though albeit if fewer stock dividends.

Kudos for that. Go Apple !!!

:hi:

[Cant trust em]

15. "cosmic parole board"

Thanks for adding that gem to my axiom collection. Awesome.

[stellanoir]

20. Happy to do so and I have a plethora of them to spare

and the "Cosmic Parole Board" continually compels me to do so.

They insist that someday, it'll pay off big time.

Thanking my lucky stars that I'm not in debt, have a modicum of angels, and don't have to explain that eventuality to creepy creditors or any sleazy predatory lenders.

I put "Cosmic Parole Board" in quotation marks because I stole it from one of the funniest people I've ever had the distinct pleasure of meeting in my life.

He lives in China now. I miss our monthly laugh therapy sessions though.

Oh well.

best

[Selatius]

24. I thought they hadn't decided yet and that the court was deadlocked 4-4. n/t

[stellanoir]

25. 5th story down

http://www.gregpalast.com/

Sounds a bit obtuse but he was a lot stronger about it on air.

Can't remember which show it was.

Yikes

Maybe I shouldn't listen to 3 shows at once.

[Selatius]

26. I can't find it on Google News when I cross-reference "Exxon" with "Supreme Court"

I figure they haven't decided yet.

[stellanoir]

27. All I can say is this

Greg sounded really emphatic that they had once again sided on the side of the bogus and awful corporate interests.

It may have been on Ring of Fire on AAR but I'm a bit fuzzy on this.

[Selatius]

28. They recently agreed to hear the case, but as far as I know, they haven't decided.

http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=5765

Palast was talking about Exxon and how McCain did a flip-flop on tort reform, pushed by folks like Ken Lay and others who don't want wronged parties to have their day in court.

[El Pinko]

6. The high prices will at some point crush demand to the point of a severe glut.

Gasoline consumption in the US is already down by almost 2% in the last year.

Per barrel oil prices will fall dramatically (until supply gets tight again or the next ME crisis) and speculators will move on to the next tulip craze.

[endarkenment]

33. Demand is not all that elastic.

Absent a global depression that would make the 30's look like a picnic demand is driven by population and population 'going online' into an energy intensive economy more than price. Instead of drastic drops the pattern is smaller corrections that are soon followed by a resumption of price increases.

[El Pinko]

34. But it doesn't take huge drops in demand to cause a glut.

In the US, Oil companies have been routinely shutting down their refineries for any number of excuses ever since Katrina in an attempt to keep refining capacity low and prices high. They also scrapped plans to build new refineries - despite soaring profits.

Pump prices around the world have been rising, but the increases have been most severe in the US.

Japan has gone from 110 yen/l to 146 yen/l over the last 7 years or so, while the US has gone from around $1.50/gal to almost $4/gal.

There are very few things about which I am certain, but the fact that we are being "Enron'd" with gasoline is one of them.

[Cant trust em]

7. in sept. 2003, oil was $25 per barrel

The oil companies excuse for the incredible rise in the cost of crude has been the expanding global consumption of fuel. With countries like China and India now needing more fuel to fulfill the demands of their burgeoning economies, the fundamental laws of supply and demand have driven up the prices for all of us.

There are, or course, a couple of problems with this theory. First, do they really expect us to believe that the world's demand for oil has increased four fold in the last five years? I don't have any hard figures to back this up, but that seems like an incredible jump to me. Secondly, the obvious solution to the problem (one that would make the oil companies salivate) would be for more exploration and opening up new oil fields. Drill for more is the way to bring down prices!

Again, big corporations win. We lose.

[lonestarnot]

8. I am voluntarily rationing.

:P

[Mrs. Overall]

9. I think this guy feels satisfied:

[kestrel91316]

12. $125 by Labor Day.

[masmdu]

16. $118 TOPS then Oil crashes down to $60-65

mark it down

[Subdivisions]

31. Bwahahahahaha! n/t

[masmdu]

17. BAKKEN Oil Formation EQUAL to all of Saudia Arabia's Oil ...N.D. about to b/c RICH!

[TransitJohn]

18. Very low permeabilities in the Bakken.

Without a jump in current drilling tech, ~90% of that petroleum is unrecoverable.

[masmdu]

19. New Tech. and Horizontal Drilling is EXACTLY what has opened up this formation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakken_Formation

[TransitJohn]

21. lol nice link

Listen, I'm a wellsite geologist by trade, and I'm just letting you know what my opinion is, nothing more, nothing less. You're big on an oil shale buzz.

[masmdu]

22. Here again about how horizontal drilling is key for BAKKEN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakken_Formation

"Estimates for ultimate oil contained in the entire Bakken play range from 271 billion to 503 billion barrels....as high as 50% technically recoverable reserves"

That would give as much as 250 billion barrels ~ about the same as Saudi reserves.

[TransitJohn]

29. Uh, okay

I guess I should just hang up my spurs, since I don't know anything about what I've been doing for the past 5 years. (I've worked extensively in the Williston Basin, btw.)

[sarcasmo]

23. Went up six more cents today in West Michigan, 3:45 a gallon today.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

30. I drove to court, saw a place at 3.25, and two hours later, 3.54.

I suspect 4.50 will be the average this summer.

[endarkenment]

32. And then on to 150!

Every time we reach on psycho-barrier we are patiently explained to that it is the next barrier that is real trouble. We are treated like children, and as we generally have the intelligence of a mediocre fourth grader, that is not really surprising.

[Canuckistanian]

35. You mean "profit barrier"

Which, of course, is non-existent.