Thread: Oil And The Economy

I got to thinking about Iraq and the whole oil thing. Some people think that if a terrorist group got a hold of the oil in Iraq it's prices would shoot up and it would cripple the U.S.'s economy. Well OPEC sets the prices right? So even if a terrorist group got a hold of the oil wouldn't the prices have no change or at least no significant change?

I don't think OPEC has as much control as it used to have, due to non-OPEC speculation. In addition, while Saudi Arabia might want stability, and is friendly to the west, Venezuela, a major OPEC member, wouldn't mind in the least if the price the US has to pay goes up.

World commodity traders, set the price paid for oil....At one time, Saudi Arabia priced oil, to their customers for a month at a time. Its been a couple years, since the CEO's of the major companies testified to this during House Hearings*, so this may have changed.

With Terrorist in charge of any oil supply, primarily SA, market forces would likely dictate much higher prices for oil, fearing some form of disruption to achieve a political agenda...

Well, you could say OPEC sets the price, or you could say that OPEC sets the supply, and consumers set the price based on that supply.

Basically all the OPEC countries have a maximum quota, and they're not allowed to produce more than their quota.

terrorists

But, A terrorist group(US Army) already holds the oil of iraq, thats in part why oil is high to the delight of Big Oil. Without OPEC limiting production, Big Oil limiting refineries and sabotaging alternatives to oil, prices would be lower.
see "Who killed the electric car?"

BTW the US economy relies on Oil but also on petro-dollars and drug money to help its last exports; murder (or weapons if you prefer) and itself. So you have Saudi arabia selling its Oil in dollars and buying US weapons and US stocks. And the CIA selling weapons to terrorists and death squads outside the US in exchange for Drugs which it smuggles(with CIA and Army planes) and sells back in the US at a huge profit. It also asks drug lords to invest their billion drug profit fortune on wall street and those that dont comply are the target of operations. World Bank and IMF are loan sharks that sell loans to countries who are told the economic activity will pay the loan and make the country the slave to debt. Of course the money they are hanging themselves with goes straight into the pocket of cronies like Bechtel who usually end up owning infrastructure.
read "confessions of an Economic HitMan" (its long and boring though). Air America, Iran Contra, Mena, are the tip of the iceberg that occasionally surfaces, most of it is under the radar. If you wonder about the Taliban having banned Opium prior to the invasion and why production sky rocketed after the US invasion now you know.


Heres an amusing video about Pirates and Emperors :wink:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdYZCcATg3Q

Icewendigo, I have a bridge across the Hudson you may be interested in buying.