Is There An Oil Shortage Anywhere On Earth?

[ThomWV]

Where has the demand, which has driven the cost of crude to sixty dollars, so great that the market has not cleared? I understand Chinese demand being up but it certainly is not up enough to drive the more than doubling of oil cost in the recent past.

[Deja Q]

1. "Insurgents" destroying or attempting to destroy wells with more soldiers

having to die to protect them is adding to th net cost...

[Greyhound]

2. Surely you don't mean to imply that the Oil Corporations...

might be taking advantage of the situation. end:sarcasm:
EOF

[TheFarseer]

3. All this going on and

the republiclone that sits next to me at work just this week bought a big brand new truck. Way to pay attention dumbass. She's already bitching about how much it costs to fill up!

[justinsb]

4. It's not ONLY china, but China is a big part of it

Demand there grew by a million barrels a day last year and is on pace to do that again this year. But everywhere in the world (including the US) demand is going up faster than the supply. Welcome to peak oil (the prices are unlikely to come down substantially ever again.)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3554462.stm

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

http://www.energybulletin.net/2931.html

[lastliberalintexas]

5. Not for now

Big Oil just found its latest excuse (Dennis) for the spike in prices. They know better than anyone how inelastic the demand for gas is in the US, and they know they can do pretty much anything they want to with the price. So we complain- big deal. We keep buying the product, and they are seeing record profits. The loverly forces of a for now only somewhat limited supply and an extremely inelastic demand.

[muriel_volestrangler]

6. Zimbabwe

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/06/20/zimbabwe.fuel.reut/

and it wouldn't be at all surprising to find that the poorest countries are the ones where consumption has decreased. They effectively get outbid by the USA, Europe, China and anywhere else willing and able to pay the higher prices.

[eallen]

7. Is there an oil glut anywhere on earth?

I understand Saudi Arabia, once upon a time, opened up the spigots to keep prices moderate. In recent years, though, it seems only to have excess capacity in heavy, sour crude. Everyone wants that sweet, light stuff.

:hippie:

[Double T]

8. Speculators and Alarmists are driving up oil prices....

The current price conditions are only a glimpse of where this thing is headed. People are going to have to change their habits and their life styles and learn to conserve the available resources including oil. The "live for today, who cares about tomorrow mentality" of our society has got to change or this will be a miserable planet for future generations.

[rman]

9. well yes

there is a DU group on the matter
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=266

In short: either now or very soon production will no longer be able to keep up with demand.