Pickens says don't bother investigating oil speculators.

[Speck Tater]

That's not the problem.

--quote--

"You have 85 million barrels a day of oil available in the global energy market and 86.4 million barrels a day of demand. So the price of oil is going to go up until you can kill demand."

more at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20602099&sid=anG_.7wKpSLQ&refer=energy

[Parche]

1. Bullcrap

You have oil speculators that are doing the same thing that Enron people did, with Cheney's energy files as an 'OK'

The demand is a part of it also, but not all of it.....

:hi:

[Warpy]

3. ...and Pickens is one of the biggest out there

which is why he wants everybody to look elsewhere.

[Extend a Hand]

5. I believe that Pickens is right on this

It's very difficult to 'hoard' oil. The speculation is in the futures market...where people are betting on which way the price will go at some point in the future.

[zeemike]

7. Not as difficult as you think

Just fill up the storage tanks and when they are full fill up every oil tanker in the fleet. And it takes a lot of oil to do that.
They did it in the 70s successfully and it is even easier now with the super tankers of today.

[pscot]

9. The oil tanker fleet

http://www.energybulletin.net/3157.html

is near 100% utilization. As Mexican and Venezuelan production declines, we're going to be getting more of our oil from the mid-east. It takes a week for a tanker to travel from Venezuela to Texas. The trip from the Persian gulf takes a month. That's four tankers making a one month, 10,000 mile round trip, where one tanker made four 1 week, 2500 mile trips a year ago. The situation is outrunning our ability to adapt. Your prescription is not realistic.

[kristopher]

2. Auto sales plunge in face of $4 gas

http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/03/news/companies/autosales/index.htm

Auto sales plunge in face of $4 gas
With gas at record highs, buyers stay away from SUV and pickup models, hitting May sales at GM, Ford and Toyota.

[liberal N proud]

4. BULL FUCKING SHIT

I hate people like this rich fat bastard. Him and his oil buddies bu$h and Cheney

[Turbineguy]

6. Oil Speculators

probably account for 25 percent of the curent price. But since the current price (or close to it) seems sustainable, it's likely that putting the speculators out of the picture will only spur producers to cut supplies to compensate.

In reality it's the high prices that force people to look at conserving energy, not the wish to be good and leave some for the future.

[zeemike]

8. Demand and usage are not the same thing

With speculates in the market the demand may be 86 million barrels but usage much less than that.

[happyslug]

10. If that is the case the excess must be stored, and that is NOT happening

Krugman May 12th, 2008 Article on this subject:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

Previous threads on this subject:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x150697
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x150697#150705
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x360998

A 2004 Article by Krugman on the same issue:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E1D71E3CF937A25756C0A9629C8B63

[losthills]

11. Bingo.

Most intelligent statement on this thread.