[nunya bidness]

It's very long but it's comprehensive.

[MadameAxe]

Dang!

[RLK]

This thing reads like a novel. It's interesting. It would take a year of study to understand it.

As to why the middle east is important to us: two reasons, oil and Israel. Without those we would never here of the area.

[RLK]

Further frustration was added when the Bahrain fields produced crude heavy in sulfur and as such the company couldn't find buyers in the European market where the refineries weren't capable of dealing with the oil. A joint venture was the solution and the other partner was Texaco.

----------------------

In addition to having oil, Texas has some of the largest sulfur deposits ub the world, which gave Texaco experience in sulfur influenced oil.

[RLK]

It is asked why Hitler made the error of opening up a second front with the Soviets. The answer, hinted at here, was the presence of oil fields in Russia to the Northeast of Germany.

[Travis McGee]

Whew! Let me get back to you!

[Don W]

bump for later

[Amelia]

Bump to read later.

[Carry_Okie]

OPEC producers' earnings went from $23 billion in 1972 to $143 billion in 1977.

Is this set of numbers in constant dollars (I doubt it)? This was a period of high inflation.

[Carry_Okie]

Carter's presidency was poisoned by the crisis and in an attempt to resolve the issue he eliminated price controls on oil prices, while implementing a "windfall profits tax" on "excess" oil company profits. That single action alienated both sides of the aisle and cost him reelection.

Oh come on, Sean! As if 15% inflation, 20% mortgage interest rates, Soviet proxies in Central America, high unemployment, and the Soviet military buildup had nothing to do with it?

[Carry_Okie]

The war severely disrupted both sides but Iraq suffered worse. Its output was virtually shut down by attacks and by Syria siding with Iran and shutting down its pipeline from Iraq to the Mediterranean Sea.

This is most curious. Why would a Ba'athist regime like Syria take sides against another secular Ba'athist regime, namely Iraq, in favor of a theocracy like Iran?

[Carry_Okie]

Competition was unbridled in the 1980s (Because REAGAN decontrolled oil prices, that led to an immediate increase in production). The Saudis tried to maintain $34/bbl while the rest of OPEC chased the market with lower prices. Saudi production was cut to its lowest level since 1970. North Sea oil was offered at $30/bbl and that price cut out Nigeria, its direct competitor, which virtually ceased production in 1983. OPEC slashed prices by 15% from $34 to $29/bbl and cut production by 17.5%. This was predicated by the "honor system" being respected and the Saudis played the pivot role. OPEC had finally become a cartel - now they controlled price and production.

I take issue with this. The 1980s was the return of oil to commodity status, as the next several paragraphs state. It accomplished several things, not least of which was to reduce the value of Soviet oil sales with which it had financed its military buildup in the late 70s. Decontrol of oil pricing had more to do with the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union than anything else Reagan did.

[Utah Girl]

Ping

[Sparta]

The second piece from nunya bidness

If you want on or off the Western Civilization Military History ping list, let me know.

[SAMWolf]

Bump for later reading. Thanks for the ping Sparta

[SunkenCiv]

Ping!