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Meanwhile, on the supply end, oil production outside of OPEC has reached a record high at more than 50 million barrels a day in October, according to the IEA. Aside from the hurricane impact, production has been steadier this year than in the past. Production should rise by 600,000 barrels a day in the fourth quarter as shut-in Gulf of Mexico production returns and new fields in West Africa ramp up. In 2005, non-OPEC production should rise by 1.3 million barrels a day compared with world oil-demand growth of 1.4 million barrels a day.

As for OPEC, production has surpassed everyone’s expectations, with production higher than expected for the most unlikely members — Libya, Iran, and Nigeria. Since mid-year 2003, these three nations have increased production by 800,000 barrels a day. In the same time frame, OPEC (excluding Venezuela and Iraq) has increased production by 2.3 million barrels a day. In total, OPEC has increased output by over 4 million barrels a day to 30.3 million barrels a day.

Hey Willie, didn't you say globalism was causing oil production to fall? According to this it keeps rising. Maybe you were mistaken?

In addition, the U.S.-government-held Strategic Petroleum Reserve has increased by 33.3 million barrels so far this year, with other reserves worldwide also in well-built positions.

A recent ForbesMag columnist calculated a ten dollar / barrel premium on the Guvment's buying spree for the Strategery Reserve, which will go on through early '04, apparently, when the tanks will be full. Just another IOU Dubya is paying for Clintoon. As oil falls, look for various other current hysterias to settle, including the dollar, inflation, etc.

Hey Willie, didn't you say globalism was causing oil production to fall?

DOMESTIC production, dummy.

Despite political promises to make us less dependent on imported energy,
domestic oil production has steadily declined from 9.2 million bbls/day in '73 to 5.4 million bbls/day in '04.
Imported oil, OTOH, has skyrocketed to over 10 million bbls/day, making us dependent on foreign nations for 2/3 of our supply.
(source)