[GraniteStateConservative]

The pipes and other structural parts are in disrepair and security against bombings is lousy. We haven't done a good job at all of getting their oil industry working as well as it could.

[jb6]

We also over played our hand with Russia. One of the reasons that Khodorkovsky got jailed (it was for taxes but the reason he got served up with the bill finally) is that he planned on selling several key oil fields to Exxon and Shell. He was told that the fields would belong only to Russian companies. He ignored it and kept on, aka he got served. The oil companies ran to Bush and got Bush to push on Putin. Putin responded by ending the Murmansk port upgrade which was going to send a lot of oil our way.

Now that oil is heading to Japan, S.Korea and China. So we are further stuck with the arabs and the oil from Canada is heading to China too.