[E. Pluribus Unum]

If hydrocarbon producers engage in a "squeeze and ease" price manipulation over a sufficient length of time, with no evident shortage of actual supply, folks who don't share our views may (and probably will) decide that price regulation is warranted.

You seem to be fairly ignorant of the boom-and-bust history of the petrolem market.

I lived in Houston during the oil bust of the early 'eighties, and was able to buy a really nice house for pennies on the dollar.

It takes years to bring new oil production online, and by the time it comes online it takes years to slow it down.

It's just a matter of time before the market is glutted, just as has happened innumerable times in the past.

But you economically near-sighted types can barely see past your nose, so I know I'm wasting my breath.

[atlaw]

You seem to be fairly ignorant of the boom-and-bust history of the petrolem market. I lived in Houston during the oil bust of the early 'eighties, and was able to buy a really nice house for pennies on the dollar.

LOL. Houston is home, O&G is my business, and I've lived through quite a few booms and busts. And it's not economic nearsightedness. It's reality.

It takes years to bring new oil production online, and by the time it comes online it takes years to slow it down.

So your contention is that there is an actual supply shortage at the wellhead? Perhaps you could provide evidence of this (I mean, other than "prices are high because supply is short, and we know supply is short because prices are high").

It's just a matter of time before the market is glutted, just as has happened innumerable times in the past.

Again, where on earth are you getting the notion that there is a supply shortage?