Posted on 04/20/2006 11:39:39 PM PDT by familyop
CARACAS, Venezuela, April 20 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Thursday said the price of oil could reach $100 per barrel just a day after prices reached a record $74 amid supply concerns.
Speaking to reporters in Brazil, Chavez said the price of oil "could reach $100, it depends."
The leftist Chavez said U.S. threats of sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program are contributing to record energy prices.
Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, has consistently sought to boost oil prices by supporting OPEC output cuts.
Let it go to $500 per barrel - maybe congress will come out of its coma and ignore the environmental wackos in this country. We need to start drilling in our own country and tell these foreign a$$holes just where to go. This is the fault of Congress, and I don't want to hear any more Bush bashing when it comes to the price of gasoline, natural gas, or electricity. Bush has been pushing for more exploration for 5 years, and yet the Dumbocraps want to blame him for everything. Plenty of Dumbocraps voted AGAINST the last energy bill.
Ditto that!
Looks like a real oil war is brewing.
If Chavez said $100, then the bubble just burst. Back down to $60. The man speaks basura.
And guess how many people in Venezuela would *thank* us!
$100 oil is certainly a possibility, but it seems a stretch.
A recent chart I've seen of oil supply vs. oil demand (4 qtr moving average, based on IEA figures) shows supply leveling off recently, as it did in 1998 and in 2001. Each of those two previous episodes was followed by about two years of mild decline before supply resumed increasing.
Fortunately, oil demand also seems to be leveling off, no doubt due to high prices induced partly by fear of political developments in Venezuela, Nigeria, and Iran. As a result, there is presently an oversupply of oil. Of course, this excess may not be excessive enough if Iran is attacked.
Chavez needs to be put in a barrel, either whole or dismembered.
But he won't be worth anywhere NEAR $100.
As I recall, the price for a barrel of sh*t is about a buck-two-ninety-eight, which is about the value of Chavez, generously estimated.
Id like to see what kind of squeeze the rest of the world is seeing from these prices.
I can tell you that the cost of gasoline and electricity is biting me here.
The cost of goods will rise accordingly very soon, then we will see a backlash in the form of conservation and the price is going to drop.
When gas was "cheap", here in america, the enviroweenies and the IMF used to constantly talk about how our prices should be raised to be more in line with the rest of the world ( europe they meant ).
I haven't heard very much of this "talk" since prices started to rise, I personally think we are being manipulated, to come in line with europe on gas pricing. It's been going on for a couple years now.
There have been plenty of reasons for prices to increase but not to sustain the increase.
Agreed
I just cant see this trend continuing. at some point alternate energy sources will become viable and the prices will stabilize.
I wonder what the left thinks of all this? I thought we were in Iraq for oil? darn stuff should be a dime a a barrel. Gotta run, cyall later
How about ending Iraqi terrorist attacks and pump 10 million barrels a day directly to the US as gratitude/payback for our helpful regime change actions.
We were told it would finance the war at least partially, so far zip.
I wish the iraq agenda had been stubbornly pushed and declared from the git go.
Iraq, is the germany of the 21st century, in that it will be our base of operations and forward projection of power during this cold war period and the comming Hot war. And it's comming too many people, and factions are choosing sides.
(Citgo=Venezuela)
1) Nationalize fuel formulas so that there aren't 40+ different recipes for gasoline bottlenecking refinery production. Included in the same bill could be a provision requiring governments that want to deviate from national fuel formulas to build their own refinery to meet the demand.
2) Begin anti-trust action against oil companies control of the extraction, refining of oil and the retailing of gasoline. When the same company that sells gasoline owns the refinery, it pays to shut it down for "maintanance", but when another company's only business is owning the refinery and then shuts it down for maintanance, they lose money.
Why doesn't someone press the dems on why they continue to be obstructionists in getting any kind of domestic energy policy?
Whose policies benefit the oil companies more?
Democrats/environmentalists who've blocked the building of new refineries and drilling in ANWAR etc and caused the tightening of the supply?
Or,
Republicans who want to do more of both and create price competition? Its almost as if the Democrats/environmentalists are doing the bidding of big oil, isn't it?
For all we know, big oil has been secretly funding environmental groups that seek to block drilling and building refineries in order to limit supply.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.