Iran says oil price too low at 115 dollars a barrel(Mahmoud Ahmadinejad proclaims)

AFP ^ | Farhad Pouladi

[TigerLikesRooster]

Iran says oil price too low at 115 dollars a barrel

by Farhad Pouladi

18 minutes ago

Even at 115 dollars a barrel, oil is priced too low, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in comments published on Saturday adding that the commodity "should find its real value".

"Oil at 115 dollars a barrel in today's market is a deceiving figure, oil is a strategic commodity and should find its real value," the state broadcaster's website quoted Ahmadinejad as saying on Friday.

New York's benchmark contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, surged 1.83 dollars to a record close of 116.69 dollars a barrel on Friday. It had earlier hit an intra-day all-time peak of 117 dollars.

Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari, whose country is OPEC's number-two oil producer and exporter, on Wednesday rejected calls from oil consuming countries for the cartel to take action to bring down prices.

"The oil price has reached 114 dollars a barrel. When the price is suitable and supply is higher than demand, this shows the reason is somewhere else and we should deal with this other reason," he said.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries -- which produces 40 percent of the world's oil -- has refused to raise its daily output quota which is currently fixed at 29.67 million barrels.

Ahmadinejad suggested that the sharp fall in the value of the US dollar was a driving force behind the rise in oil prices.

"The dollar is no longer money, they just print a bunch of paper which is circulated in the world without any commodity backing," he said.

Late last year, Iran announced that it had stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars.

"At the moment, selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies, " Nozari was quoted as saying in December.

The world's fourth largest oil exporter, Iran massively reduced its dependence on the US dollar during last year in the face of US pressure on its financial system amid the standoff over its nuclear programme.

On Thursday, OPEC announced that the price of oil sold by its members had hit a record high of 106.65 dollars per barrel.

Oil ministers from the 12-nation cartel will be joined by chief executives of major producers as some 500 delegates assemble for the International Energy Forum in Rome on Sunday.

Pressure for a rise in the cartel's output ceiling is likely to intensify as the record crude prices weigh down on a slowing world economy.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ahmadinejad, the savior of oil companies, who have been relentlessly blamed on by consumers for high oil price.

These companies can now say, "It's all Iran's fault!":-)

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[DoughtyOne]

You know folks, I like gasoline, but I don’t want to be bent over a barrel of it for the rest of my life.

Is anyone in DC listening? We need to start a crash program to become energy independent.

There should be a high level commission that would include private industry, so that a coordinated effort could be launched to build nuclear, develop other alternatives, and get us off Middle-Eastern oil.

To hell with that bastard in Iran. He and Hugo can have each other in seven to ten, when you cut that regions monetary flow off!

[JMS]

We need to shut the idiot environmentalists up and drill in ANWAR and off the coasts, build our own refineries, have a single gasoline standard formulation and cut the government’s fuel taxes. Then we should build some nuclear powerplants but none of it happens as long as the enviro loons can keep blocking everything.

[flaglady47]

Frankly, I am becoming enraged over this. But we have so many politically stupid or just plain stupid people in our country now to comprehend why this is happening and what it will take to cure the problem. And the Dems lead the lemmings into the sea. Problem is, we all will drown, not just the lemmings.

[JDoutrider]

All of what you said plus DRILL, DRILL, DRILL, DRILL, DRILL, DRILL! Right here in the good ‘ol USA!

[OeOeO]

Is anyone in DC listening? We need to start a crash program to become energy independent

I hate to post this but,

Nothing will happen until we get a new President or the President gets a new girlfriend.

[DoughtyOne]

We need to shut the idiot environmentalists up and drill in ANWAR and off the coasts, build our own refineries, have a single gasoline standard formulation and cut the government’s fuel taxes.

In the long term, I think we replace the oil period.  In the short term I support your proposal to drill for short term gain.  We need to tap every resource now to get us off Middle-Eastern oil, and we do that with crash programs to MAKE IT HAPPEN.  Domestic oil is a component.  Nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, whatever it takes.

I would like to see new nuclear power plants by the coast incorporate desalinization into the process.  We're headed into water shortages.  We need to start thinking ahead to bring more water on line on the East and West Coasts and the Caribbean.  This could be piped to the midwest to help out.

We do need more refineries.

I would differ with you on two points.  We could probably reduce the formulations of gas, but cities like Los Angeles must have a cleaner burning fuel.  The basin traps smog, and the special formulation really does make a big difference in air quality.  It's actually important.  Right now we may have too many formulations, and we might be able to standardize down to a few different blends, which would still help a lot.

Fuel taxes are also important IMO.  We either pay fuel taxes to pay for new roads and upkeep, or we sign on to the theory of a new toll booth every five miles down the road.  I prefer to pay at the pump.  My only stipulation is that the fuel tax funds are dedicated to the highways, not mass transit.  If people want buses, let them pay a premium for buses, like we do for roads.  The same for subways...  If they can support themselves fine.  If not, we don't need them.

My aversion to toll booths is this.  We pay tolls to pay off certain highways and projects.  And when the projects are paid for, those tolls are never discontinued, or even deminished.  For instance, the Golden Gate bridge was paid for initially by the local populace,  I'm not sure if they guaranted a loan or how they accomplished it, but the toll on the bridge took over after the initial financing.

That bridge was paid off in the 1970s.  The tolls have continued to go up since that time, and it's higher today than ever before.  There are plans for local drivers, but out of the area drivers pay the full fee.  I don't want that model to play out across the nation.  Right now, if you drive across Florida, you pay a toll every ten to twenty miles.  That may be somewhat off base, but I do remember going across the state years back, and we paid two dollars at five or six toll booths in each direction.  $24.00 to drive across the state and back, I thought that was very poor.

Then we should build some nuclear powerplants but none of it happens as long as the enviro loons can keep blocking everything.

I agree.  We would have to tell the environmental loons to stuff it, and back it up big-time.  We can do it.  We have to do it.

[DoughtyOne]

LOL, yeah, the Bush family has been friends with the Saudis for many years.

[DoughtyOne]

See what you think of this.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2003881/posts?page=8#8

[JMS]

I don’t disagree with you re. tolls but there is no way to just earmark the money from gas taxes to road upkeep. It’s a governmental problem and the government makes as much if not more per gallon than the oil companies. As such, we should at least make them label how much the government gets per gallon to make sure they stay honest.

I wouldn’t disagree that places like LA need cleaner gas but then why can’t everyone be on that single standard which would bring the prices down? The whole point is that we have the resources to be energy independent but no one will tell the greenie elitists to go live in their solar huts and leave the rest of us alone.

[highpockets]

I watched T.Boone Pickens on C-span today. He said that we are currently spendingng 600 billion dollars a year for imported oil.

This amount dwarfs the trade imbalance with China. Or the amount spent on the WOT. No nation can survive on this path.

I personally hope that oil gets to 250 dollars a barrel. Which may force our leaders to make the commitment as was done for the Manhattan Project. Succeed or die.

Short of this our nation is doomed.

The Islam's fascist have vowed to destroy us. I no longer believe it is just the extremist.

Islam has no room for anyone not Muslim.

And within the Muslim life, the bullies and mean spirited prosper, while the moderates remain silent because of them.

[freerepublic_or_die]

It’s not going to make any difference to Ahmadinejad what the price of oil is or the currency it’s going to be based on because he;s not going to be around much longer.

[DoughtyOne]

Right now the blend in SoCal costs more to produce. If everyone used it, it might bring the price for everyone down. I don’t honestly know the answer to that. It’s possible.

I’m sure something could be worked out so the gas taxes went to highways and nothing else.

States should be required to provide a report of funds taken in for transportation each year, and where those funds were spent.

I agree with the comments about the greenies. If a national program were announced to get us off ME oil, I don’t think the public would tolerate them one bit, for interfering. It would be a crash national campaign for strategic security. (Or whatever you want to call it, I’m tired... LOL)

Folks know the gig is up. It’s time to get off ME oil. No greenie is going to be allowed to stand in the way anymore.

[DB]

When the world goes into a major recession because of high energy costs we'll see what prices do... Greed has set in... They think they can milk us endlessly... They'll eventually discover that isn't the case. Demand will fall and profits will drop. And stupid countries like Iran and Venezuela are spending all the profits and not reinvesting any of it to maintain, much less expand production. It is going to an interesting five to ten years coming up...

[DB]

If you really want to make a major reduction in oil dependency with today's technology, nuclear is the only way to go.

I think the next President should propose a “Marshal plan” for nuclear power in this country. Saying he's going to stream line the regulatory process for already proven safe designs. In addition if local/state governments fight it tooth and nail open up federal lands for that purpose to expedite the process.

Cheap plentiful and reliable energy would be a major economic boon to the country in the long term. Making us more competitive around the world and raising our standard of living across the board.

If only we any leaders with the courage to do it...

[Mila]

Though it be very unladylike, I’d like to punch that little punk.

[DB]

Sorry, meant to say: "If only we had any leaders with the courage to do it..."

[endthematrix]

"If you really want to make a major reduction in oil dependency with today's technology, nuclear is the only way to go."

Still gotta have the huge amounts of oil/gas for transportation.

[jwparkerjr]

Everything you've outlined makes good sense, but the problem is that it costs money. And government at every level has spent, and is spending, so much on transfer of wealth programs and buying our votes with our own money that the only way we can fund new programs or spending is by taking it from our children and grandchildren.

I would propose a hefty, and I mean HEFTY, tax on every gallon of gas. Something like $10.00. Before you panic and crank up your flamethrowers let me explain. Even with gas at its current price too many of us can afford to fill our tanks and drive our vehicles without giving much, if any, thought to the cost. So much of the money we spend on fuel goes directly into financing our enemy's desire and plans to destroy us.

The problem with my tax is that I can't decide what to do with the money. Certainly don't want it going to government, at any level. We know what they would do with it.

Regardless of how we think we got into this mess, or the theories about “big oil”, etc. and the conspiracy theorists, the fact is we are doing ourselves and our country great harm with our current energy policies. It's got to stop or the consequences will be much worse than a $10 a gallon gas tax. I hear the matches being struck now to start the flame throwers.

Any number of things could cause the price of gas to skyrocket overnight. Hurricanes, Mideast political shenanigans, terror, etc. Far better to pay the really painful cost now, at the time of our choosing, than when we have no choice.

I keep beating this same drum, but if we were to reduce the demand for fuel across the country by just a few percentage points the price would come down. We pay what we pay today because we will, and it will keep going up until the market meets resistance.

I am not seriously proposing a $10 per gallon fuel tax, just pointing out that prices are going to continue to rise until we curb demand or find new sources.