Saudi Arabia rebuffs Bush on oil production (no need to they say)

AP ^ | AP

[old-and-old]

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - The White House said Friday that Saudi Arabia's leaders are making clear they see no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it.

President Bush was in the oil-rich country to appeal to King Abdullah for greater production to help halt rising gas prices in the United States.

But his national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said Saudi officials stuck to their position that they already are meeting demand.

[elpadre]

time to reduce our military facilities there, send their many, many college and university students back home, etc. If they can’t scratch our back, why should we theirs.

That is after we start domestic drilling and refining.

Our love for the Saudis (how long now, 30+ years?) is strictly a one way affair. We will do anything for them, they do nothing for us. That is not love!

[RightWhale]

Want to buy a refinery? Got a dandy fixer upper with stable market. 220,000 barrels a day capacity.

[RockinRight]

Because they buy dollars in exchange for defense. You think the dollar is weak and oil high NOW? Imagine if the Saudis started using Euros.

[ANGGAPO]

I have been thinking the same thing. No more guns or butter to them. Let the local sharks eat them alive. We have protected their A&& for years. If we only had a congress with backbone.

[RockinRight]

It’s PARTLY the dollar.

However, the dollar has had a good couple weeks, yet oil CONTINUES TO RISE.

[old-and-old]

I just hit me: If we put them them on the “terrorist” list, no one but Russia /China would help them. China would probably be happy to drop 50,000 troops. They are partnering with everyone to secure access to oil.

Of course all these scenarios are unlikely. We will keep paying until we wake up and figure a way to survive without oil

[tobyhill]

OPEC is keeping the supply at just what is needed even at a cost of $125 a barrel. If we had additional supplies here at home we would have a surplus in inventory and the prices would lower based on that inventory.

[Know et al]

The White House said Friday that Saudi Arabia’s leaders are making clear they see no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it.

I thought the president spoke for the people of the United States. Is he waiting for a postcard from 300 million people?

[Gator113]

Until we drill for our own damn oil and bring to justice those that have brought us to our knees over this, nothing is going to change for the better.

[DungeonMaster]

Why should your drug dealer cut the price of your drugs once you’re hooked?

[LurkedLongEnough]

My opinion is somewhat different than those here. I think the rejection is a good thing, so Americans can see more clearly that unless we have our own oil (or alternative) resources soon, Americans will be held gas-price hostages by the Saudis/OPEC.

Until a cost-effective substitute is found and can be efficiently distributed, drill here now for the future. Build nukes where gas price complaining is rampant. Tell companies they have to let more employees work at home more often.

[rwh]

Ah yes, the Saudis are taking one from the Democrats playbook-

“Drilling is the failed energy policy of yesterday that has brought us record gas prices today.”

[VideoDoctor]

Several financial broker/dealers have told me that 30 to 40% of the current cost of a barrel of oil is the result of
actions by speculators and commodity traders.

[Non-Sequitur]

So...why did he go to Saudi Arabia in the first place?

[MinuteGal]

It makes my skin crawl to see the President of the United States of America go begging on hands and knees to these desert thugs and despots.

Thanks, liberals, thanks Democraps, thanks radicals, thanks mainstream media, thanks spineless DC "representatives of the people", thanks always-playing-defense White House, thanks homegrown socialists and commies, thanks academia, thanks ACLU, thanks Hollyweird, thanks Clinton-appointed justices and judges, thanks left-wing GOP and Democrap party leaders and operatives .....you're all doing a fine job in contributing to the degradation of our country and forcing it to its knees.

The President could spend a thousand and one nights in Arabia and these ME countries will still stick it to us. He evidently has no clue after almost eight years that "the New Tone", "compassionate conservatism", "reaching across the aisle" and other effete actions have not worked and never will.

Bush III (McCain) is more of the same.

I want to frow up.

Leni

[Dahoser]

My opinion is somewhat different than those here. I think the rejection is a good thing, so Americans can see more clearly that unless we have our own oil (or alternative) resources soon, Americans will be held gas-price hostages by the Saudis/OPEC.

You're way more optimistic than I am about Boobus America. I figure if they haven't seen it clearly with $3.00 gas, and then $3.25, $3.50 and now almost $4.00 gas, they're never going to see it.

[old-and-old]

all presidents stop by before retirement. Librarie$ cost money. Clinton needed an extra plane to carry the Saudi cash for his.

[Robe]

From what I've able to gather is that... Saudi oil is a very heavy crude and requires much more refining to get to the gas product. The world demand for this heavy crude is down, and the Saudis are having trouble getting all their current production sold.
So they are saying until the world market buys up Saudi oil at current production rates they see no need to increase production.

With that said the US problem is not with importation it's with refining capacity.
What we need is a full court press,WWII like program to build about 8-10 refineries Now the real deep dark secret... we lack the production capacity to build the refineries

[Malsua]

Why would they increase production? We’re still buying it aren’t we?

[vrwc1]

Doesn’t anyone think commodities speculators are partly to blame?