WikiLeaks cables: Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices

The Guardian ^ | 2/8/2011 | John Vidal

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

The US fears that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest crude oil exporter, may not have enough reserves to prevent oil prices escalating, confidential cables from its embassy in Riyadh show.

The cables, released by WikiLeaks, urge Washington to take seriously a warning from a senior Saudi government oil executive that the kingdom's crude oil reserves may have been overstated by as much as 300bn barrels – nearly 40%.

The revelation comes as the oil price has soared in recent weeks to more than $100 a barrel on global demand and tensions in the Middle East. Many analysts expect that the Saudis and their Opec cartel partners would pump more oil if rising prices threatened to choke off demand.

However, Sadad al-Husseini, a geologist and former head of exploration at the Saudi oil monopoly Aramco, met the US consul general in Riyadh in November 2007 and told the US diplomat that Aramco's 12.5m barrel-a-day capacity needed to keep a lid on prices could not be reached.

According to the cables, which date between 2007-09, Husseini said Saudi Arabia might reach an output of 12m barrels a day in 10 years but before then – possibly as early as 2012 – global oil production would have hit its highest point. This crunch point is known as "peak oil".

[griswold3]

you’re mistaken if you believe that high oil prices would distress President Obama. He has previously stated he does not mind high prices. What matters to him is how rapid the prices rise.

$4/gal gas by Memorial Day.
Happy days are here again,
the skies above are clear again.

[Flavius]

crazy

wish someone would actually try to fix the problem

asol figures that the natural gas needed for a gallon of diesel, plus operating costs, comes to about $1.50 a gallon. In comparison, a gallon of diesel made from crude oil now costs more than $2, even before refining, and many forecasts are for the price of oil to go higher.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/24/business/energy-environment/24fuel.html

Volvo’s 124-MPG Diesel-Electric To Debut In Geneva
http://motorcrave.com/volvos-124-mpg-diesel-electric-to-debut-in-geneva/10165/

meanwhile lets just go back to regular bull.

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[unkus]

Brother, can you spare a dime?

[ReneeLynn]

If he cared we’d be drilling for our own.

[Red Badger]

$5 by the Fourth of July....

[Red Badger]

Dime? Heck, with inflation, that should be a DOLLAR by now!....

[FReepaholic]

...price has soared in recent weeks to more than $100 a barrel on global demand and tensions in the Middle East...

Right. No mention of market speculators.

I wonder if the Wikileaks guys went long oil futures just before releasing this little tidbit.

[Red Badger]

http://www.westegg.com/inflation/infl.cgi

[bayouranger]

VW, on Gizmag.com, has that beat w/ a 267 MPG coupe.

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

Why would the U.S counsel lie on a diplomatic cable to the State Department? Maybe Saudi Arabia is literally running out gas

[Joe Boucher]

Damned idiot Americans should use food as a weapon.
Let the mid east retards starve.

[editor-surveyor]

>> “Saudi Arabia cannot pump enough oil to keep a lid on prices” <<

.
But Bernanke can print enough monopoly money to put a solid floor under them! (and gold and silver...)
.

[mewykwistmas]

We will only move when our back is really against the wall. But a mass adoption of this will drastically lower oil prices

[editor-surveyor]

>> “Right. No mention of market speculators.” <<

.
Standard argument of the “give me something for nothing” liberal whinner.

Speculators have to have a basis for speculation, or it falls flat. Study Laffer.

[joelt]

You are correct; but if he gets his $4 gas,,, he won’t stand a chance in 2012. not that he should stand a chance anyway.

[bicyclerepair]

Take steps to increse your mpg. I did. Mods have already paid for themselves.

K&N air filter
Mobil 1
High perf. muffler
High perf. tires (50psi)
Manual trans.

My PT gets great mileage. AND I just got a job 3.4 miles from home. (after 2 yrs. off)

[Flavius]

negative

they will just tax you at the pump

but will get an order of cheese nachos with every bawl game

[MasterGunner01]

Meanwhile the United States is literally floating on oil and natural gas — Bakken Field, ANWR, North Slope, oil shale at the four corners (Colorado, Montana, Utah, Idaho), oil off California, in the Gulf of Mexico, off Florida and the Carolinas. We have some of the largest coal reserves in the world plus oil synthesized from biomass.

Yet, we convert food crops to alcohol at a time where there are food shortages, we don't build nuclear power plants, we prevent oil and gas exploration and drilling, and we haven't built a new oil refinery since 1975-1976.

WTH is wrong with America's common sense? If we developed our resources, we could be the NEW Saudi Arabia. The Arabs would be pounding sand. And, the Environazis would be absolutely suicidal [this is a good thing].