OPEC head says crude prices to rise on US strike

Reuters | 10/07/01

[kattracks]

OPEC President Chakib Khelil, speaking to Algerian state-radio before US and British forces launched strikes on Afghanistan on Sunday night, said crude oil prices would increase on military retaliation.

"If there is a US military retaliation, the crude oil prices would definitively rise," Khelil, who is also Algeria's energy minister, told the radio.

Khelil said OPEC had not intervened to change production out of concern of not making "the situation more complicated."

"We are in consultations with important non-OPEC countries to try to coordinate a position on stabilising prices," he added without naming these countries.

"We hope that we can stabilise prices around $25 a barrel," Khelil said.

He did not say if OPEC would meet non-OPEC states soon and give no indication about OPEC moves before November 14.

A hastily arranged weekend meeting between key oil producers in Madrid has been postponed to recruit non-OPEC countries to help stabilise prices.

[hchutch]

Crunch time...

[kattracks]

No, we don't need to drill in Alaska. < /sarcasm>

[unamused]

Nuke them too.....

[Common Tator]

The problem for OPEC is Saudi Arabia. Bush told them that in the war against terrorism they could give blood or oil... They chose oil.

[Pearls Before Swine]

re: we don't need ANWR

...and coal is tooooooo dirty for us....

[DeaconBenjamin]

Speaking of dirty coal, since this is wartime, why doesn't the Energy Department declare an emergency and open up mining of the clean coal in S. Utah that Clinton sealed up with the Grand Staircase/Escalante monument. Might not even require another executive order, just a reinterpretation by the feds, or using some of those emergency powers.

[Terry Mross]

Sounds like a very rich target to me.

[Cicero]

He wishes. As long as the Saudis play ball, we are OK.

[dogbyte12]

The Algerians can pound sand too. They should be high up on the list of terrorist sponsoring states. We should just pick them off one at a time, anybody who complains can pound sand as well.

[Jorge]

Bush's energy plan is looking better everyday.
Let's open ANWR, and approve more off-shore drilling...and invest in more clean coal energy. The U.S. is, after all the Saudi Arabia of coal.

[leadpenny]

This is pure boulderdash coming out of OPEC. The price at the pump has gone from 1.27 to 1.12 since 9-11 at my local Exxon. I understand the reason is that refineries have switched to producing gasoline from Jet fuel because the airlines are flying less. Unless the Shieks want to be filling their swimming pools with the black gold, I would suggest they let the market place decide the price. If they decide to dry up the supply to create a higher price, we should twist the screws on them with less protection and fewer military toys. And yes, we should drill in Alaska.

[jimtorr]

The U.S. is, after all the Saudi Arabia of coal.

Right! Even within 50 miles of the green capital of the USA, the San Francisco bay area, there are major coal mines. The mines were mothballed 50 years ago, but they are still there.

In the other direction from Babylon by the Bay, just south of San Jose is what at one time was the largest heavy metal mine in the world. Mercury, lead and silver. There are other major mines of this type, and more ex-coal mines, to the south. The mine region continues south in the coast range until it merges with an oil region, which is still pumping.

[dalebert]

I suggest that every American conserve as much oil as possible. If we make demand drop they can't do a thing.

[NCRepublican]

Anyone hear John Gibson yesterday? He said Saudi Arabia pissed him off so much that he is, in a sense, with the greenies now...do ANYTHING to get away from oil dependence...so we don't have to BUY anything from those people anymore. I agree..but think if the daggone dems would let us, we'd have enough oil here!