The Summit Oil Deal - Setting the Stage for even Bigger Oil Bargains

Russian Observer ^ | May 24, 2002 | Ira Straus

[Shermy]

Food for thought. Found another article saying who this fellow is:

"Ira Straus is executive director of Democracy International, in Arlington, Va., and US coordinator for the independent Committee on Eastern Europe and Russia."

[Shermy]

Ping.

[Fish out of Water]

*Index Bump

[larryjohnson]

Sounds sound until the UN part.

[Fish out of Water]

Some of this sounds good but stage 4 and 5 where the UN takes control has some very negative implications for countries other than the middle east.

[MJY1288]

If this deal happens it will put an end to our need for Arab oil. Watch our Gasoline prices drop below a dollar this summer, The Arabs will try to kill the deal by making it impossible for russia to match their prices. To hell with the Arabs

[Dog]

A Stage 2 energy deal: Russia joins the International Energy Agency (IEA), a fair oil price is agreed upon for Russian oil, the West agrees to compensate Russia for financial losses when oil prices fall below this level, and Russia agrees to compete ruthlessly against OPEC to cut world oil prices as low as possible.

MIss Marple...President is playing chess again ...while the media worries over the 20 commie protestors...LOL!

[MJY1288]

Bush will not get that involved with the UN and neither will Putin

[Shermy]

Interesting ideas, can be adjusted. U.N. - gag. Dispersal among the poor? I suggested to S.Guy that Pakistan and India put aside their diffs and occupy the place, divvying up the spoils. Heck, they got millions of people doing the real work their anyway! Call it "Islamic/Third World redistribution".

[swarthyguy]

I see more support for your idea in the subcontinent than in Saudi itself. Which is another good reason for it!

[medved]

One other thing we could do which would be of huge mutual benefit: hand Kosovo back to its rightful owners BEFORE the UN starts demanding that we hand half of Florida, Texas, and California over to Mexico on the same perverted basis.

[Willie Green]

It makes Russia an ally of the West in a vital Western economic security interest.

U.S. Petroleum & Crude Oil Overview
(thousand barrels per day)

	1960	1965	1970	1975	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000
U.S. Crude Oil Production	7,035	7,804	9,637	8,375	8,597	8,971	7,355	6,560	5,834
U.S. Petroleum Imports	1,815	2,468	3,419	6,056	6,909	5,067	8,018	8,835	11,093
Total	8,850	10,272	13,056	14,431	15,506	14,038	15,373	15,395	16,927
Imports as % of Total	20.5	24.0	26.2	42.0	44.6	36.1	52.2	57.4	65.5

Since the Arab Oil Embargo (almost 30 years ago), U.S. dependence on imported oil has risen from 25% to over 65%.

The REAL U.S. National Security interest is to REDUCE this dependence on imported oil.

The alternate sources of energy available that are most capable of providing the vast quantity necessary to achieve this are nuclear and clean-coal electric power generation.

Construction of modern, efficient, electricly-powered mass-transportation systems in our nation's most densely populated regions and urban areas would further reduce our petroleum consumption, thus enhancing our national security.

[MJY1288]

"A UN energy agency could work closely with IEA to set overall management guidelines; a fair rent could be paid to the host states for use of their land."

This guy who wrote this must of started on some serious drugs when he wrote #4 and #5. Why in hell would we want the U.N. involved or have any regulatory powers? A good article until 4 & 5

[Tokhtamish]

Interesting that aside from an article grousing about how Russia was selling out to the West, I have seen nothing in Arab News about all the Russo-American deal making that is obviously forming an alliance against them. They must be sh*tting bricks !

And this is leaving out all the massive mineral wealth yet unexploited in Russia. The entry of Russia into the world economy on a massive scale could trigger one hell of a demand boom.

Funny how history and historical projection never take into account folly. That nations will from time to time do ridiculously stupid things. Saudi Arabia funding terrorism against both the US and Russia at the same time cannot be exceeded in terms of the purest folly.

I see a day, maybe ten years from now, when the Saudis are once again eating camel dung and the Twin Towers rise high and proud.

[kaylar]

Funny how history and historical projection never take into account folly. That nations will from time to time do ridiculously stupid things. Saudi Arabia funding terrorism against both the US and Russia at the same time cannot be exceeded in terms of the purest folly.

There you go again, looking at things through the prism of infidel logic? Any Saudimite can tell you that Allah only loves Muslims, who are following the One True Religion, and He is gonna come down from the sky and personally defeat the West for the sake of Islam...any day now.

[Dog Gone]

Sorry, the whole thing is BS. When you start price-fixing and interfering in the free markets, you're going to get unintended consequences every time. If Russia wants to sign a long-term contract with some international oil company for oil deliveries, that's fine. That will protect them if the price drops.

But all this crap about strategically setting oil prices and UN control is all more big government planning over something that should never be controlled in the first place.

[nightdriver]

"....it undoes their nationalization of oil, placing the oil and gas fields under global ownership and authority."

Uh-oh! Look out for this!

[A Navy Vet]

Phases 4&5 aside, this put a BIG smile on my face...:o]

[Spar]

Great game set and match. In the end Russia fended off the wolves unleashed during the Clinton years long enough for them to deal with the West on more or less an equal footing. Too late for ex-Yugoslavia and Chechnya but like in most games, you can expect a foul or two.