<An Economist response, or is it a techie Sunday? The Oil Drum European gas supplies and a more than gentle cough from Russia>

110 comments on Monday Open Thread: The GasBuddy Price Map Edition

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Alaskan Pete on April 24, 2006 - 11:19am Permalink | Subthread | Comments top
Ruh RoH! From Reuters:
DOHA (Reuters) - OPEC ministers conceded on Monday there was nothing they could do to halt surging oil prices that threaten consumer nations' economies and could trigger a collapse in demand disastrous to producer states.
The group, already pumping as much as refiners can handle, concluded at talks here that raising its 28 million barrels per day output ceiling would not rein in runaway prices.
"The market determines the oil price," Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, OPEC's most influential voice, told reporters. "You know and I know that the reason the price is where it is is not from a shortage of (crude oil) supply," he said. OPEC ministers, meeting during global energy talks here, had little enthusiasm for a Kuwait proposal to offer up all the organization's spare capacity of two million bpd as they did in September when oil spiked above $70 a barrel."
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Marotti32 on April 24, 2006 - 1:38pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
The german minister for economic affairs gave an address at that meeting. He told OPEC producers not to postpone urgent big investments in new wells and technology. It is necessary for the consumers to come back to a reasonable price for oil.

I am somewhat surprised this man knows so much about the oil infrastructure on the arabian peninsula. I wonder if the audience war laughing secretly at him. It probably just shows the naivety and the helplessnes our politicans are confronted with, when the oil prices is rising and nothing actually can be done.

Sorry, just a source in german language.

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The Interloafer on April 24, 2006 - 3:06pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
"The market determines the oil price," Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi, OPEC's most influential voice, told reporters. "You know and I know that the reason the price is where it is is not from a shortage of (crude oil) supply," he said.
Supply is fine! There's plenty of supply!!!  Prices are high because ... of ... some other reason.  But that reason is definitely NOT SUPPLY!!
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westexas on April 24, 2006 - 5:35pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Speaking of a bidding war between importers. . .

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-04-24T072003Z_01_L247 50869_RTRUKOC_0_US-ENERGY-RUSSIA-EUROPE.xml

Russia should cut oil to Europe: Transneft

Excerpt:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's planned oil pipeline to Asia will help cut deliveries to Europe, which is currently being oversupplied with Russian crude, the head of Russia's pipeline monopoly Transneft told a newspaper.

"We have overfed Europe with crude. And every single economic manual says that excessive supplies depress prices," Semyon Vainshtok told the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta in an interview published on Monday.

"So far we cannot reduce supplies as all our exports are going to Europe. But as soon as we divert (flows) to China, South Korea, Australia, Japan it will immediately take away crude from our European colleagues," he added.

Vainshtok has repeatedly said that building a pipeline to Asia would help diversify Russian oil flows and cut discounts on the country's mainstay Urals crude blend in European markets.

His new comments are likely to come under much closer scrutiny after another Russian monopoly, state gas behemoth Gazprom, shocked Europe last week by saying it would supply gas elsewhere if its expansion in Europe was blocked.

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smekhovo on April 24, 2006 - 6:00pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Strange.
Urals used to be underpriced compared to blends of comparable gravity/sulphur content, but as of recently is so no longer.
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magwitch on April 24, 2006 - 9:42pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Particularly strange in light of that inversion in Texas WTI vs. UK's Brent Crude a few weeks back.  Great observation.

Just remember, it's not supply.

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totoneila on April 24, 2006 - 9:51pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Hello Westexas,

Great post! I encourage Russia to sell to the highest bidder no matter who it is: the more this happens, the sooner people will start conserving and Powerdown as best they can.  If this makes Europe, and even parts of internal Russia start to setup biosolar habitats 3-5 years earlier, so much the better for their environment and related biodiversity in the long run.  Fair higher prices, not corrupt political-driven preferential pricing schemes will make the great unwashed masses face the Peakoil 'music' sooner.

The difficult part to control in the future is my predicted rise of the detrito-terrorist.  No religious ideology, like Islam, is required, just an addicted desire to maximize detritus access vs adopting Powerdown.  Just as the Ukrainians stole transiting natgas last winter, and some other unknown party blew up a critical pipeline supplying Armenia, I forsee covert Europeans and/or Central Asians disabling Chinese pipelines to increase the flow to their respective country, and of course, the Chinese or some other country returning the favor some time later. Nigerian 'bunkering' is another example of theft that will bedevil oil companies worldwide postPeak.

Add this in to the enviro-terrorist, and the religio-terrorist: Gazprom and Rosneft will have their hands extremely full the further we go postPeak.

Bob Shaw in Phx,AZ  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

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westexas on April 24, 2006 - 8:10pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
China acts to secure oil reserves amid record crude prices
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/04/24/060424184139.e1iolabv.html
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totoneila on April 24, 2006 - 10:17pm Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Hello Westexas,

Another interesting post loaded with press doublespeak in my estimation.  The very fact that China feels it is most important to lock in deals to build their SPR is telling.  Possibly, the Chinese topdogs are more Peakoil aware than our US topdogs.

Bob Shaw in Phx,AZ  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

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eric blair on April 25, 2006 - 6:55am Permalink | Subthread | Parent | Comments top
Ruh RoH!

The fun's just starting!
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Paper_Chavez_moves_toward_nationalizing_Venezuela_0424.html
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is planning a new assault on Big Oil, potentially taking a major step toward nationalization of Venezuela's oil industry that could hurt oil-company profits, reduce production and put further pressure on global oil prices, the Wall Street Journal reports on Monday front pages.

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110 comments on Monday Open Thread: The GasBuddy Price Map Edition

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