Following is the Warner Brothers website:  http://syrianamovie.warnerbros.com/

The website has a link to a website that asks you to get involved in reducing our reliance on oil.  

Following is a plot summary from IMDb:

Plot Summary for
Syriana (2005)

 From writer/director Stephen Gaghan, winner of the Best Screenplay Academy Award for Traffic, comes Syriana, a political thriller that unfolds against the intrigue of the global oil industry. From the players brokering back-room deals in Washington to the men toiling in the oil fields of the Persian Gulf, the film's multiple storylines weave together to illuminate the human consequences of the fierce pursuit of wealth and power. As a career CIA operative (George Clooney) begins to uncover the disturbing truth about the work he has devoted his life to, an up-and-coming oil broker (Matt Damon) faces an unimaginable family tragedy and finds redemption in his partnership with an idealistic Gulf prince (Alexander Siddig). A corporate lawyer (Jeffrey Wright) faces a moral dilemma as he finesses the questionable merger of two powerful U.S. oil companies, while across the globe, a disenfranchised Pakistani teenager (Mazhar Munir) falls prey to the recruiting efforts of a charismatic cleric. Each plays their small part in the vast and complex system that powers the industry, unaware of the explosive impact their lives will have upon the world.

The only reason I can think of for the many (thousands?)princes putting themselves in such a potentially awkward situation would be the thought that, if the populace were to think the resource might soon run out, the ungrateful might try to end the well-deserved (but paltry) billions paid to them each year (month?)  Naturally, every month or year they hang on means ever fatter Swiss bank accounts.

Meanwhile the IEA is carefully covering their rosy estimates (behind) by saying that OPEC must invest many billions to expand production, and that if OPEC can't/won't make the investments in a timely manner, it is OPEC's fault and the IEA obviously cannot be blamed. This position firms up Saudi for the patsy role.

OPEC's past performance of withholding production to firm up prices helps all the more to prepare the cartel for considerable blame. However, it should be said (but won't be) that past withholding, and the ensuing high prices/reduced consumption, clearly delayed the peak by several years (and at least delayed global warming). Try to imagine $3/barrel instead of $3/gallon.

A bipartisan group of senators unveiled legislation Wednesday they said would save 2.5 million barrels of oil a day within a decade and 10 million barrels a day by 2031. The country now uses a little over 20 million barrels of oil a day, most of [it] for transportation.

"Failure to act, we fear, will make America like a pitiful giant, tied down and subject to the whims of small (oil-producing) countries," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., calling U.S. dependence on foreign oil a national security risk.

I have tried to make that picture more intuitive and informative (e.g. the thickness of the arrows are proportional to the trade volume). A loop represents the amount of oil that a region produces for its own consumption (i.e. production - exports). Click on the image to enlarge.

Quoting Deffeyes (Beyond Oil): "The world oil peak is a world problem. Supertankers can haul oil
halfway around the world for two dollars per barrel. ... Export-import patterns can be rearranged
with a few phone calls. As the world oil shortage becomes more severe, who ships what oil where is less relevant".

I don't agree with Deffeyes here. My impression is that "who ships what oil where" should be
important. From time to time there will be local reorganizations of the flow (for political reasons
for example) but most of the trade flows will remain the same.

This week in Petroleum makes for interesting reading.

I encourage everyone to check it out.

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/oog/info/twip/twip.asp

I have copied some quotes from the report.

EIA has noted that gasoline supplies have increased due to both an increase in refinery production and a surge in imports. But which of these factors have been "most valuable" in terms of adding supply and reducing prices? While this debate has not invoked a similar passion as the baseball MVP votes did, it is instructive to look at the impacts both had in adding gasoline supply recently.
As the graph above indicates, increases in both production and imports have been important in reducing gasoline prices, but the surge in imports came at a critical time. While gasoline production increased by over 1 million barrels per day in a two-week period in early October, imports surged by significantly less than that in absolute volumes.

I though this story would be of interest to The Oil Drum community.

The Swedish Government has committed to Oil Independence by 2020. Announced measures include:

• Tax relief for conversion from oil;
  
• More renewable energy;
  
• Measures for renewable fuels;
  
• Resources for energy research; and
  
• Continued investment in district heating.

Now why can't the G8 countries get their act together like this?

BTW I've been reading TOD since this past summer and must congratulate you all on excellent work! Thank you!
.

A major source of Fuel conservation would be to ban
fast food drive thrus but, not the banks.
Please, I still need a quick get away as I make off
with my stash of savings and compounded interest.

You see while it would not be illegal to operate
a fast food drive thru, There could be penalties
for non-co-operatives.
Infidels > painted as unpatriotic BECAUSE
conservation of fossil fuels is ...
a Nationl HOMELAND Security threat.
Any unethically seeking self interest(groups),
burger joints in the publics... minds eye,
will not bode well for the Slider. (ah coercion)

And Large corporate food chains main arguements
 against such a ban could possiblly be:

A)Additional heating costs in cold climates,
  Additional cooling costs in hot climates,
  both direct results of additional DOOR SWINGS.

B)Additional Replacement DOOR COSTS !!!

C)Loss of Revenue due to employees being in
  the customer is allways right
  line of sight.
  Consequently Observing food handling practices;
  resulting in lack of appetites,
  hence: loss of sales.

D)DANA corp.(Ticker symbol DNC)
  Automotive replacement parts division slows.
  And your brother-n-law thought it couldn't get
  any worse.

Mom and Pop Drive Thrus ... Well,

Do they exist ???

"Hi mom, hey Pop." echoes

THERE IS aN

Upside beyond the obvious fuel savings/emissions

a)Ya gotta get off your but, and put some (energy)
  effort into it. What ... exercise!
  Big health issue = lots of votes here people.
  Come on.

b)DOOR manufacturing booms. Adds Jobs.

c)Professional (contracted) Door Installation trade
  increases, providing fast food employees
  alternative JOB opportunities. (Upward mobility)
  Increasing tax revenue! Adds Jobs. More Votes!

d)Jobs Program - Which Government has an obligation
  to provide FUNDING (raising taxes for training)
  stimulates an all ready red hot economy ...
  and known ripple effect - practically funds
  IraQ war and future terror (whoms?) projects
  into the unforeseeable future! Win win situation

  WoW

 All in favor vote yeah
 all opposed hates his neighbor.

While there are other points to this delicate issue,
I cheerfully put forth this measure as a simple
remedy. A David v. Goliath solution if you will.

My friends at TOD can crunch the numbers.
The bottom line, I am confident, will be impressive.

Thank you... thank you,

sheeesh... and ALDI sells cheap coffee

Think small, think fast ,PeAcE

The Palace of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Bad: Falling for an email hoax. Worse: Using the hoax as the basis for your presentation to the local city planning commission, thereby displaying your gullibility to the entire public.

As reported by the Muncie Star Press (no link), Don Love gets the award for doing the latter. He received an email containing a series of pictures of an opulent estate (shown below), with the caption:

"In case you're wondering where this hotel is, it isn't a hotel at all. IT IS A HOUSE! It's owned by the family of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the former president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu-Dhabi."

Enraged, he made a slide presentation out of the pictures and showed them to the planning commission, as part of his effort to get them to approve construction of an ethanol plant. His point was that they should promote local energy projects, to prevent all the city's money going to greedy, oil-rich sheiks. He told them: "This is the type of thing being done with your petro dollars that I want to re-patriate. Keep in mind the gentleman has more than 20 wives. This is one of 70 baths. Some are bigger than my house. This is his little swimming pool. These are his cars."

Of course, the pictures don't show a sheik's palace. In reality they show a fancy hotel in Abu Dhabi called the Emirates Palace. All the stuff about 20 wives is bogus too. If Love had bothered to do any research, he would have found this out. He probably could also have found some real pictures of a sheik's palace, which would have been a more effective way of making his point.

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax

Even though, as Darley says, the world's middle classes are by far the primary energy depletors, the first to feel the effects will continue to be the poorer countries and to a lesser extent, the poor of the richer countries.  Will those countries left behind suffer famine, genocide, civil war, purges, or will they adapt more stoically like Cuba and the FSU states?  Like the poor of New Orleans, the poor of the developed world will become a bit less invisible as they slip towards a ragged, 3rd World level of poverty.

After all that demand has been destroyed, the producing nations will be on the spot.  Looking at Roberto's great Oil Trade graphic (which is now my desktop background), I see Mexico, Canada, North Africa, South & Central America, Asia Pacific and, of course, the Middle East caught between the oil needs and weapons of the US, Europe, FSU and China.

Those will truly be interesting times.

http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=47439

this reinforces my opinion of demand destruction will get ugly!