Saudi Arabia To Hold Meeting On Soaring Oil Prices

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia will call for a summit between oil producing countries and consumer states to discuss soaring energy prices, Information and Culture Minister Iyad Madani said Monday.

The kingdom will also work with OPEC to "guarantee the availability of oil supplies now and in the future," the minister said following the weekly Cabinet meeting, held in the seaport city of Jiddah.

The Saudi announcement comes just three days after the biggest single-day price leap ever, when oil surged more than $11 to surpass $139 per barrel.

Retail gas prices rose further above $4 Monday in the United States, the world's largest oil consumer, following the unprecedented price rally.

The kingdom will work to ensure there will be no "unwarranted and unnatural oil price hikes that could affect international economies, especially those of developing countries," said Madani.

"There is no justification for the current rise in prices," he said.

Thomas Petrie, a vice chairman at Merrill Lynch and an energy markets expert, said he expects oil to be in a range of $120 to $150 a barrel between now and the fall, though he acknowledged trying to pigeonhole a price point is "a bit of a pointless exercise."

"I'd be surprised if we don't end the year having reached a point where we begin to see demand patterns changing, and we start to see prices come in some from that range, but not a lot."

On Monday, light, sweet crude for July delivery fell $2.39 to $136.15 a barrel in volatile trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The world's leading economies and largest oil consumers have urged oil producers to boost output, which has stalled at about 85 million barrels a day since 2005.

Energy experts say most producers have little ability to expand output. The exception is Saudi Arabia, which is producing about 9.4 million barrels a day and has the ability to increase production by about 2 million barrels a day, but has not done so.

"The Saudi Cabinet has instructed Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi to call for a meeting in the near future that will include representatives of oil-producing countries, consumers and companies that work in extracting, exporting and selling oil to look into the price hike, its causes and how to deal with it," said Madani.

The current president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Chakib Khelil, has said that the cartel will make no new decision on production levels until its Sept. 9 meeting in Vienna.

Comments

[Insideout143]

Some days I just really wish I were a fly. There are so many walls I'd like to be on.

[gakabani]

This is all propaganda for the Saudis. PURE BS.

[texastornado]

When gas retailers were mom and pop operations there was competition and I remember when the price of gas was 15 cents a gallon. On top of that they had a mechanic on duty. They would pump the gas for you, check your radiator, battery, tire pressure and give you green stamps or Texas gold stamps . You could top off a twenty gallon tank for three dollars. Then the greedy oil producers decided to retail the gas and closed all the independent mom and pop operations. With no real competition except from their oil buddies they said " you want gas, pump it yourself", you want air, or water, It'll cost you. They sell you overpriced goodies and instead of three dollars for a full tank you pay four dollars for one gallon. The Republicans just blocked a windfall profit tax on Exxon Mobil and the other price gougers. Remember that on November.

[Gary47]

I'm pretty sure it's not a meeting they have in mind. I think it's more like a huge party, aboard a huge yacht, with hot and cold running bimbos, etc. Time to celebrate.

[seawolf77]

Saudi Arabia is concerned about high oil prices. They are having a meeting to discuss it. Oh bless their hearts. I can't wait for them to start sending the money they get from the black goo that just happened to be under thier ground at the right place and time back to us becasue they feel....dare I say it....guilty. I am sure I am not alone in saying this, but I feel better already.

[booker52]

There are three steps that could be taken today. I ask why aren't they being taken today?
Here is the link http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/40360.html

[iratior]

We need to ask ourselves how come Europeans can have gasoline prices even higher than ours, and still not hurt nearly so much. Notice that Europeans 1) aren't embarked on military adventures such as Iraq, 2) have better social safety nets, 3) have better mass transit, and 4) seem more interested in developing alternative energy sources. They must be doing something good, for all the denunciation they get for being "socialistic". We also need to find ways to save energy. How about those local ordinances that say you have to keep your lawn mowed? TEAR THEM UP! They force the public to waste gasoline, and they're just on the books because some repressive nitwit put them there. And have every street furnished with sidewalks for pedestrians! And set the speed limit at 55 miles per hour to improve mileage. If we can't take even minimal steps like those, gasoline prices of $4.00 per gallon aren't punitive enough; they ought to be $14.00 per gallon. Furthermore, when gasoline prices spiked in 1979, bumper stickers told Jimmy Carter, "Kiss My Gas". It's time to tell George Bush the exact same thing.

[insanityfollows]

I'll bet not a bloody thing comes out of this. Why should it? The Saudis have plenty of customers in India and China, and they have us by the short hairs, because we may attempt to conserve a little, but with no real alternatives to internal combustion, our consumption levels will still remain supremely high.

Where is all of the Iraqi oil? Oh yeah, and by the way, we saved Kuwait's behind many years ago. They should be practically GIVING us oil in gratitude. Unless I don't remember right, Hussein decided his own vast oil fields weren't enough and had to have Kuwait's too. Must be a tidy little amount there for him to do that.

I am getting a scooter, a horse and moving to Canada. Especially if McCain is elected. Maple Leaf Forever! I love this country, but unless we have a healthy little revolution here and vastly change many things (including our dependence on foreign oil), end the senseless war in Iraq, and provide for the health and welfare of our own people, we are going to go down. Plenty of oil in Canada by the way.

[KillTheMessenger]

"Gratitude" is not a word that can be found in the vocabulary of business. Or politics. "World market price", however, can be. So if the world says $130/barrel is a fair price, I would go with it. And if it seems expensive, I would suggest to buy less.

[Sundialsvc4]

"America, it sucks to be you." But for nearly eight years you've had criminals running your government and you steadfastly refuse to do anything meaningful about them. You've dumped a staggering number of mercenaries into the ancient kingdom of Persia, set up puppet-governments to do your will, and all the while utterly neglected your own(!) people.

America, you do this because your leaders are utterly confident in their ability to protect one another from criminal prosecution. "Impeachment is off the table." They are utterly confident in the power of their conventional military forces, yet utterly ignorant of the long-term implications of "borrowing" more than $1 million a minute while producing nothing. America's leaders have their own distorted view of "international reality" and "frankly don't give a damn" that someone else might have a wee problem with it.

Well, Mister Emperor, the truth is ... "you have no clothes." At all. The world community can, in fact, stop you dead in your tracks without firing a shot.

If you want to "do something about it," do this: enforce your own laws. Impeach "any civil officer" in your government as Article 2 Section 4 of your own Constitution legally requires.

(Moderator: could be duplicate post. If so, kindly disregard.)

[Sundialsvc4]

"America, it sucks to be you." But for nearly eight years you've had criminals running your government and you steadfastly refuse to do anything meaningful about them. You've dumped a staggering number of mercenaries into the ancient kingdom of Persia, set up puppet-governments to do your will, and all the while utterly neglected your own(!) people.

America, you do this because your leaders are utterly confident in their ability to protect one another from criminal prosecution. "Impeachment is off the table." They are utterly confident in the power of their conventional military forces, yet utterly ignorant of the long-term implications of "borrowing" more than $1 million a minute while producing nothing. America's leaders have their own distorted view of "international reality" and "frankly don't give a damn" that someone else might have a wee problem with it.

Well, Mister Emperor, the truth is ... "you have no clothes." At all. The world community can, in fact, stop you dead in your tracks without firing a shot.

If you want to "do something about it," do this: enforce your own laws. Impeach "any civil officer" in your government as Article 2 Section 4 of your own Constitution legally requires.

[irishgawdess]

You're preachin' to the choir brother.

Your sentiments are held by millions of Americans. However, this should be addressed to the U.S. Congress, as well as the president. Then, when you see no changes occurring, you'll know how the rest of us feel.

We're working on change... really.

[jfor]

I am all for higher prices if it will allow us to stop sucking on the Saudi tit. Our love and affection for cheap oil allowed 19 Saudis to attack us and for us to attack Iraq in return. Our addiction to cheap oil allowed our President to whisk Saudi Royals and members of the Bin Laden family out of this country with out having to answer any questions. Where has it gotten us? No where? Our love of Saudi Oil allows our President to sell billions of dollars of high tech military hardware to his sponsors and getting told to fuck off in return. Our love of SUVs allows us to defend the Saudi Royal family from terrorists (commonly refered to as Saudi citizens) costing US taxpayers billions, we get nothing in return. We are hopeless. This is a one way relationship just like most drug addict/drug dealer relationships are.

[outnow]

Two weeks before his death, FDR met with King Saud (his nickname). Churchill came a couple of weeks later smoking a cigar and swilling whiskey but FDR cinched the deal. The CIA overthrew the legitimate president of Iran in 1953 as a "favor" to the British. The United States had supplied the allies with oil during WW II and the handwriting was on the wall - we "needed" more oil. In fact, WW II was fought because of oil - Germany went into Asia and was dealing with Venezuela and Japan was invading into the "Dutch East Indies for oil. The United States had placed an embargo on oil and scrap iron on Japan leaving it bottled up and prone to attack.

The United Sates government is controlled entirely by bankers after the United Sates went off the gold standard with a fixed exchange rate. Nixon negotiated a deal that oil would be sold using dollars, a poor second choice. Middle Eastern bankers and European bankers associated with petroleum production including Saudi Arabia run an oil cartel out of the Amsterdam-based spot market. Our dollar is tied to that through the Federal Reserve system. Under the policies of the Rockefeller brothers, George Schultz and the Trilateral Commission, we have destroyed the structure of our financial system. OPEC and the "spot market" operate as offshore monopolies.

[jfor]

Thanks

[jhoughton1]

Painful as it is, we NEED high oil prices. We need PERMANENT high oil prices to make the investment required for replacement technology worth making. The Big Money is going to stay on the sidelines until it's clear that oil isn't going to take another trip down to $25.

[blueshield]

I think the American strategy is clear.

If the world does not act immediately to reduce oil prices, we will let President Bush spread democracy throughout Saudi Arabia, Wall Street, and Venezuela.

Shock and Awe, people, Shock and Awe.

[KillTheMessenger]

Too bad we are stuck in Iraq for the next 100 years... and then we put out name on Iran's dance card already... :-)

[BADEN]

"The kingdom will work to ensure there will be no "unwarranted and unnatural oil price hikes that could affect international economies, especially those of developing countries," said Madani.

"There is no justification for the current rise in prices," he said."

OK - HE SAID IT:

"THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THE CURRENT RISE IN PRICES".

I smell ENRON
I smell GREED
I smell Republican sneaky deeds!

[KillTheMessenger]

You need to readjust your nose. All I smell is dry boreholes.

[SCG]

If memory serves me, watching the hearing into regulation of the commodities markets the other day, Morgan Stanley is the largest single owner of home heating oil?

When the stock market scam isn't working, they move into necessities.

http://www.commoditytrader.com/2005/03/morgan_stanley_trades_energy_i.php

[irishgawdess]

I don't like government interference into our lives, but we need it to get off its ass and legislate laws that protect us from slimy corporations that interfere in our lives. We need clean air, clean water, clean and natural food, as well as renewable sources of fuel so we can reduce our dependence on foreign, and evidently, domestic sources of oil. We need these things so we can go about the daily business of living our lives in a healthy manner. Small start-up companies are looking for investors, that's where our money should be going.

I don't want a government hand-out, but it needs to stop supporting big oil, big ag, and the Enrons of this country and start working for Americans. It's our government, and we want it back.

[adavis08]

This am MSNBC was showing people driving to Tijuana to buy gas at $2.00 a gallon. How can Mexico sell gas cheaper than our country. Makes you wonder about capitalism.

[KillTheMessenger]

Pssst... don't tell anyone... they are a net oil EXPORTER. They still have some of that stuff in the ground to sell. Not for long, for sure, five years from now they will be out of the good stuff, too.

[irishgawdess]

One of the American oil companies is trying to get a deal (or has already) to drill off Baja. Los Angeles itself had oil underneath it (La Brea tar pits, anyone?). Don't know if that's tapped out or not, but we drill offshore in So Cal. There's always tar on the beaches.

[jhoughton1]

Makes you wonder about putting an oil man in the White House.