Oil Prices Slipping? Hurry Moscow, Call Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve Maven -- Energy Secretary Bodman

With oil prices sliding steeply from their undreamed of heights at $147 a barrel
to under $70/bbl, levels that less than two years ago were considered rapacious, OPEC in its inimical greed called an emergency meeting to staunch the bleeding. To underline their concern and throw a Halloween scare into world consumers not to get too uppity, they invited, or better said extended a welcome mat, to those wonderful Hollywood minted oil-patch gremlins, the Russians, to monitor and work the corridors at their deliberations.

In its gambit to manipulate ever more of the world's oil production the OPEC cartel
has been facilitating Russia's willing attendance at recent OPEC meetings including last week's visit by OPEC's secretary general Abdullah al-Badri's to Moscow . Russia of course is the largest producer and exporter of oil outside of OPEC.

Russia's President Medvedev quickly assumed the mantle of OPEC doublespeak. "Russia is also a a large producer and exporter of oil and is interested in maintaining stable, predictable prices." In OPEC blabber, "stable, predictable prices" means "high and ever higher prices." Clearly Russia's new president is a quick study on matters oil.

The Russians, perhaps a little reluctant to jump into the OPEC pool with both feet have come up with a better idea. And here, Secretary Bodman. you and your staff and all those good folks at the White House can play a role which, in the old days, would have been attributed in the European parlance of another time as help from the "Onkel aus Amerika." You see the Russians have this concept that they can support oil prices by, yes you guessed it, diverting part of their production to a national petroleum reserve with the purpose of limiting oil supply on global markets. A concept being put forward with the weighty support of Russia's deputy prime minister Igor Sechin.

And who knows better about national petroleum reserves (here known as the "Strategic Petroleum Reserve") and their impact on prices than our own administration who for years has been taking millions of barrels off the market and pouring them into salt caverns willy nilly while oil prices were going through the roof leaping some 700 percent. A program that continued in such unabated excess that it literally took an act of Congress to get them to desist.

Whatever the Russians decide to do, they have by example made known the hypocrisy and underhandedness of our administration on this issue. It becomes patently clear that our Strategic Petroleum Reserve is first and foremost an oil industry boondoggle and has been administered in a way primarily to the benefit of the oil-patch few rather than the nation's citizens many.

We have all become fully aware of the environmental and national security issues at stake in the consumption of fossil fuels. Further, we are beginning to understand that the consumption of fossil fuels must be reduced through public policy and not through the transfer of wealth to oil interests. This post is meant to highlight but one aspect of the worldwide collusion by an industry on whom we can no longer permit ourselves to be dependent. It is time to get the oil monkey off our back once and for all.

Comments

[SamEllison]

Just a single sentence release by our government the day after OPEC sets their limits;
The United States will immediately start selling oil from the STP(Strategic Petroleum Reserve) looking for a target price of $50/bbl.

[redbridge]

Teapot Dome? How about Fort Knox? Can anyone say whether or not the SPR is ever audited? I didn't realize salt mines were used for storage. Do they leak at all?

[Durango]

They just lak where the wells of politically connected Republicans intersect the caverns.

[JackMehoffer]

In light of Bush neocons recent instigation of the conflict in Georgia/South Ossetia as welll as the anti missile systems in Poland and Czech Republic, seems a bit rich to expect any great deals from Russia as we enter the Post Cheap Oil Era, and $147 a barrel is just the beginning, some even believe $1000 a barrel is likely in a decade or 2

[PT6]

Pure Illegal Speculation forced prices to $147 per barrel!

Since Congress began its investigation prices have dropped nearly 60% recently to $63.22 per barrel!

Wall Street and Commodities Speculator Corruption caused this SHOCK to the AMERICAN Economy!

[PT6]

With illegal 30 to 1 leveraging or even higher by Wall Street Speculators CRUDE OIL climbed to $147!

At the PEAK of DRIVING SEASON on June 23, Congress began an INVESTIGATION into the illegal use of LEVERAGING!

Crude Price Dropped 24% in one month and just KEPT on sliding!

So it was WALL STREET Corruption that drove up the PRICE and caused $5 diesel Fuel this summer!

[JBS]

If you're smart, you'll do what I'm going to do and fill the tank Monday, November 3.

Look for gasoline prices to start sky-rocketing again the day after election day.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/30/post_186_n_139177.html

[Durango]

Me thinks that is good advice.

Thanks.

[FearlessFreep]

Time for a carbon tax.

[Durango]

Anyone want to bet the oil is being pumped out of those salt caverns almost as fast as it was getting put in?

Teapot Dome scandal mean anything to anyone?

The Obama Justice Department is going to have far more work than they will ever be able to accomplish. To any Law School Grads out there. Don't worry about the private sector. get your applications into Justice after Nov 4, 2008. They WILL be hiring.