Posted on 01/18/2009 11:05:53 AM PST by kellynla
The inevitable fallback of the oil company apologist: the ad hominem attack.
Your point is?
WWII showed us that wars can be won or lost not on the strength of one's army, but on the might of a nation's industry. AND the ability to deliver that materiel to where it is needed.
Patton's tanks ran out of gas as he was pushing toward the Rhine in 1944. Hitler suffered chronic shortages of fuel, which hampered his efforts to prosecute the war on every front. When the Allies looked for strategic targets to bomb, the Ploesti oil fields were at the top of the list.
We should have learned our lesson then, and said "Never again." Never again will this country be put at risk because we lack adequate fuel. And if we can't get that fuel from oil, which apparently we can't -- at least in sufficient quantities to control the prices to any reasonable extent -- then we need to get it somewhere else. ANYWHERE else.
If I remember correctly an article I saw last year in “The Economist”, uk, said that the “seven sisters” oil companies now control a much smaller percentage of oil resources than they once did. I am only guessing from memory, by I think the figure was less than 20%. The biggest players are now the countries: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela, Mexico, Nigeria, etc. The tools that can be used to influence countries are rather different than those possible with corporations.
I hope that clears things up.
L
Your vehicle runs on oil? Mine runs on gasoline.
L
“The inevitable fallback of the oil company apologist: the ad hominem attack.”
I clearly attacked your analysis, not your self.
1 Saudi Aramco
2 NIOC
3 INOC
4 KPC
5 PDV
6 Adnoc
7 Libya NOC
8 NNPC
9 Pemex
10 Lukoil
11 Gazprom
12 Exxon Mobil
13 Yukos
14 PetroChina
15 Qatar Petroleum
16 Sonatrach
17 BP
18 Petrobras
19 ChevronTexaco/Unocal
20 Total
21 Royal Dutch/Shell
22 Petronas
23 Surgutneftgas
24 ConocoPhillips/Burlington
25 Pertamina
Understanding Today’s Crude Oil and Product Markets
http://www.api.org/aboutoilgas/upload/OilPrimer.pdf
Think again. Maybe they'll have a 'special' camp for the folks in the oil patch. Liberals are rare as lizard fur coats out here.
Yes, this means the ExxonMobil is equavilent to that economic powerhouse of the World, Bulgaria. It edged out the world renowed economic master of Lithuania.
A rather meaningless number. How many individuals around the world are stock holders are in ExxonMobil? I would guess it may exceed the population of these countries as well.
At the same time, ExxonMobil paid over $105 Billion in Taxes. Where do the taxes paid ranked compare as countries GDP? Moves quite a bit farther up the list.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/GDP.pdf
As I said, that figure is true for Exxon Mobil ALONE. Combine it with the other “Big Five” and the economic clout these megaliths swing is on par with an industrialized nation. Add in the state-owned oil powerhouses and it is arguable that the oil industry commands economic power in excess of most nations on earth.
That doesn’t exactly contravene my argument. It simply means that the breadth of these shadow nations can be measured in human, as well as economic, terms.
I don’t know...based on the article, I may lose the first 50% of increase in oil prices, due to that upslope curve on futures. However, if this means that I’m now hedging at $50 per barrel, that’s still ok with me. My real fear is a more like a tenfold increase due to either:
1) Increased world demand, again
2) Supply disruption
3) Dollar crash...or just overall currency inflation
I think #1 is years off, but I’m in for the long term. I consider #2 likely soon, as Obama pushes Israel into taking matters into their own hands. And I consider #3 as a given, once we see how expensive it is to service our national debt...after it doubles due to our “stimulii” and bailouts. We will have to print money and devalue our debt...no other choice.
I think the ETF route is still a good option, overall, even with somewhat of a loss.
“Your vehicle runs on oil? Mine runs on gasoline.”
Naa, but my gasoline needs oil as its source, and oil is still the most expensive component (at least for now).
But you said you bought oil futures. How would being able to take delivery of a few barrels of oil possibly help to run your car?
You haven’t seen my garage.
Seriously, it’s not futures...it’s an index that (more or less) tracks the price of oil...but it trades like a stock. They index managers have to deal with the futures and have to remember to sell them prior to delivery and then buy the next round, or they’ll have a Superfund site at their office.
I am just amazed that you believe 5 companies that control less than 4% of the world’s oil supplies dictate the market.
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