Oil, Gas Economics

1) There is record demand for oil. Developing countries need it and are bidding for it now. Reference the Chinese company that tried to buy Unocal, an American oil company.
2) Production of oil has a hard time keeping ahead of demand. So prices go up.
3) Unfortunately, oil reserves are frequently in countries that are unstable, or downright hostile to us.
4) Alaskan oil production is only a small fraction of our needs. And it is now an old field, not producing what it once did.
5) ANWAR estimates of production is very limited too. At best a couple of percent of our demand. And due to the climate, expensive to get out.
6) Bush does not control the price of oil.
7) Neither does any other one entity.
8) If oil remains this high or goes higher, we will certaintly have some economic adjustment. Recession, Depression, depends on what your personal situation is.
9) We should all be thankful of our problems. At least we aren't in New Orleans. Easy.

And he has no control over prices.

People there and in New Orleans were/are aware of the risks. They cooose/chose to stay for their own reasons.

Our friends, still there and unaccounted for, lived there all their lives and weathered a lot of storms. This was their home and they weren't leaving. The family had been there for generations.

My aunt lived on Elysian Fields Ave in NOLA (a beautiful (was) boulevard with a wide median full of Oleanders and plams, for 20 years knowing full well the city was subject to this kind of holocaust. She had her share of storms and every storm brought at least torrential rains and flooding..... even when the levee's held.

One problem with NOLA and suburbs, is that, due to the petroleum industry in LA, and the gulf, lots of support activities have to be located there and that puts the employees at risk. The pay is super, but so is the risk as we have just seen.

So, there just isn't an easy answer. Hard to think about anything else but there's nothing I can do, at least till they open the place back up. If our friends need some help, money, housing, or whatever, we'll give it to them. But, having not heard from them, nor having been able to contact them, we just sit and wait.

Mark

Mark

Why are your stocks not going up ten fold? The oil co makes 3-5 billion a quarter.

What makes any of you think that having gov't control of fuel prices would make it CHEAPER? I figure it'd be even higher, for our own good of course, no matter who's in office.