Syzygys
01-16-08, 06:52 PM
When interviewed about how he would ask the Saudi king to pump more oil and to help to lower oilprices:
" Bush then responds with his statement, "If they don't have a lot of additional oil to put on the market, it is hard to ask somebody to do something they may not be able to do."
Actually he was telling the truth. The myth is that SA has at least 3 mbd extra capacity, thus they can act as a safety valve against rising oilprices and flood the market with extra oil.
The truth is that the largest oilfield in the world Ghawar is dying and the smaller oilwells are not much help either. Most likely SA has passed its peak and there is very little extra capacity left. Of course they are not going to acknowledge this openly, but if one is paying attention to details and production numbers, the trend is clear.
SA probably will never pass the 9 mbd limit in the future, although reportedly they should be able to pump as much as 12 mbd...
Furthermore:
"If George Bush were the only one making statements about oil production problems, one might attribute his statement to a misunderstanding, or a slip of the tongue. We find, however, that the Wall Street Journal quoted Alan Greenspan on December 15, 2007, as saying that global oil supply peaked earlier and lower than previously contemplated. Jeff Rubin, chief economist of CIBC World Markets, was quoted by the Toronto Star as saying that he thinks peak oil is here. The Economist, in a recent edition writes that Christophe de Margerie, the boss of Total, thinks that the world's oil production may be nearing its peak."
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3514#more
" Bush then responds with his statement, "If they don't have a lot of additional oil to put on the market, it is hard to ask somebody to do something they may not be able to do."
Actually he was telling the truth. The myth is that SA has at least 3 mbd extra capacity, thus they can act as a safety valve against rising oilprices and flood the market with extra oil.
The truth is that the largest oilfield in the world Ghawar is dying and the smaller oilwells are not much help either. Most likely SA has passed its peak and there is very little extra capacity left. Of course they are not going to acknowledge this openly, but if one is paying attention to details and production numbers, the trend is clear.
SA probably will never pass the 9 mbd limit in the future, although reportedly they should be able to pump as much as 12 mbd...
Furthermore:
"If George Bush were the only one making statements about oil production problems, one might attribute his statement to a misunderstanding, or a slip of the tongue. We find, however, that the Wall Street Journal quoted Alan Greenspan on December 15, 2007, as saying that global oil supply peaked earlier and lower than previously contemplated. Jeff Rubin, chief economist of CIBC World Markets, was quoted by the Toronto Star as saying that he thinks peak oil is here. The Economist, in a recent edition writes that Christophe de Margerie, the boss of Total, thinks that the world's oil production may be nearing its peak."
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3514#more