Forked tongue?

peaky2 · Post by **peaky2** » 15 Jun 2008, 18:05

22nd May 2008 on BBC web site wrote:OPEC has so far blamed price rises on speculators and says there is no shortage of oil.

I assume from this that the Saudis have no influence on oil prices. Non?

Yet ...

15th June 2008 on BBC web site wrote:UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says major oil producer Saudi Arabia views current prices as "abnormally high". He also said that the country, the leading producer in the Opec cartel of oil output nations, is willing to take action to bring prices down.

and

15th June 2008 on BBC web site wrote:... And he added that the Saudis, who appear poised to take "concrete measures", also seemed "to be considering very seriously how they can address this issue by increasing production".

So have SA changed their minds or are they just doing saying something they don't believe to get the rest of the world to stop bothering them for a month or so?

PS_RalphW · Post by **PS_RalphW** » 15 Jun 2008, 18:16

Or maybe they just happen to a have a reworked oil field finally coming on line after delays, so now they have some capacity to increase output again, better declare it as a voluntary increase whilst they still can, before depletion in other fields erodes it in a few months time...

danza · Post by **danza** » 15 Jun 2008, 19:11

RalphW wrote:

Or maybe they just happen to a have a reworked oil field finally coming on line after delays, so now they have some capacity to increase output again, better declare it as a voluntary increase whilst they still can, before depletion in other fields erodes it in a few months time...

This is quite likely the scenario at present IMO. However no-one really knows. I would say however that Saudi Arabia may be within one year of peaking in production.

Vortex · Post by **Vortex** » 15 Jun 2008, 19:17

I keep wondering why Saudi is so important?

A few percent decline/increase in their output is globally irrelevant.

It's astonishing how many techies on TOD and peakoil.com are fixated on Saudi.

It's the global picture which counts - not just one supplier.

Totally_Baffled · Post by **Totally_Baffled** » 15 Jun 2008, 20:47

Vortex wrote:I keep wondering why Saudi is so important?

A few percent decline/increase in their output is globally irrelevant.

It's astonishing how many techies on TOD and peakoil.com are fixated on Saudi.

It's the global picture which counts - not just one supplier.

Agreed.

I think such claims about SA are premature. I think they will continue to defy the SA early peakers for another 10 years or so.

But like you say , it doesnt matter - they cannot offset the declines from the NS, let alone the rest of the world!