Oil turns out to be too expensive for the USA. World=92s only superpower
now has to beg oil-mining countries to do something to stop oil prices
from growing. U.S. President Bush set out a hope during his meeting
with Saudi King in Riyadh that OPEC would take into consideration the
negative influence which high oil prices exert on the U.S. economy.
Like the January 8th visit, its' expected that President Bush will
come bearing gifts for the Saudi King and will once again perform his
sword dance and begging routine in front of the royal family.
Bush=92s statement in Saudi Arabia, which is one of the most influential
members of OPEC, means that the critical economy of the United States
will not be able to purchase expensive oil at current volumes. A
barrel of fine oil is already traded on the level of $123 a barrel.
=93The USA is the largest oil consumer on the world market. If the
nation imposes restrictions on its own oil consumption it will lead to
negative consequences for major oil suppliers,=94 Mikhail Zak, a
spokesman for Veles Capital Investment Corporation told Pravda.ru.
=93However, the U.S. economy greatly depends on energy carriers. The
technologies that are widely used in the U.S. economy at the moment
are all based on good old oil and gas,=94 the specialist added.
Oil-mining countries can only careless about Bush=92s requests or
threats against such a background. There is no chance for the USA to
cut its oil consumption without causing a serious damage to its own
economy. =93Any of such restrictions will make the U.S. economy decline,
which is the last thing the U.S. administration wants at the moment.
If purchasing current amounts of oil becomes unprofitable for the USA,
it will start to use its own oil reserves more actively,=94 Mikhail Zak
said.
Bush=92s statement in Riyadh is more significant from the political
point of view. The Republicans will soon have to bid farewell to their
reign in the USA. Practically all presidential candidates stand
strongly against the war in Iraq. It brings up the idea that the next
president will take maximum effort to withdraw troops from the war-
torn country.
On the other hand, the puppet theater of the new Iraqi regime will not
last long without American soldiers. The ambition of U.S. oil
corporations that import Iraqi oil in huge quantities may decline as
well. The activities of oil companies in Iraq are based on the
production sharing agreement =96 their work is not transparent to say
the least.
It may also happen that the USA will indeed suffer from the lack of
the Iraqi oil when it ends the military presence there, possibly
bringing prices to $10 or $12 a gallon at the pump. =93This is pure
politics. It is clear that oil companies will lose a certain amount of
support when Democrats come to power in the USA,=94 Mikhail Zak said.
One shall assume that George Bush=92s pathetic speech in Saudi Arabia,
followed by his dancing performance in front of the king demonstrated
the desperate attempts of American oil companies to strengthen their
positions.
Sergei Malinin
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