If the persons you bribed were not 'foreign government officials', then it was not a crime under US law.
If they were, then you committed a felony.
As to "oil going to $50+ a barrel and gas $3+ a gallon", it's well on it's way already.
THE HARD TRUTH ABOUT CRUDE
by John Myers
"The country is facing the most serious energy shortages
since the 1970s. Without a solution, the energy crisis will
threaten prosperity and national security and change the
way Americans live."
- Spencer Abraham,
U.S. Energy Secretary
* The United States, with 5% of the world's population,
consumes more than one-quarter of the world's oil
production.
* The United States is guzzling oil at record rates. In
2004 the United States will consume 7.5 billion barrels of
oil.
* U.S. oil production is at its lowest level since the
early 1950s and is declining by more than 2% per year.
* Since 1970, U.S. oil reserves have fallen from 50 billion
to 20 billion barrels. By the end of this decade, the
United States will have less than 15 billion barrels in oil
reserves.
...In December, OPEC announced that it would not increase its
output quotas despite a wellspring of worries regarding the
region - specifically the situation in Iraq and the
political instability of Saudi Arabia. OPEC's refusal to
open the spigots comes at a time when North Sea and Russian
oil production is in decline. This coming year Canadian and
Chinese oil production will rise, but their output will not
nearly offset the decline in the two previously mentioned
regions.
Decline in oil production flies into the teeth of rising
world oil demand, projected to grow by about 1 million
barrels per day in 2004. Roughly one-third of this increase
will be the result of increased demand in the United States
along with China.
Given these supply and demand numbers, I believe that even
if a political calm settles in the Middle East, oil prices
will move above $30 per barrel by the second quarter 2004.
During the last two weeks of November, commercial crude oil
inventories in the United States fell by nearly 10 million
barrels. On the import front, evidence suggests that Middle
East exports to Asia are increasing, with the United States
importing more oil from Canada and Mexico. America's
neighbors are a stopgap for oil supplies, but neither
country has the wherewithal to keep the United States flush
with oil for any time to come.
Meanwhile, America's rotary rig count, which once totaled
more than 5,000 active in the early 1980s, stands just
above 700 today. Even with crude oil prices above $28 a
barrel, American oil companies have slashed domestic
exploration budgets because they understand one fact -
America is drilled out.
Since 2000, U.S. oil companies have replenished their
reserves by acquiring other oil companies, many of which
are headquartered in Canada. These Canadian companies have
significant reserves and will continue to provide an
expedient solution to America's brewing energy crisis.
In short, I believe U.S. buyouts of Canadian oil and gas
companies will continue....
But Canada is not a panacea that will cure America's oil
crisis. This was supported by some somber predictions at a
November energy symposium in Ottawa, Canada. According to
several of the industry's top experts, Canadian and
worldwide production of oil and natural gas will peak
sometime before 2020.
The only solution, said symposium speakers, will be higher
energy prices from the gas pump right on through to
household electricity.
University of British Columbia professor Bill Rees, a well-
known expert on the world's remaining oil and gas
stockpile, predicts that "social and political shock waves
will be felt worldwide once oil production peaks."
The consensus is that world production in both conventional
oil and natural gas could peak as early as 2017. America's
energy crunch could happen much, much sooner.
Regards,
John Myers,
for The Daily Reckoning
P.S. A December 2003 Energy Information Administration
release states that "without a substantial increase in
crude oil imports... it may be difficult to supply enough
products for current demand."
Translation: Crude oil, already expensive, will become more
costly in 2004 and considerably more expensive during the
second half of this decade as domestic production and oil
reserves decline.
OI Prediction: We look for crude oil to break above $40 in
2004 even without political or military calamity in the
Middle East. In the event of war, social upheaval or armed
revolution in the Persian Gulf, oil could spike to $50 per
barrel... and maybe even more. |
