Que, when I see the "going forward" cliche, and accusations of my being ignorant, my eyes glaze over. "Policy agenda going forward" - huh?
Iraqi oil essential today for a stable oil price? Of course. The question is, how high would the price at the pump or well-head go if Iraq's oil was shut down tomorrow?
I don't think we'd see $100 a barrel.
Of the world's energy consumption, including all forms, what proportion is Iraq's supply? Not much. I suppose I should get BP's energy statistics out, but I know it's not much. I guess about 2%. I can cut my energy consumption by half without breaking into a sweat.
Personally, I think it served a lot of interests, such as BP's, Shell's and Exxon's among others, to have Iraq's oil off the market, or severely limited, for most of a decade. That made BP's reserves worth a lot more. BP's profits have been great for a decade. A pumpathon would have been very bad for BP's profits.
Mqurice |
