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To: quehubo who wrote (40130)	3/12/2005 6:54:58 PM
From: big guy	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 206330

"Official: OPEC Has Reached Output Limit" May I be the first on this board to say it Holy F*ck!!!! I guess it doesn't surprise me all that much that there at there limit what does surprise me is they are coming out of the closet with the news.

To: quehubo who wrote (40130)	3/12/2005 7:15:25 PM
From: Larry S.	Respond to of 206330

Renewable Energy Far from Mainstream Use Bear, Stearns & Co. 383 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10179 (Tel) (212) 272-2000 March 9 – We recently attended two conferences that focused on renewable energy. Most recently, we attended the second annual Renewable Energy Conference where the focus was on the outlook for the various stakeholders and the obstacles still facing the industry that prevent it from becoming part of the mainstream. This conference focused significant attention on wind power as the most viable source of alternative energy. Utility companies spoke about the need for better transmission and the reliability of supply required before they can significantly increase their dependence on renewable energy. Developers addressed the need for consistent regulations and the need for national standards to define renewable energy. Industry suppliers, such as General Electric, spoke about the two major issues facing them. The first issue is the lack of consistent government support for wind. The expiration of the Production Tax Credit at the end of the year is driving significant volatility in demand. The second issue is that raw material costs are having a significant impact on the industry. The second conference we attended that addressed renewable energy was the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum. This conference addressed ethanol and biodiesel as new uses for US agricultural products. Ethanol now consumes 12% of US corn production and biodiesel could consume significant amounts of soybeans in the future. However, both generate co-products that compete with corn and soybean feed. As a result of what we learned at both conferences, we believe that renewable energy still has a way to go before becoming part of the mainstream. All forms of renewable energy need government support and regulatory certainty to be successful. We would not be surprised to see a wind bubble occur in 2005/2006 and we expect greater focus to be placed on ethanol's co-products as production increases.

To: quehubo who wrote (40130)	3/12/2005 9:58:50 PM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Respond to of 206330

Message 21129170 To: Spotted.Cat who wrote (23565) 3/12/2005 9:04:07 PM From: Ron Dior Read Replies (1) of 23570 OPEC May Allow Pumping Above Limits KUWAIT (Reuters) - OPEC (news - web sites) may agree at its meeting next week to allow members informally to pump above official oil output limits to cool scorching prices, the cartel's president said on Saturday. With oil prices again within sight of $55 a barrel, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is widely expected to maintain its formal production ceiling of 27 million barrels per day (bpd) at its March 16 meeting in Isfahan, Iran (news - web sites). "OPEC will work for stabilizing prices either by maintaining the ceiling as it is now or allowing overproduction to continue like it did in 2004," Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah, also Kuwait's oil minister, told reporters at parliament. Sheikh Ahmad acknowledged that sky-high oil prices had already tempted some members to pump above quotas. A Reuters survey showed the 10 producers excluding Iraq (news - web sites) together pumping 600,000 bpd above the official ceiling in February. "I think that now everybody is overproducing," Sheikh Ahmad said. "Current prices make it lucrative for everybody to hike production without the need for an (official) decision." On Friday, the International Energy Agency said OPEC production rose in February 390,000 bpd on the month to 29 million bpd due to increases in output from Kuwait, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. "Until now I don't think there is a shortage in the market, and I think OPEC, due to current prices, will continue with the same ceiling (at Isfahan)," Sheikh Ahmad said. OPEC members Iran, Qatar, Venezuela and Algeria have come out in favor of keeping output steady, with Algeria's minister saying on Thursday OPEC had no spare capacity to lift quotas. TWO MILLION BPD TO SPARE But the cartel's president said the producers' group had some 2 million bpd to spare. Most OPEC members are pumping at full tilt. As was the case last year, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are the only cartel producers with significant spare capacity and will have to take responsibility for any further supply increase. "I think if the prices will continue like this, OPEC's ... behavior will be like 2004 and we will make sure we will do something to stabilize the prices," said the Kuwaiti oil minister. During the second half of last year, OPEC raised its official output ceiling by 3.5 million bpd to help tame runaway oil prices. "We are now near springtime when prices traditionally don't rise since demand is usually lower than in the remaining seasons," Sheikh Ahmad said. "However, until now, prices are still high; and there are some indications that confirm there will be a small rise in demand, especially from China, in addition to the late cold snap in the northern hemisphere. "These two essential factors will work to keep prices (high) in the coming period." Sheikh Ahmad also called on independent oil producers to ramp up output. But non-OPEC producers are unlikely to heed such a call. The three biggest -- Russia, Mexico and Norway -- are virtually pumping flat out. "It should be a joint responsibility," Sheikh Ahmad said, adding he hoped all independent producers would come to Isfahan. "We have already received commitments from three (non-OPEC states) to attend but we think there will be more," he added. Asked if OPEC will ask them to ramp up output, he said: "If they have the capacity. With those prices and if the market will need more production, I think we will discuss with them increasing their production." Ron Dior