by Pops » Tue 21 Dec 2010, 18:58:18
Thought I'd better give it a go...
Yea, the new normal ain't what it used to be...
China is liking oil (+13% YoY in Nov)
Russia is the worlds largest exporter (not peaked yet!?) and is making nice sweetheart deals with China and India (china pipeline started flowing on Monday)
Depleting Mexico is no longer the number two source for US oil (they are still good for dope tho)
Venezuela (the new No. 2) capacity is deteriorating (-200k b/day from '08) and sales to China increasing too: +500kb/d - big dot...
KSA is in it's comfort zone and can't sustain more than it's doing now for more than a few months and I don't think it really wants to either.
Iraq is a flat line... Big Dot
Oh yea, the IEA admitted Conventional oil peaked a few years back and they missed it.
Kinda on the plus side is US reserves are up for the first time in years because higher prices make crappy oil (and "almost oil") fields profitable so they can move them to the positive side of the page - the down side of course is that sorta-oil is only viable at the higher price.
The record amount of oil in storage this summer (26 days) is being drawn down in record fashion (though still in contango) as people tired of the recession get into the holiday spirit of borrowing money - at $90 this is also a big dot.
So I'm not sure there is a whole lot of spare capacity available on short notice, after all, we are at the all time high production of liquids right now even with the crude price at $90 and China says it's going to keep gdp growth to ONLY 9% in 2011...
Speaking of the recession, layoffs have pruned some deadwood from the expense side of the corporations' ledgers making them look profitable again (not to mention the number of deadwood companies no longer around) and the last run-up in energy prices likewise helped shake out vulnerable homeowners/cardholders, so as far as demand in the US goes (and other Formerly Rich Worders), the 99ers will go out with a whimper as their UI checks run out.
On the flip side of positive demand might be muni defaults and layoffs, increasing "Starve the Beast" sentiment in US politics, perhaps Moodys downgrading US debt(!?), on top of the woes of the EU and elsewhere and of course there could be a Chinese RE bubble implosion or the Euro might collapse killing demand And driving up the value of the US$...
On balance I'm thinking there is room for the price to move up considerably and stay there for some time simply because of economic Darwinism - basically the people left in the economy right now are in relatively better shape compared to the population in '07 so they can stand a higher energy price. Oh yea and The Bernack is pumping out US$ as fast as he can...
Low $89.99 - January 3, 2011
High - $138.99 - July 25, 2011
Close $109.99
(+/- $50)
The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities.
-- Abraham Lincoln, Fragment on Government (July 1, 1854)