Low oil prices are dangerous!

[Dave A]

It wasn't that long ago that when oil breached the $30 a barrel mark, OPEC was lamenting the high price was bad for business and the world. Now, about 3 years later, more than double that "ridiculously high" level is not enough.

Opec oil producers warned on Tuesday that low oil prices have created a crisis situation that threatens key investment in production, pushing them to seek moderate price increases by cutting output.

Qatar's energy minister, Abdulla bin Hamad Al Attiyah, defended Opec's decision last week to cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day, saying it was necessary amid falling demand due to the global economic turmoil.

United Arab Emirates energy minister Mohammed Bin Dhaen al-Hamli said the current low prices were "very dangerous for the world's economy."

"We need an adequate, reasonable oil price that will continue to stimulate investment," he said. "I think this is really a crisis situation and I think it is very difficult to predict what's going to happen."

Opec secretary-general Abdullah El-Badri said the organisation was not seeking a high oil price, but a moderate rise. Al Attiyah said a price of between $70 and $80 a barrel was reasonable.
full story from Business Report here

I guess once you've got used to the extra income, it's hard to go back!

[Chrisjan B]

It wasn't that long ago that when oil breached the $30 a barrel mark, OPEC was lamenting the high price was bad for business and the world. Now, about 3 years later, more than double that "ridiculously high" level is not enough.

I guess once you've got used to the extra income, it's hard to go back!

The should not try to blackmail the world - what will happen when their oil runs out and they need to survive on the tourism attractions they are currently building - will the world still support them or will they remember the oil debacle?

Also everybody is looking for alternative sources - for instance our own electric car the Joule. If it is accepted widely enough by the public there will be less demand for oil - what happens then?