Japan Warns On Oil Prices After Pirates Attack Tanker

[Purveyor]

Source: Telegraph UK

Oil reached a record $117.40 a barrel at one stage yesterday, dragging up the price of gas to a new peak, amid concerns about crude supplies after a Japanese tanker was attacked in the Middle East and militants blew up a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline in Nigeria.

The head of Opec dashed hopes that members of the oil producers' cartel might help ease prices by opening the taps, telling a conference in Rome that there is no shortage of crude on world markets.

--
Yesterday, off the coast of Yemen, a Japanese tanker was hit by a rocket. Meanwhile, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta warned that it would intensify attacks on Shell pipelines.

Abdalla Salem el-Badri, secretary-general of Opec, said on Sunday that oil prices would likely go higher, but that he doubted there was a need to raise output.

"Oil prices - there is a common understanding that has nothing to do with supply and demand," Mr el-Badri said.



Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/money/2008/04/22/cnoil122.xml

[amandabeech]

1. Anchors Away!

Which navy do you suppose will be patroling the Horn of Africa looking for whichever group did this?

I don't think that it will be the Saudis or the Japanese.

Look for the navy to ask for more $$ in the next budget for new ships for this new mission.

Really, we should get reimbursed for a large part of any oil patrol.

[bushmeister0]

2. "off the coast of Yemen, a Japanese tanker was hit by a rocket"

Maybe if Cheney didn't have the entire US Fifth Fleet geared up for a war with Iran, we might be able to spare some ships for protecting the shipping lanes. I mean, that IS what the US Navy's job in that area is, right?

[Sam Ervin jret]

3. If the supply of oil has nothing to do with the price why have an OPEC to control oil production

at all?

Can anyone involved in the production or sale of fossil fuels tell the truth?

[SpiralHawk]

4. "Avast, Mateys. Flying the family colors, I hope." - Commander AWOL

"you, scurvey dogs, you." - Commander AWOL

[tomtomtom]

5. make em walk the plank

can we waterplank these pirates?
I'm tired of fucking $$4/gal gas!

[MadMaddie]

6. I have a sinking feeling that this is being orchastrated......

pushing the entire world into a major oil crises.

[Canuckistanian]

7. I don't think they CAN "open the taps"

I think "the taps" have been on full for some time now.

They just won't admit that there's NO excess production any more.

And el-Badri is absolutly correct - there's no "supply-and-demand" in the oil world.

It's all "we-have-the-oil-and-we-control-the-price--suckers"

[bemildred]

8. How much is an oil tanker worth at $117 a barrel?

This may not be the last time we see this sort of thing.

http://www.prisonflicks.com.nyud.net:8090/images/rwmax1.jpg

[nwliberalkiwi]

9. Crooked As A Dogs Hind Leg

So a tanker gets attacked and the price of crude goes up---ya right. What a bunch of crap!!! That's just like a gas truck blowing a tire and they oil companies justify raising the price of gas. NATIONALIZE NATIONALIZE

[Divine Discontent]

10. we need a 10% release of the millions of barrels of oil we have, immediately

and we need the oil companies fined 10-20 billion each for collusion, that's just a start....