"You know what the news is-- in a minute, you're going to hear the rest of the story"- Paul Harvey

Most people have good memories, but those memories are often short.

With oil prices hovering around $50/bbl, and a gallon of regular around $2.00, many investors have tossed oil investments into the trash as prices have declined. The next oil crisis is right around the corner, and it will be a nasty one.

Here's why;

1) Oil prices declined because of the economic crisis, and worldwide recession.
2) Demand for oil and natural gas continues to grow much faster than supplies.
3) Oil company reserves are drying up, but lower prices are bringing in less profits. Less profits leads to less exploration.
4) New oil supplies are in countries that have been labeled "terrorist" countries, so this may explain why our government is so attuned to attacking them and take their oil (Iraq?).
5) People in India and China want a lifestyle similar to citizens in the U.S.
6) In 2005, the average Chinese consumed 1.3 barrels of oil a year while those in the U.S. consumed 25 barrels per year.

Who Has the Oil?

Percentage of World Oil Reserves:

22.3%- Saudi Arabia
11.2%- Iran
9.7%- Iraq
8.4%- Kuwait
8.3%- UAE
6.5%- Venezuela
6.1%- Russia
3.4%- Kazakhstan
3.3%- Libya
3.0%- Nigeria
1.8%- United States
1.4%- China
1.4%- Canada
1.3%- Qatar

Countries where the U.S. has heavy influence, and equals 39% of the worlds oil supply:

22.3%- Saudi Arabia
8.4%- Kuwait
8.3%- UAE

Countries the U.S. has labeled as terrorists, and have attacked or threatened to attack (30.7% of worlds oil supply):

11.2%- Iran
9.7%- Iraq
6.5%- Venezuela
3.3%- Libya

Countries mad at U.S. for foreign policy decisions in the Middle East (7.5% of worlds oil supply):

6.1%- Russia
1.4%- China

Countries with pipelines important to for transporting oil to a port:

Afghanistan

The War on Terror has the U.S. is involved in military operations in Afghanistan. In addition to the terrorist operations against the Taliban, interim Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai (a former top adviser to Unocal), helped Unocal negotiate with the Taliban to construct the Central Asia Gas pipeline.

Russia

The Druzhba “friendship” pipeline system runs from Russia, and branches into two systems that carries oil through Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine to ports in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, and the Adriatic Sea.

On July 14, 2008, the Bush administration signed an agreement with the Czech Republic on the deployment of a European ballistic missile defense system which infuriated Russia. In turn, the Russian began cutting oil shipments to the pipelines.

Phony Terrorism, or the Real Thing?

Have you noticed that most, if not all, terrorist threats we are constantly reminded about come from countries that have the largest abundance of the worlds oil, or is a country by where pipelines were built to transport the oil?

Coincidence?

I'm not suggesting there is no terrorists or terrorism threats. What I am suggesting is all of this is very strange, and there is no way (IMO) that oil prices will be as low as they are now in the years ahead.

In addition;

1) The so called "Green Movement" cannot not gain any traction without higher oil prices.
2) Hybrid cars, and more energy efficient vehicles will not sell without higher oil prices.
3) Wind, Solar, and Natural Gas alternatives will not be in demand without higher oil prices.