OPEC States are too cocky to admit that they don't control the prices anymore; the organisation has barely any control on its member states production shares AND with large producers like Russia and Norway pursuing different policies, OPEC is barely 40% of the market supply.
They're just easier to pressure than other producers.
Which was the purpose of last week's meeting in Jeddah, KSA, which joined the main consumers and the OPEC states for the former to convince the latter to increase production to bring down prices. OPEC states (except for Saudi) held their ground, and said that there wasn't a supply inadequacy; there is an increasing demand and the market is stabilising at a higher (more expensive) equilibrium point.
Everyone also omitted the embarrassing truth that most of the price at the pump that consumers pay goes to their government in taxes.
Britain's gas tax is of 60%. France's is of nearly 70% -- its revenue from the gas tax in 2007 was 17 billion Euros. If they were truly keen on reducing prices, they'd just alleviate the taxes they impose.
The Times' Carl Mortished poke fun at the Conference and particularly at Gordon Brown who went there to tell oil producing countries to invest their surplus in nuclear and renewable energy production in Britain -- saying that it is "tantamount to asking British American Tobacco to invest in nicotine patches."
I can't stop laughing at the metaphor. In the same time -- Brown is anything but stupid and wouldn't make such an outlandish suggestion if he couldn't back it up with some conviction / coercion..
I remembered a scene in Syriana, where the Prince (Alexander Siddig) brags about his education in Oxford and Georgetown (G-town? oh peu-lease... :-P) and tells his smarty-pants consultant, Bryan (Matt Damon) about his grandiose plans for democracy, development, energy efficiency, etc etc etc.
""Bryan: That's great. That's exactly what you should do.
Prince Nasir: Exactly, except your president calls my father and says, "I've got unemployment in Texas, Kansas, Washington State". One phone call later we're stealing out of our social programmes to buy overprices airplanes. We owed the Americans - but we've repaid that debt. I accepted a Chinese bid - the highest bid. And suddenly I'm a terrorist.""
They're just easier to pressure than other producers.
Which was the purpose of last week's meeting in Jeddah, KSA, which joined the main consumers and the OPEC states for the former to convince the latter to increase production to bring down prices. OPEC states (except for Saudi) held their ground, and said that there wasn't a supply inadequacy; there is an increasing demand and the market is stabilising at a higher (more expensive) equilibrium point.
Everyone also omitted the embarrassing truth that most of the price at the pump that consumers pay goes to their government in taxes.
Britain's gas tax is of 60%. France's is of nearly 70% -- its revenue from the gas tax in 2007 was 17 billion Euros. If they were truly keen on reducing prices, they'd just alleviate the taxes they impose.
The Times' Carl Mortished poke fun at the Conference and particularly at Gordon Brown who went there to tell oil producing countries to invest their surplus in nuclear and renewable energy production in Britain -- saying that it is "tantamount to asking British American Tobacco to invest in nicotine patches."
I can't stop laughing at the metaphor. In the same time -- Brown is anything but stupid and wouldn't make such an outlandish suggestion if he couldn't back it up with some conviction / coercion..
I remembered a scene in Syriana, where the Prince (Alexander Siddig) brags about his education in Oxford and Georgetown (G-town? oh peu-lease... :-P) and tells his smarty-pants consultant, Bryan (Matt Damon) about his grandiose plans for democracy, development, energy efficiency, etc etc etc.""Bryan: That's great. That's exactly what you should do.
Prince Nasir: Exactly, except your president calls my father and says, "I've got unemployment in Texas, Kansas, Washington State". One phone call later we're stealing out of our social programmes to buy overprices airplanes. We owed the Americans - but we've repaid that debt. I accepted a Chinese bid - the highest bid. And suddenly I'm a terrorist.""
(photos Agence France Presse / screenshot from Syriana from IMDB)
2 comments:
Very good post and I liked the Syriana quote. I remember when I heard that quote in the movie.
I am sure not many people are awere of the high taxes imposed by the government ... otherwise they would be crying foul.
They should be.
but then again, it's always easier to blame a distant, shapeless enemy who looks like Bin Laden.
Even if he doesn't.
Post a Comment