[Codiac]

Originally Posted by Toxarch

Congress had a study done to determine what gasoline prices SHOULD be. They determined it should be just over $2 right now. Speculation pricing and commodities trading by people outside the industry are the ones driving up the price. They are talking about ending speculation pricing and requiring people who trade in oil to have a place to put the oil if they buy it. That will lower the price of oil back down to what it should be.

There is no shortage of oil being shipped out of the middle-east. Iran had so much oil stored up waiting for buyers, they ran out of room on land storage tanks and had to store it on tankers in the gulf. Saudi Arabia was doing the same thing. They have the oil available, they are just waiting for buyers. Oil should not be as high as it is.

You hit the nail on the head!! I still think the US should be looking into this Oil Shale. We need a backup plan and we obviously have a HUGE amount of oil to tap into if needed. If we quietly start building the infrastructure now we will be prepared and producing when oil from the GULF does start to slow down. I also think that finding other energy sources and producing more efficient modes of transport are part of the equation BUT oil is here to stay for some time and we need to have a more reliable source.

I think the oil bubble is going to burst pretty soon though!