OPEC doesn't want prices too high. They want to keep us hooked on their oil. If we don't need their oil they are irrelevant.
GWB SAID (at Katrina time) he was going to tap into the Strategic reserve. Do we know if he actually did? I haven't seen any follow-up. If he did, the rapid recent price drop will have a bounce to it when he turns off the spigot. Otherwise, traditionally during winter, prices pretty much remain flat. Every time this crap happens, I pay closer attention to the world/US market. Now all I listen to is "unleaded gas futures".
That's true. And that's the tightrope that they have to walk. Sustained high prices will line their pockets in the short term but hurt them down the road. Of course, once we hit peak production, whenever that is, prices will inexorably move higher. I find it interesting that the Kuwaiti Burgan field (the second largest in the world) has appearently peaked 15 years ahead of schedule. There are many who also think that the Saudis are not capable of increasing their production in any meaningful way. It's hard to know since the middle east reserves are a bit of an unknown quantity. It will be interesting to see exactly where oil prices go in the next decade.
