Oil ownership

Ninety Five percent of the world's oil is nationalized. So, when you are upset over prices, you may want to stop worrying about Exxon-Mobil, the favorite whipping boy. Exxon is the largest private company, sure, with, what, 20 billion barrels (N on the scale at the right). It is a pip-squeak on the world scale, behind Malaysia.

1GOCs— A: Saudi Aramco B: NIOC (Iran) C: Qatar Petroleum D: ADNOC (UAE) E: Iraq NOC F: Gazprom (Russia) G: KPC (Kuwait) H: PDVSA (Venezuela) I: NNPC (Nigeria) J: NOC (Libya) K: Sonatrach (Algeria) L: Rosneft (Russia) M: Petronas (Malaysia) O: Lukoil (Russia) P: Pemex (Mexico) Q: Petrochina (China) T: Petrobras (Brazil) Y: ONGC (India) Z: Sinopec (China). 2IOCs— N: ExxonMobil R: BP S: Chevron U: Royal Dutch Shell V: Total W: ConocoPhillips X: ENI. [Forbes, April 2007]

Exxon is a distant 15th on the list. Number 1 is probably lying about its reserves to keep the prices up. It has stated, I think it is in a recent blog, its reserves at 1 trillion barrels - which is off the page, but a shortage is much more profitable. All of the private companies might approach the reserves of Venezuela. (Of note, thanks to our scientists we have doubled the refinement rate per barrel since the 1990s, so 330 billion is like 600 billion in the 1990s)

The high prices can be traced to our actual or cultural enemies who are delighted we don't permit drilling and refining. To whine about Exxon is nothing more than repeating the line of those who want to nationalize oil. (Yes, they exist and are waiting the results of the election.) Then, there will be no competition. This is so obvious, that further discussion of facts is pointless.

Nothing like socialism to extort money and drive up prices. By having you subsidize their inefficient governments, their people can go happily about the day, like well-fed cows mooing about American abuse of oil. Of course, no one complains that Beijing's pollution is 5 times the stated UN standard.

We have the suppliers creating the illusion of scarcity and we worry about the users being hogs. The world is upside down. Our reduction in use is a joke to the actual owners. Oil contract traders may take notice of this and prices will go down, but we are dealing with the proverbial drop in the bucket of oil.

When it looks like we are going to be free of foreign oil in time, the prices will suddenly come down, lest we stop supporting the producer companies. They did not understand that immediately in the 1970s, but they have long memories. In the meantime, there will continue a chorus of how we should hobble ourselves and create no new energy, which we could do easily.

Me, I am preparing for the newbie arguments against four wind generators like a turbine wind will catch bats (though not hit them) and wind mills are like strobes and will cause fits. The old dead KGB must be howling. The argument against 10 mega watts of electricity is some 20 bats "may" be killed. No proof mind you, just dead bats in the area.

Eventually, I pray, we will catch on to the game and be really pissed. Then, we will get back to business and compete instead of trying to be liked.

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Sidebar: Iberdola is thinking of withdrawing its bid to buy NYSE&G for $4.6 billion. This Spanish company builds power - hydro and wind. If I recall, it has 20,000 wind generators which it built with its equipment. All the neighboring states have approved the sale but:

Iberdrola SA said Tuesday it will rethink its proposed $4.5 billion acquisition of the parent company of New York State Electric & Gas Corp. after a state administrative law judge recommended that the deal be rejected. The administrative law judge, reviewing the case for the state Public Service Commission, recommended that Iberdrola's deal to acquire Energy East Corp. be rejected because it would not be in the public...

- an administrative law judge! There must be a balance between 1890's mindless building and mindless socialism. Some admin judge didn't like the deal!!