Oil

An oil shock potentially endangering U.S. national security and economic interests is the last thing a debt-saturated America, embarking on expensive overseas ventures, needs right now. Yet that appears to be where we are headed today.

A sharp increase in oil prices should encourage oil producing countries, but in Georgia production has noticeably decreased.

“Oil production is now in decline in eighteen countries around the world”, said Chris Skrebowski, Editor of Petroleum Review, at yesterday’s Energy Institute oil depletion debate.

Homeowners who heat their houses with heating oil will see their bills jump more than 37% this winter from a year ago, the government said Tuesday in a report that also projected increased costs for all other heating sources.

The $7 trillion national debt, unparalleled domestic consumer debt, the fall of the dollar and rise of the Euro, peak oil, the rise of the biggest markets by far in Europe and China – all adumbrations of a collapsing U.S. economy. [Warning: political rant]

Oil exports from Russia – the world’s second-largest oil producer – may decrease within two years, a top Russian oil industry expert warned Tuesday.

Crude oil prices declined to below the $47 per barrel mark today on expectations of continued rise in the US oil and natural gas inventories.

The UK’s oil trade balance swung into the red for the first time in 13 years in September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

California Institute of Technology professor and vice provost David Goodstein said the world is headed toward a global oil shortage that could cause warfare, economic depression and the crumbling of institutions.