[Oilguy]

According to a loosely-organized apocalyptic Christian movement, May 21, 2011 will be the "end of days." On or about that same date, the price of oil in the United States will begin to climb to $4 a gallon, according to two savants of the oil industry.

The former is highly unlikely but the latter is very probable.

The escalation in the price of oil is predicted by the legendary oil man T. Boone Pickens, known for his financial acuity as well as his oil expertise, and John Hofmeister, who retired as president of Shell Oil Company, to sound the alarm about the rate of U.S. consumption of oil.

In an interview with a trade publication, Hofmeister predicted that oil would rise to $4 a gallon this year and to $5 a gallon in the election year 2012. Separately, Pickens—who has been leaning on Congress to enact an energy policy that would switch large trucks and other commercial vehicles from imported oil to domestic natural gas—predicts that oil currently selling for just over $90 a barrel will go to $120 a barrel, with a concomitant price per gallon of $4 or more.

The Obama administration appears to have been slow to grasp the political implications of an escalation in the price of oil. When asked about it, outgoing White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs referred the questioner to the Department of Energy.

Not everyone is alarmed by the incipient rise in the oil price. Republicans, who are especially close to the oil industry and its Washington lobby, orchestrated by the American Petroleum Institute, think that a great deal of hay can be made while this particular sun shines. They plan to attack the administration for spending too many resources on alternative fuels, over-regulating the industry, and keeping too many federal lands away from oil prospecting. They also accuse the administration of being too frugal with its release of drilling areas in the Gulf of Mexico and on the two coasts, as well as Alaska.

The Republicans have unlikely bedfellows in their quest to politicize the price of oil. They are joined by environmentalists who have long believed that only high prices will break America's passion for the automobile.

Environmentalists have long advocated European-style taxation to drive motorists out of their cars and onto buses and trains.

A third interest group that will take some pleasure in rising oil prices are those who are invested in alternatives such as ethanol, oil from algae and electric vehicles.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund is keeping an eye on the price of oil, according to Caroline Atkinson, director of external relations at the IMF. She told a Washington press briefing that the IMF is particularly concerned with food and other commodities that are directly affected by the price of oil.
Full article at: http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-Gener ... 5-Gas.html

[Sixstrings]

It's getting interesting. Oil will have to go over $100 now, all the talk about it will fuel more speculation.

It's assumed OPEC can just increase production but I seem to remember Bush begging the Saudis at one point and didn't they say no? Prices never came down until the economy broke under the weight of expensive oil.

So which is it.. "it's all under control, OPEC can raise production" or "here we go, more economic destruction."

[SeaGypsy]

I agree with T Bone.
The recent all out attempt to lock in supply at under $80 BB has already proven futile.
The next attempted 'new normal' platform will have to be over $100.
It may be better in the long run to take more pain sooner, allow or even encourage $140 BB?
Americans should remember most of the world is already paying $5 a gallon equivalent or close to it.
Your idiot goveernments of both persuations have failed to anticipate this stage in oil pricing and by refusal to instigate a sensible fuels tax regime have niether a cushion to let some air out of when the core price rises or a reasonable kitty of money to assist mitigation/ transition fuels/ mass transit.

[vision-master]

According to a loosely-organized apocalyptic Christian movement, May 21, 2011 will be the "end of days." On or about that same date, the price of oil in the United States will begin to climb to $4 a gallon, according to two savants of the oil industry.

Lindsey Williams...