Most drivers probably breathed a sigh of relief when oil prices finally came down from the astronomical levels they reached during the summer of 2008, but analysts are starting to issue predictions that we could be seeing sky-high oil prices again. Oil prices are up to around $70 a barrel, signaling the potential for a situation very similar to 2008’s oil price rise.
If oil prices are going to reach the levels they reached last year, they still have a ways to go. Oil grew to $125 a barrel last summer, forcing consumers to try and save gasoline. This time, the rise …read more

Despite the economy slowly and tenuously attempting to rebound from the depths it has reached, OPEC seems to be intent on driving oil prices higher and higher. At $63.45 a barrel, prices are already the highest they have been all year, but OPEC has said that it is considering a price somewhere between $75 and $80 a barrel.
A sharp spike in oil prices has been supported by OPEC but strongly condemned by many economic analysts. OPEC contends that it needs to drive oil prices higher in order to spur energy investments, but analysts tend to agree that a skyward oil …read more

According to the Group of Eight industrialized nations at the close of a meeting Rome, the world needs to invest in energy now in order to avoid the possibility of a surge in energy prices. Not investing in energy could slow down the recovery of the economy and damage our chances of prosperity in the future.
In their statements, ministers from the G8 and fifteen other countries concluded that the current financial crisis should not stand in the way of energy investment. Instead, countries that are able should make investment in energy one of their top priorities.
A handful of energy ministers …read more

Democratic (and Independent) Senators have sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to convince OPEC members to increase oil production and that they will block arms deals with the area if no change is made.
Their position is that while the US continues to supply the militaries of oil producing countries, the same countries have reduced their oil production, thus reducing the world oil supply.
For example, currently, Saudi Arabia is producing an average of 8,722,000 barrels of crude oil a day – in 2005 the average was 9,550,000.
 
Saudi Arabia’s current “spare crude capacity” (that is, the amount that …read more