Paul Killinger

Oil Prices and the "Bigger Fool" Theory

Yeah, oil prices are "bubbling" alright. And they'll continue to until new SUPPLIES come on stream. (...SUPPLY AND DEMAND, remember?). Right now our best prospects for this occurring are from Canada and Brazil, since we've have a Congressionally imposed regulatory boycott against exploring domestically for our own oil.

As for those of you who believe there's some sort of conspiracy going on in the markets, this bears repeating: It's not speculating when you're betting on a SURE THING!

And, as regards Congressional testimony, you should know that NO ONE testifies before Congress unless they're invited by a committee CHAIRMAN (...who's a Liberal, since they have majorities in both the Senate and House).

Speaking of which, they can castigate "Big" oil all they want to. The majors control less than 15% of the world's oil supply, and their 8% profit is in line with other U.S. manufacturers. (...Indeed, if that's such a good idea, why not subpoena Putin and the Arabs as grill them on TV for awhile?)

I would expect to see "light bulbs" going on here, except I know better. Yes, the Green Menace can repeal the laws of supply and demand, berate our own energy producers, convene one-sided testimony, chase imagined speculators, and sue OPEC. They can even dance in the halls of Congress if they want to.

But they can't control the price of gasoline (...unless they ration the stuff... don't laugh, that's probably next!) no matter what they do. Until significant new supplies or alternative sources come on the market, gas prices are only going to go UP, UP, and UP!