Big U.S. oil supply to offset Mideast Gulf disruption

[Jcrowley]

Source: Reuters

Big U.S. oil supply to offset Mideast Gulf disruption
Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:53am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States could use its large Strategic Petroleum Reserve to counter a short-term disruption in Middle East Gulf oil shipments caused by tensions with Iran, the head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

"We have substantial emergency supplies" of oil to offset problems in Gulf shipping," EIA's Guy Caruso told reporters.

Oil prices shot up this week as traders worried that a dispute the West has with Iran's nuclear program and Iran's continued holding of U.K. Royal Navy personnel could escalate and result in disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about a third of the world's seaborne oil shipments. "There is no need to panic" among oil traders over possible Gulf oil shipping disruptions, Caruso said.

The U.S. emergency oil stockpile, which was created by Congress in 1975 in response to the Arab oil embargo, holds about 689 million barrels of crude at four storage sites in Texas and Louisiana.

Read more: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2007-03-28T155312Z_01_N28302785_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-OIL-SUPPLIES.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

[magellan]

1. Considering the US uses 20,030,000 barrels of gas per day

...our emergency stockpile will last just over a month.

[Jcrowley]

3. Yep

Well we get from other places but the message is that we're tough and they can't get to us. Don't panic.

In the 48 the oil is done by 2015. The Brits are already cooked for all practical purposes.

[magellan]

4. Yeah, we're tough all right

And that and all the prayer in the world won't stop what's coming. But I'm sure the Repugs will try both.

As so many times in recent years, there'll be no satisfaction in this particular "Told you so" either.

[DCKit]

2. A la Enron, these traders need no panic to drive the price of oil up

It's all about greed and opportunity. We need to wise up.

[Strelnikov_]

5. So the 1 Mbbl/dy we can pull out of the SPR is supposed to make up

for the 18 Mbbl/dy+ that would be lost to the world market with blockage of the Strait of Hormuz?

(Note: 1 Mbbl/dy is the figure I saw on the Oil Drum a while back. Problem is pipeline and heavy/sour refining capacity. I am sure over time this 4 Mbbl/dy figure could be realized, but not in the short term as the article alludes to)

Sure, we only import, what, 2 Mbbl/dy from the gulf. Thats not the issue. Maybe someone should explain to him the concept of a fungible commodity, and how a debtor nation will be outbid on what remains of the world export market.

I expected better out of Guy. Guess he is a loyal 'Bushie' now.