. ..or not.
Bruce
<http://www.andnetwork.com/index;jsessionid=0BC4316C07B274274CC80C8D8A258553
?service=direct/1/FullStory/printableLink&sp=l40537>
http://www.andnetwork.com/index;jsessionid=0BC4316C07B274274CC80C8D8A258553?
service=direct/1/FullStory/printableLink&sp=l40537
Iran war could triple oil prices
June 22, 2006
By ANDnetwork .com
World oil prices could triple if the West's stand-off over Iran's nuclear
programme escalates into conflict, the Saudi Arabian government has warned.
The Saudi ambassador to the US, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, said such an event
could send prices spiralling from their current level of about $70 per
barrel, the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) has reported.
Iran is the Opec cartel's number two oil producer and analysts fear it could
halt exports if the dispute worsened.
Tehran is currently examining proposals aimed at ending the diplomatic
impasse.
"The idea of somebody firing a missile at an installation somewhere will
shoot up the price of oil astronomically," Prince Turki told a conference
hosted by the United States Energy Association.
He warned that any conflict involving Iran would threaten the Strait of
Hormuz, through which most Middle East nations export their oil.
Tankers carry 17 million barrels of oil through the channel every day,
according to the International Energy Agency.
US President George W Bush has refused to rule out a military attack should
diplomatic efforts to reach an agreement with Iran fail.
The US energy secretary, Sam Bodman, has maintained that the country would
be in "good shape" if Iran did put a stop on its oil exports, thanks to
America's emergency stockpile of almost 700 million barrels of crude oil.
The threat of a cut in Iranian oil exports has been the main factor driving
oil prices higher in recent months, with the price fluctuating either side
of $70 per barrel.
Crude oil futures
Meanwhile crude oil futures fell yesterday as traders waited for the release
of US oil inventories and developments in the diplomatic standoff over
Iran's nuclear ambitions, according to the Associated Press.
Light sweet crude for August delivery fell 18c to $69.16 a barrel in
electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, August
Brent crude futures on the ICE Futures exchange dipped 17c to $67.91 a
barrel.
The US department of energy's midweek report is likely to show rising fuel
inventories and crude oil stocks flat, analysts predict.
Later on Wednesday, President Bush was to meet with senior EU officials to
discuss efforts to get Tehran to relinquish its nuclear programme. Traders
worry that Iran could disrupt its oil exports if provoked.
"The market is not particularly bullish or bearish; we're now in a static
environment," said Victor Shum, a Singapore-based energy analyst with Purvin
& Gertz. "So traders will continue to look for direction."
The mood on energy markets has seesawed in recent weeks with traders
anxiously watching the verbal sparring between Iran and the West.
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