Hm, looking at the markets, the prices oscillate tremendously over the past few weeks. This was, in part, caused by wildly oscillating price of oil. And the oil situation, besides the rising demand, is now shaken by political developments. That turned my attention to what is going on with Iran right now.
The situation doesn't look good. But, in the media, it never does. The media are generally too sensationalist. I need to spend some time finding and analyzing some valid sources of information out there to see what is this latest confrontation caused by.
Talking to people, it is amazing to find that some of them do not believe that world's major oil supplies are located in Iran. Well, OK, that's something to be checked too...
According to CIA World Factbook page about Iran, the oil reserves are 138.4 billion bbl according to Iranian claims. Saudi Arabia's proven reserves are 264.3 billion bbl (all 2007 estimates) and Kuwait's are 101.5 billion bbl. Russia's, in comparison, are only 60 billion bbl. Just for reference, Australia's reserves are 1.437 billion bbl.
Iran is the fourth largest crude exporter in the world according to Reuters.
At this time in the economic cycle this could be the drop that might cause the glass to spill. Onto some work...
The oil reserves are easy to check. The listed numbers are mostly estimates but that should suffice for now. Another issue is the politics. Israel seems to be afraid for their safety since Iran seems to be working on developing a nuclear weapon. Nothing new, in general, but it's a question whether Israel will undertake drastic measures about it. An article in the Economist is a good general source of information, as usual. There might be other interests involved, as well. What I fear is that Israel might be an extended arm of the Hawks - a society for preservation of Good Old Western life style - firearms and oil heaven. Well, sarcasm aside, here are some interesting information in that regard.
Fortunately, the information from the field indicate that a military intervention is not very likely unless someone goes nuts.
This looks like a covert operation to influence the next year's elections in Iran. :)
The situation doesn't look good. But, in the media, it never does. The media are generally too sensationalist. I need to spend some time finding and analyzing some valid sources of information out there to see what is this latest confrontation caused by.
Talking to people, it is amazing to find that some of them do not believe that world's major oil supplies are located in Iran. Well, OK, that's something to be checked too...
According to CIA World Factbook page about Iran, the oil reserves are 138.4 billion bbl according to Iranian claims. Saudi Arabia's proven reserves are 264.3 billion bbl (all 2007 estimates) and Kuwait's are 101.5 billion bbl. Russia's, in comparison, are only 60 billion bbl. Just for reference, Australia's reserves are 1.437 billion bbl.
Iran is the fourth largest crude exporter in the world according to Reuters.
At this time in the economic cycle this could be the drop that might cause the glass to spill. Onto some work...
The oil reserves are easy to check. The listed numbers are mostly estimates but that should suffice for now. Another issue is the politics. Israel seems to be afraid for their safety since Iran seems to be working on developing a nuclear weapon. Nothing new, in general, but it's a question whether Israel will undertake drastic measures about it. An article in the Economist is a good general source of information, as usual. There might be other interests involved, as well. What I fear is that Israel might be an extended arm of the Hawks - a society for preservation of Good Old Western life style - firearms and oil heaven. Well, sarcasm aside, here are some interesting information in that regard.
Fortunately, the information from the field indicate that a military intervention is not very likely unless someone goes nuts.
This looks like a covert operation to influence the next year's elections in Iran. :)
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