Imagine this, if you will.  The King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, thinks that the price of oil should rise to around $75 or so a barrel, although no action is likely to be taken when OPEC meets again next month.  All of this according to Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi.  And the reason for the proposed rise in oil prices?  According to the oil minister in Qatar, one Abdullah Bin Hamad al-Attiya suggests that the rise in price would allow for investment and developing new or existing oil fields; he also says that when the price of crude falls below $70, investment freezes – which supposedly leads to a crisis in supply in the future.

Quite frankly, it doesn’t matter much to me whether they either raise oil prices to the proposed $70-80 per barrel vicinity or not.  Nor does it bother me that they throw out there the option of reducing output.  Why, you ask?  The USA has reduced oil consumption – partly but not completely because because of our shaky economy – even though the price of a barrel of crude has dropped to around $54 per barrel ($1.83/gallon of gasoline).  And I fully expect President Bush to follow through on opening up on the oil leases to drill offshore locally before he leaves office.  That in and of itself will allow for the slow but steady implementation of our country relying less on foreign oil, which was the message of John McCain and Sarah Palin. 

Not only is drilling offshore practical, it is also cost-effective, both for the US-based oil companies who would do the drilling and the consumers here in the States.  So if OPEC wants to either cut production or raise prices, they can go right ahead.  It isn’t like there aren’t enough oil reserves here locally to keep us up and running for the foreseeable future.  Besides, even President-elect Barack Obama will eventually see the light and realize that the US will need oil as part of the so-called “clean technology” strategy he proposes as part of his administration.