http://www.mosnews.com/money/2006/08/23/russiaoil.shtml Russia Overtakes Saudi Arabia as Worldâs Leading Oil Producer â OPEC Created: 23.08.2006 11:24 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 13:39 MSK, 7 hours 2 minutes ago MosNews Statistics recently published by the oil cartel OPEC show that Russia is currently extracting more oil than Saudi Arabia, making it the biggest producer of âblack goldâ in the world, the British Financial Times reported on Wednesday, Aug. 23. OPEC statistics show that in the period since 2002 Russian companies have surpassed the Saudis as the worldâs biggest oil producers on an on-and-off basis. The latest figures, however, have been hailed in Russia as evidence that such periodic production spikes are no one-offs and that Moscow really does have a right to lay claim to the number one spot. According to OPEC, in June 2006 Russia extracted 9.236 million barrels of oil, which is 46,000 barrels more than Saudi Arabia. The statistics also showed that Russian production in the first half of this year increased to 235.8 million tons, a year-on-year improvement of 2.3 percent. Traditionally, Saudi Arabia has been regarded as the worldâs undisputed primary source of oil and Russia has had to settle for second place. But in recent years Russia has re-nationalized and modernized much of its industry and that policy now appears to be paying off. Even Russian analysts concede that Moscowâs cause is helped by the fact that Saudi Arabia is subject to OPEC output restrictions. The Saudis are famous for their ability to access spare capacity and raise production at short notice and if they really wanted to reassert their leadership role the feeling is they could do so easily. Unconcerned by such âdetailsâ, Russiaâs âtopplingâ of the Saudis was welcomed domestically on Tuesday, Aug. 22. The populist Komsomolskaya Pravda daily newspaper ran a story headlined âRussia takes first place in oil output rankingsâ. With oil prices hovering above $70 a barrel for London Brent crude because of uncertainty over Iranian supplies and BPâs pipeline crisis in Alaska, Russia is enjoying an unprecedented bonanza. But analysts say its oil industry is already working close to capacity and that it will be able to manage output increases of up to only 2 percent a year between now and 2009. There are also fears that Russia is becoming too addicted to what politicians call âthe oil needleâ, and is doing too little to develop future revenue streams. Money from oil and gas accounts for 52.2 percent of all revenues to the state treasury and more than 35 percent of Russiaâs exports. Such riches can make a country complacent, according to Alexei Kudrin, the Russian Finance Minister. âAt present, we are in a dangerously carefree zone,â he said recently.
They better make all the money they can now, cause the US is about to put it to them. And long before $10/gallon gas hydrogren fuel cells become cost effective. http://www.raytheon.com/feature/oil_shale06/
Nigerian oil unions consider quitting Niger Delta Wed Aug 23, 2006 7:07 AM ET By Estelle Shirbon ABUJA, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Nigeria's oil workers' unions may pull out all members from the Niger Delta over safety fears following a spate of abductions by militants and a military crackdown, the head of one of the unions said on Wednesday. The two oil unions have called an emergency meeting after a bloody shoot-out on Sunday between troops and militants during a botched attempt to free a Nigerian hostage in the delta. It is not known whether the hostage, an employee of Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, survived. "We are afraid for the safety of our members and anyone working in the Niger Delta. We feel the government is not doing enough," said Peter Esele, president of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN). A series of attacks on installations in the western delta in February forced Shell to evacuate workers from oilfields producing about 500,000 barrels per day, almost a quarter of Nigerian output. The disruptions to production in OPEC member Nigeria, the world's eighth largest crude oil exporter, have contributed to driving oil prices to current levels above $70 a barrel. Prices rose briefly on the news that the unions would call the meeting. Esele said the decision-making councils of PENGASSAN and its ally, the blue-collar National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), were scheduled to vote on Aug. 30 on whether to call on their members to leave the Niger Delta. He said the unions had the power to organise an evacuation of oil workers from the delta, although there have been few examples in the past of disruptions to oil production because of union actions, including strikes. Western oil companies, which control the Nigerian oil industry, have already imposed strict travel restrictions on personnel after at least 17 oil workers, mostly foreigners, were taken hostage this month. Ten have now been released. "FORCE FOR FORCE" After several months during which the government responded to the crisis by promising investments in the impoverished region, President Olusegun Obasanjo last week ordered the military to meet the militants with "force for force". "This does not in any way solve the problem," Esele said, arguing that there was no military solution to the crisis in the delta and that a military crackdown risked further endangering the lives of those working in the region. The militant Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said 10 of its fighters were killed in Sunday's shoot-out with troops. The army gave a lower toll. Esele accused Nigerian authorities of making greater efforts to release foreign hostages than Nigerians. "The Nigerian government doesn't have as much respect for its own citizens. If foreigners are involved the government does everything it can to get them out but if it's a Nigerian there is neglect," he said. Violence in the delta, which has been going on for more than a decade, stems from widespread resentment by residents that their region provides the bulk of Nigeria's wealth while they have seen few benefits. But the violence has taken on a momentum of its own, with kidnappings for ransoms, battles for control of a lucrative trade in stolen crude oil and fighting between militias sponsored by rival politicians all part of the equation.
The high class Russian hookers/barracudas... Are at the top of the economic pyramid. They get all the money... Either John cash money and jewelry... Or lucrative divorce settlements.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet Union consistently was the single largest oil producer, ahead of SA.
Russians are criminals and will do everything they can to destablize the middle east for profit. John
ruskis are going to crash hardcore with price of oil heading south. $ money they are getting now is not getting invested anywhere, because it doesnt make it that far down the stream. Its funny look at Israel, how the tech innovation took off after they took in all those Russian scientists. If Russia kept those guys and poured oil $ into research, we would have a true economic power to contend with in 15 years, as it as once oil $ slows down we'll probably see them default/devalue again and start nationalizing.