Saudis ‘resist Bush oil pressure’

Posted by Skycypher on Saturday, May 17th 2008

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17
May

Bush most likely there to sell some more weapons! -SC

Idiot Bush and Saudi King Abdullah laughing at the American consumers.

Saudi Arabia has rejected an appeal by US President George W Bush to raise oil production, a US official has said.

Saudi officials said they were already meeting demand, and had increased production by 300,000 barrels per day earlier this month.

The news came after talks in Riyadh between Mr Bush and King Abdullah.

The US wants an increase in production to help curb record prices, currently $127 a barrel, but Saudi officials blame speculation not supply shortages.

“Supply and demand are in balance today… The fundamentals are sound,” said Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi.

“How much more can we do?”

Bush in Saudi Arabia for Nuclear Deal
By Scott Stearns Riyadh 16 May 2008

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6 Comments Already

Skycypher Said,

May 17th, 2008 @5:33 pm

Vice President Cheney to Visit Saudi Arabia on Middle East Trip

March 17, 2008

Editor’s Note:

Two months ago Thomas Lippman, author of “Inside the Mirage: America’s Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia,” wrote a briefing note for SUSRIS that he would deliver, if asked, to George W. Bush on the eve of the President’s first visit to Saudi Arabia. He opened by saying, “Mr. President, you asked for a candid assessment, so I’ll take you at your word. You can assume that everyone you encounter in Saudi Arabia, beginning with King Abdullah, will be courteous and polite when you visit there next week. The rulers of Saudi Arabia value their longstanding good relations with our country and they will give you a generous welcome.. ..But don’t be deceived, Mr. President. Behind the smiles, the Saudis are just as irritated at us as we are at them. It’s not their style to be rude or confrontational or demanding, but they are very unhappy at the turmoil and uncertainty that are upsetting their entire neighborhood and they blame you for a lot of it.”

Skycypher Said,

May 17th, 2008 @5:52 pm

‘Perhaps 60% of today’s oil price is pure speculation’

by F. William Engdahl

The Reason for High Oil Prices
It’s not a supply crisis that explains the sharp spike in oil prices. It’s unregulated commodities markets and greed.

by Ed Wallace

Skycypher Said,

May 18th, 2008 @7:47 pm

Speaking to reporters in Egypt Saturday, President Bush says he told King Abdullah that it is in Saudi Arabia’s long-term interest to put more oil on the world market.

“I said very plainly, I said you’ve got to be concerned about the effects of high oil prices on some of the biggest customers in the world,” he said. “And, not only that, of course high energy prices is going to cause countries like mine to accelerate our move towards alternative energy.”

President Bush says the kingdom’s decision to boost output to make up for other shortfalls is something, but it is not enough.

The president says part of the answer is greater domestic production, and he is criticizing opposition Democrats for not allowing companies to drill for oil in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. He also wants more offshore drilling, more nuclear power and more U.S. refineries.

Skycypher Said,

May 18th, 2008 @7:52 pm

Bush in Saudi Arabia for Nuclear Deal

Relations also soured following the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi.

John Alterman directs the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a public policy research group in Washington.

“This relationship has been unalterably changed partly by the events of September 11, partly by what’s happened in Iraq, partly by a Saudi sense that the United States isn’t nearly as competent as they thought,” said Alterman. “And while there is no alternative to the United States, there is suddenly a need to hedge against U.S. incompetence. That changes the whole way these meetings go, and it changes what happens when the U.S. president says I really need you to do this.”

Are We Giving Saudi Arabia Nukes?
By: emptywheel Friday May 16, 2008 5:09 am

No no, not the bomb. Strictly a peaceful civil program, you understand, just like the Iranians say they’re developing.

As Bush flew into Riyadh, the White House said the United States, the world’s largest energy consumer, had agreed to help protect the resources of the world’s top oil exporter and help it in developing peaceful nuclear energy.

“The United States and Saudi Arabia have agreed to cooperate in safeguarding the kingdom’s energy resources by protecting key infrastructure, enhancing Saudi border security, and meeting (its) expanding energy needs,” a White House statement said.

“The U.S. and Saudi Arabia will sign a memorandum of understanding in the area of peaceful civil nuclear energy cooperation.”

The announcement came as Bush ended a three-day trip to Israel where he vowed to oppose Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Tehran says its program is peaceful but Bush said it would be “unforgivable” if Iran were allowed to get the bomb.

So we’re giving Saudi Arabia nukes while still refusing to allow Iran nukes.

And for all that, Saudi Arabia isn’t even willing (though I question whether, at this point, they are able) to lower gas prices?

While Bush is likely to find common ground on Iran when he meets King Abdullah, the Saudi monarch is expected to rebuff for the second time this year Bush’s face-to-face call to get OPEC pumping more oil to world markets.

Wasn’t it just yesterday that Bush was decrying negotiations with evil dictators? Does giving them nuclear technology while getting nothing in exchange count as “appeasement”?

Skycypher Said,

May 18th, 2008 @7:59 pm

Feds to stop adding oil to strategic stockpile
May 16, 2008

The Energy Department says it will stop adding oil to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in August, news agencies report. AP says the current contract ends in July.

USA TODAY’s Charles Levinson reports that Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah told President Bush today that he is powerless to bring down rising gas prices, dashing hopes that the oil rich kingdom would boost supply to meet skyrocketing global demand.

Reuters says Congress recently approved legislation that would force the Bush administration to stop adding fuel to the stockpile until crude prices fall below $75 a barrel.

As we reported earlier, light sweet crude was going for more than $127 a barrel this morning.

Skycypher Said,

May 18th, 2008 @8:18 pm

US senators threaten Saudi arms deal over oil prices
Agence France-Presse - 14 May, 2008

A group of US senators Tuesday threatened to block a billion dollar US arms deal with Saudi Arabia unless the kingdom ups oil production and helps cut soaring gasoline prices.

The senators, all Democrats, introduced a resolution of disapproval on the arms sale, as President George W. Bush prepared to head for Saudi Arabia, partly on a mission to contain runaway oil prices.

“We are saying to the Saudis that, if you don’t help us, why should we be helping you?” said New York Senator Chuck Schumer.

“We are saying that we need real relief, and we need it quickly. You need our arms, but we need you to cooperate and not strangle American consumers.”

The resolution, expected to be fast-tracked to the Senate floor, would prohibit the mammoth arms sale unless Saudi Arabia agrees to increase oil production by one million barrels per day.

Schumer, speaking as the price of a barrel of crude oil hit a record 126.98 dollars, said the extra Saudi oil could bring down the price of a gallon (3.8 liters) of gasoline at the pump by 50 to 75 cents.

“We’re losing our wealth. Our economy is heading south. That is the highest priority, not the Saudis getting the top-notch weapons,” Schumer said.

The American Automobile Association said the average price of a gallon of gas in the United States hit a record 3.73 dollars on Tuesday, 66 cents or 21 percent higher than a year ago.

The United States offered last year to sell Saudi Arabia and Gulf states a 20 billion dollar arms package, as part of a wider regional program aimed at deterring Iran and Syria, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Al-Qaeda.

Schumer specifically mentions 1.4 billion dollars in arms for Saudi Arabia, including 900 kits which turn conventional bombs into laser-guided explosives, or Joint Direct Attack Munitions.

Schumer said a motion of disapproval needed only 51 votes in the 100-seat Senate to pass and could not be filibustered.

Bush was heading to the Middle East on Tuesday on a tour which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the formal establishment of US-Saudi relations.

The White House has said he will stress US concerns about soaring oil prices when he meets King Abdullah on May 16, and is expected to press the Saudis to boost their oil production as a way of curbing rocketing fuel prices.

As Bush headed for the Middle East, the Senate defied him and passed a bill to halt deposits into the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a move that will put an extra 70,000 barrels of oil onto the market a day.

The move, passed by a 97-1 veto-proof majority, came after the president refused to stop filling the emergency stockpile, which Democrats say is 97 percent full.

“At a time when gas prices are nearing four dollars a gallon and oil is over 120 dollars per barrel, it makes no sense to be taking oil out of our supply chain,” said Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan.

Another top Democrat, Senator Joseph Biden, told Bush he must work to ease pressure on oil prices, bolster the government in Lebanon and push for concrete progress between Israel and the Palestinians during his visit.

“Neglect and bad policies have gotten us into a very deep hole in the Middle East,” said Biden, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations committee.

“We need determined diplomacy led by the president to prevent lasting damage to American interests and credibility.”