Billionaire Boone Pickens, founder and chairman of BP Capital LLC, talks about his investment in wind power, the impact of speculation and demand on oil prices and Microsoft Corp.’s efforts to buy Yahoo!
click for video
Source:
Pickens Calls Speculation a `Scapegoat’ for Oil Prices: Video
Bloomberg, June 2 2008
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aOycL4oJTmSs
Boone Pickens notes global daily supply is 85 Mbbl/day and global demand is 86.4 Mbbl/day. Iraq used to produce over 3 Mbbls/day and now around 1 to 1 1/2 Mbbls/day. There’s your difference.
While I would have preferred a higher carbon tax (ala Bill Clinton proposals, remember how the GOP wailed about that? How wrong they were.) It would be nice to have the money going to pay off our debts rather than to Middle Eastern SWFs. And imagine how far along into alternatives we’d be?
Now eventually, Iraq Occupation or not, demand would continue to grow. So we get this price spike sooner rather than later. So maybe Bush/Cheney has done us a favor?
Intentionally misleading the public should be illegal. Oh wait it is. One can just hope that he times the bubble wrong and is swiftly swept away by the furious pop. From the various interviews I have seen, in each he demonstrates a profound lack of knowledge of just about every finance subject.
You can’t fool the market Boone. You may want 150 but that doesn’t make it so. We had the same issue with housing as the “demand” for housing “by speculators” outstripped the “supply” running up prices. At least OPEC has refused to increase supply as they know there is plenty of oil. A key statement was when he acknowledged peak oil at 2030, not now.
At any rate this is a good thing for America as we find alternatives and conserve. This change could create the next consumption engine in this country.
For VennData
Iraq’s oil production was recently reported at 2.5 mmbopd vs. 2.6 mmbopd in early 2003. The countries exporting 1.5 mmbopd according to WSJ last week (5/29/08 page A8).
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ifais_syEtJ4gnCt-flME4UylgSwD9127L9O5
Some here remember the 70’s oil shock.
There is a very interesting difference today. Then, there were lines at gas stations and stations selling out and closing for the day. Have you seen that lately, anywhere, anytime? No. That’s because there is no shortage of gasoline.
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From Bloomberg today,
“…market is ‘full of oil'”
“…rising crude prices are being driven by forces trying to further geopolitical aims …”
” …oil prices have been artificially inflated by “capitalists” and that crude remains plentiful.”
Oh yes, that is from Iranian President …
Boone Pickens is a billionare by a lifetime of smart, hard work. Yet you internet geniuses know that he doesn’t know anything. Wow. Just wow.
Pickens is talking his book!
The wind farms, all his chatter about peak oil is all BS.
He wants your money. He runs a fund.
According to the EIA.
Average Demand for crude oil in 2007 : 85.35 million Barrels
Average Production for crude oil in 2007 :84.59 million barrels.
So it make sense that price goes up. The reason there is not any gas lines is because we are not fixing the price of gas.
T Boone might be “talking his book” but he HAS A GREAT BOOK!
Barry, thanks for the recent two vids on T Boone, he is a real asset.
I wish his thoughts on how we should manage our energy assets could find their way into policy, but they might be too logical.
Donald Luskin disagrees with Soros about index buying of oil futures similar to portfolio insurance in 1987.
Who are you going to believe? Luskin? or the dude that made 3.5B last year?
– AT
Boones always talking about how supply is only 85mm/day and demand is 86-86.5mm/day….he’s been saying this for a long time….but if that’s true, then commercial oil inventories would have drawn down 1BILLION barrels in the last two years alone…..
AND THAT IS NOT THE CASE.
So, using some simple math and analysis, there’s a flaw in his numbers somewhere.
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned that to him in an interview.
– AT
All he needs to do is show me who is trying to buy oil but not getting any because there isn’t enough available. That isn’t happening. If there were 1.6 million barrels going deficient, someone would be starving for oil.
Seriously, the Boone haters seem to be a little too invested in their worldview and/or a bit too defensive. Boone is saying there will be $150 barrels of oil, but he doesn’t say that it should be that much now. He would not be investing so much in wind so publicly if he did not believe that oil was going to increase in price long-term (maybe not over the next year, but maybe the next ten?). And I guarantee you that he does not want YOUR money for any fund – he will have no trouble raising it however much he wants from existing investors.
TMorgan,
You realize your argument doesn’t make any sense right? That isn’t how markets work.
How many more mentally challenged men from Texas can this nation handle?