Word: bbl
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...plus side, Saudi Arabia, with 2.5 million bbl. a day in spare capacity, has promised to make up part of Iraq's shortfall. The U.S., Europe and the major industrialized countries of Asia also have access to substantial oil stocks to help them weather the likely drought. President Bush has given orders to top off America's 700 million--bbl. Strategic Petroleum Reserve--enough oil to meet U.S. needs for 36 days. That process is about 85% complete. The most probable scenario, according to a study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a research institute in Washington...
...battles tail off in a few weeks, but sporadic attacks on U.S. forces and oil installations continue. Fearful workers and engineers refuse to operate Iraq's oil fields, which close down for as long as six months. In this case, experts say, prices would probably peak above $40 per bbl. and, once fighting ended, fall gradually by year's end to about...
...Iraq's oil fields are much larger than Kuwait's; they are spread across an area the size of Rhode Island in northern Iraq and over a region in the south about the size of New Jersey. U.S. military experts estimate Saddam could also dump up to 3 million bbl. a day into the Persian Gulf, shutting down up to 15 desalinization plants around the littoral and despoiling the shores and wildlife for decades. Cleaning up after Saddam could cost close to $50 billion and severely handicap Iraq's postwar economic recovery--not to mention America...
...Saddam were able to sabotage not only his own oil fields but also those of neighboring nations, a major shortfall of up to 6 million bbl. a day--8% of world consumption--is foreseeable. To guard against this scenario, Kuwait is making emergency plans to export its oil safely. The U.S. and its allies have also announced that they will coordinate releases that could amount to several million barrels a day from strategic reserves. But the shock could still push up prices to $80 per bbl., tailing off to about $50 by year's end. That compares with an inflation...
Russian companies could prosper if their government supports U.S. action against Saddam. The Kremlin has made clear to the Bush Administration its fear that postwar Iraq will pump too much oil, lowering the world price below $18 per bbl.--the level at which Russia's oil companies can no longer make a profit. That has led some industry officials to believe that Washington, eager to secure Moscow's approval for military action in Iraq, has quietly agreed to keep prices from falling too low and to help Russian oil companies win contracts in the new Iraq...