Word: crude
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...said, the result would be a boom in work, saving and investment. The "supply side" of the economy would be so stimulated that before long the Government would gain more revenue than it lost through cutting taxes. To illustrate his point, as legend now has it, Laffer sketched a crude diagram on a cocktail napkin on the table.* It showed that if taxes went too high, the Government would take in less revenue because people would be working less. That first Laffer curve landed in a wastebasket, but it was destined to become one of the most controversial concepts...
...when oil was only $2 per bbl. that synfuels would be profitable if the price of petroleum went up another dollar or two. Yet every time the price of oil goes up, the estimated price for synfuel development also seems to increase. Those doubters predict that the cost of crude will have to go much higher before synthetic fuels are truly competitive with petroleum. Thus many of the ambitious plans for turning coal into oil and gas may stay on the drawing boards for years. -By Edward E. Scharff. Reported by Robert T. Grieves/New York and Gary Lee/Washington
...producers' troubles are expected to push down crude prices, which have already been sagging as the economy slows and consumption diminishes. One OPEC member, Nigeria, last week sliced $4 off the price of a barrel of its high-quality oil, bringing the cost down to $36 per bbl., and inviting price cuts from competitors like Libya and Algeria...
Further complications arose when Nigeria announced that, unless a reunified pricing agreement was reached, it would undercut even Saudi Arabia's existing price of $32 per bbl. for comparable grades of crude in order to boost sales. The country is currently losing an estimated $1.5 billion monthly from its dwindling oil business, and its $8 billion in foreign exchange reserves could run out by year's end. "They [the Nigerians] are on the verge of panic," said one conference delegate. "We are all nervous about this...
Last week's debacle in Geneva will keep downward pressure on world oil markets in spite of the Saudi cut, at least for a while. But the price relief could be surprisingly short-lived. Reduced OPEC production has already begun to work off the global crude surplus. Constantine Fliakos, an oil analyst with the Merrill Lynch investment firm, calculates that world oil production is now falling short of demand by at least 1 million bbl. per day. Autumn, when northern countries prepare for winter, is normally a period of increased energy demand. And, although oil tanks are full, they...