oil

Meanwhile, the U.S. government is pricing oil at $225 per barrel in the not-too-distant future. “No less an oil-burning institution than the Department of Defense,” says our oilman Byron King, “is planning for a future of $225, and higher, oil.

“The U.S. Navy, for example, is currently designing future ships using $225 per barrel as a baseline for the price of fossil fuel. In fact, the Navy, under the direction of Congress, is also planning to use nuclear power for all future large surface combatants. And the Air Force is designing engines and fuel systems to work on synthetic jet fuels derived from coal and natural gas.

“There is an astonishingly complex engineering process for qualifying synthetic fuels to work in military-grade engines, at high altitudes, high G-forces and supersonic speeds. But all of that is happening even now. The Air Force knows that it cannot lose any time in getting this done. And the Army and Marine Corps are looking hard at the fuel-efficiency of ground combat vehicles.

“Post-Iraq, the Army and Marines will be re-equipping their forces with much new gear. So the planners are hard at work figuring out how to design and procure ‘mobility systems’ that have the best possible fuel-efficiency. This is all because the DOD planners are forecasting oil prices of $225 per barrel and more.”


Exxon Mobil announced earnings of $40.6 billion for 2007 this morning -- the largest income for any company, ever. Exxon income rose 14%, to $11.6 billion, in the fourth quarter, another all-time high for any U.S. company.

Assuming Exxon’s still bringing in profits at its 2007 rate, it’s banked about $15,600 in the 12 seconds it took you to read this bit.


Shell reported earnings of $27 billion in 2007, a new all-time high for any British company. We’re sure Shell employees and shareholders were delighted… but the rest of Great Britain seems, well… pissed.

"Shell shareholders are doing very nicely while the rest of us… are paying the price and struggling," said Tony Woodley, leader of the U.K.’s largest trade union, who labeled Shell’s $75 million daily revenue “obscene.”