from commenter defjef at political animal:
Remember the undisclosed Cheney energy policy task force? They probably concluded that oil, the life blood of the US economy was in the hands of unreliable OPEC states... and that our policy should be to stabilize and have control over the flow of oil. Even tho the 7 sisters (how many oil majors are their now?) don't control the fields, they make their bucks from getting it to market, refining and selling.
From a larger economic standpoint, all their operations, and profits were beholded to the OPEC cartel. A good bet is that the USA energy task force considered a policy of grabbing control of the Iraqi oil fields, the second largest proven reserves. This would have a calming and stabilizing impact on USA energy/economy for the near future.
Next would be Iran and finally Saudi Arebia. Of course we are extremely pissed at Venezuela for wanting complete control over their energy resources. The former regimes were in the pockets of the US energy companies.
Can the US compete in free market oil market? Not the way they would like with crony capitalizsm, where absence of control of the market is not present. As the world's energy needs increase competition for oil WILL drive the price of oil up... and without a completely different source for our energy, it will create havoc in our economy. We have been coddled with cheap energy since we began extracting it from PA. We have shown no will to develop alternate energy sources and systems... And the marge oil companies are like the dinosaurs facing extinction for their failure to evolve and adapt. They see the end and and they want to make it while they can...
That is how I see it.
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