Saudis Do USA a Back-handed Favor

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi has pronounced Saudi oil production as keyed to revenue requirements. Although this is somewhat risible, he is actually doing the US a favor.

When GWB was elected in 2000 after famously pronouncing that the price of oil would not go much above $20/bbl. because he could "jawbone" OPEC into keeping up production, he was not yet known as being a completely feckless second-rater. However, the current price of about @100/barrel means that the US:

1] Should develop onshore fields like ANWR whose 15 billion proven recoverable bbls might come in even higher with new production technology.

2] Develop offshore fields whose gigantic reserves under salt domes in the Gulf of Mexico can be exploited with new technologies at a huge profit.

3] Look into new coal technologies such as coalbed methane extraction and clean coal as the USA is the Saudi Arabia of coal, with more clean coal underground than almost the rest of the world combined.

4] Develop small nuke reactors using Euro-technology and cookie-cutter production techniques to get away from the China Syndrome hysteria of the late '70s.

5] Realize that the huge oil-price spike introduces profitability into long-capped US once over-exploited fields which now through new technology and higher profits can be exploited for large profits.

6] Keep interest in alternative and renewable technologies alive.

Without the anthropogenic global warming calisthenics of hyper-ventilating hysteria, we can still look for hydrogen-based energy sources and explore new methods of energy, without taking politically expedient and bogus side-tracks like ethanol based on corn---a boon for small farms, but a hoax as far as energy production is concerned.