Rockets hit Oil Tanker Takayama - Oil Prices Zoom
By Bernie on 21 Apr 2008
Members of Movement for the Emancipation
of the Niger Delta (MEND)
Photo: DAVE CLARK/AFP/Getty Images
Last Thursday, 17 Apr 2008 at 22:30, commandos from MEND (the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta) bombed a major pipeline at Adamakiri in Rivers State of Nigeria and caused oil to hit an all-time high of $117. The pipeline is run by a Royal Dutch Shell PLC joint venture. MEND has warned all the oil companies operating along the coastal region of Nigeria to expect more attacks.
MEND's Attacks on oil infrastructure for the past two years have cut Nigeria's normal output of 600,000 barrels per day by 25% to 33%.
Now this morning the 150,000-ton tanker Takayama was attacked about 270 miles off the east coast of Yemen while it was heading for Saudi Arabia causing oil to spike to a record $117.40 a barrel.
Peak Oil Issues remarked that since the U.S. military is the single largest consumer of petroleum products in the world, the attack on the tanker by a rocket launcher from a small boat is reminiscent of the October 2000 attack in Yemen on the USS Cole.
Is it just a coincidence or a plan? The Madman of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying crude oil prices at $115 a barrel are too low, and that oil must "discover its real value." The Iranian President and wanna-be Mahdi made the remarks during a visit to an oil and gas exhibition in Tehran late Friday.
Also another coincidence: Gold rebounded today on buying by Japanese investors.
Since I'm a gold investor, I do well on bad news such as the above. I expect gold to go to $2,000 an ounce or more if al Qaeda would just kindly blow up every well in Saudi Arabia. That would be a two-fer for me: high gold prices and a diminution of mosques and Islamic centers being built in the US. Ah, one can only hope.
Anyone may republish this article for non-commercial use without asking my permission. I make it easy, see details here.
Comments
Hey, leave a comment - if this is your first time here, please read my Comment Policy HERE.
Subscribe to this blog's feed
