THE HEADLINE NEWS YOU'LL NEVER SEE!

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

I live on the West Coast and fuel has gone up a little but nothing like is being recorded in the Eastern States. If any of this raise of the price of oil is related to computer and imbedded chip problems at wells, pumping stations, refineries, and shipping facilities in the Middle East and South America or any where else, there is one thing that you will not see. That would be a major headline that would read something like ----RAISE IN OIL PRICES DUE TO Y2K PROBLEMS WORLDWIDE----. The media of this country will do everything in their power to keep that off the front page. And the reason is because most if not all of them have money in the Stock Market. The market will take a nosedive to all borders south if that hit the papers. This isn't a doom statement, but just a fact of reality.

-- John Thomas (cjseed@webtv.net), January 24, 2000

Answers

John,

Outside of our little group of rabble-rousers, I wasn't aware that anyone was referring to the oil-refinery problems as "calendar problems". Could you give us a link to some mainstream media source that has described it thusly?

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), January 24, 2000.


We've already seen it described as "calendar problems".

-- John (LITTMANNJ@AOL.COM), January 24, 2000.

Link.

-- Michael (sosorry@I.forgot), January 24, 2000.

Ed I think the posters at this site have a good feel for whats going on in the oil producing areas. Their observations and threads to information seem to be quite reliable. They probably know as much as anybody.There are no links to any media source that would describe oil problems and Y2K as being connected. That was my point!

-- John Thomas (cjseed@webtv.net), January 24, 2000.

Releasing reserves would be a short term fix to a potentially long term problem. Why not blame "the enemy; any enemy", so we can start a war, which will boost the economy, then redirect that generated revenue into hedging oil prices? Wars can be indefinite. Just seems like a better fix to me. Besides, isn't that what we usually do? It works.

(tongue-in-cheek folks, now don't go getting all huffy now...)

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 25, 2000.



Spoke to a friend of mine tonight over coffee. She tells me she heard from a friend who shrieked into the phone that she was mad at her husband. It seems she'd been bugging him over the last few weeks to get their heating oil delivered. The price was 75 cents/gal. when she began asking him. She just finished paying $1.65/gal for heating oil this week. I wonder which room he's sleeping in tonight...rofl

beej

-- beej (beej@ppbbs.com), January 25, 2000.


its not funny, if prices get to high or shortages persist, people will die.

-- stop (why@laughing.no), January 25, 2000.

Question: Why would news reports linking oil shortages to Y2K be more damaging to the economy than reports that they're due to our being led around by our noses by OPEC again?

I mean, Y2K problems are fixable. Short of going to war, the OPEC situation is not.

-- RC (not that other RC) (randyxpher@aol.com), January 25, 2000.


Saudi Arabia has oil reserves if Y2k disrupts supply:

Link

I still think this post of a Reuters story yesterday is significant, it relates oil problems to y2k!

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), January 25, 2000.


"Saudi Arabia's oil minister said yesterday his country is ready to step in and replace any oil supplies that may be disrupted because of Y2K computer problems"

Ray, I wouldn't worry about it, Noone is gonna admit that there are any y2k-related oil problems, so the Saudis are off the hook for bailing us out.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), January 25, 2000.



Brools, true but just the fact that y2k and oil problems were in the same article tweaked my interest.

Ray

-- Ray (ray@totacc.com), January 25, 2000.


1. That report about the Saudis picking up the slack was a repeat. Go look at it again and read the date on it. It was prior to rollover.

2.Question: Why would news reports linking oil shortages to Y2K be more damaging to the economy than reports that they're due to our being led around by our noses by OPEC again?

I think its politics. If the news media comes out with the fact that oil prices are related to y2k it will reflect back onto Gore who was supposed to be responsible under slick Willy. After all he invented the internet and he should be on top of all this. If people find out that y2k IS A PROBLEM then the Clinton administration is going to get the blame. And like everyone else, John Q. Public attention is best gotten by getting into his pocket book. When he has to pay as much for a gallon of gas as a 6 pak....look out!! There will be hell to pay then.

Taz

-- Taz (Tassi123@aol.com), January 25, 2000.


Taz-

Maybe a combination of ploytics and economics. With demand at all time highs and growing, and both existing supplies and refining capabilities at full capacity and dwindling, current stats will continue to fall behind demand. The costs of developing new reserves have escalated dramatically. [See New Zeland article above] Similar plight in the building business. When all the good sites have been built upon, all that's left are the tough ones. Combined with the ever more stringent codes, the price of the development has increased astronomically. The selling price must justify the expense. A sad truth about business states that 'a business that is not GROWING is dying'. See [merger]. At some point critical mass is achieved and implosion follows.

Is it just my perception, or is there a connect-the-dots WRT [g] inflation--recession--oil shortages--new exploration--deeper recession--new reserves come online--economic growth. What will the near future look like when the last vestiges of ALL reserves are drying up? Got hydrogen?

-- Michael (mikeyumac@uswest.net), January 25, 2000.


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