Sterling Energy... after the FOG clears

Bearing in mind that OPEC is going to mop up one million barrels of over production during January, with a further review at the end of that month(mid winter)I would be quite surprised to see a drop of $6-8 a barrel. Then there is the issue of successful elections in Iraq (if indeed they do take place), where regardless, oil exports are at best likely to continue being disrupted.

Having tasted the benifits of high oil prices, I cannot see the logic of any OPEC country selling its often single and finite resource on the cheap, when in an act of unity it can earn as much if not more, by producing less.

The new oil pipeline from the oil fields at Baku (Caspian Sea)to a terminal in Southern Turkey, will come on stream in the first half of 2005. Because of the investment costs to the multi national oil companies involved, I suspect they will not be keen to lower the cost of oil as oppposed to maintain continuity of supply. That then raises the question of how vulnerable the pipeline will be to terrorist intervention?