From Ru Mills:

If Bill Richardson thinks the oil prices are high now, just wait until China and Iran have teamed up....

And China institutes new oil controls on the Panama Canal!!

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High oil prices threaten world economy, Richardson

http://news.excite.com/news/r/000219/15/energy-mexico-richardson2

Updated 3:11 PM ET February 19, 2000

By Susan Schneider

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson warned Saturday that higher oil prices could threaten world economic growth.

After talks with Mexican counterpart Luis Tellez, Richardson said the United States is "clearly" looking for increased oil output.

"Our message is that elevated crude prices have the potential to retard the world economy" by fueling inflation, which would usher in an interest rate rise, Richardson told reporters.

Richardson's energy offensive comes at a critical time in world oil diplomacy. Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela -- the architects of last year's pact to trim output -- are just days away from a March 2 meeting that could determine the fate of oil cutbacks.

Yet the U.S. secretary appears to already have the key producers in his corner.

Mexico's Tellez said on Friday his nation is eyeing a small increase beginning April 1, and Venezuela and Saudi Arabia have both said they are prepared to relax the curbs on output.

"The official position of Mexico is that of stable, high prices, but prices that allow for the growth of the world economy," said Tellez.

The March 1999 agreement among OPEC and non-OPEC producers, including Mexico and Norway, has spurred a three-fold rise in prices, sending them thundering past $30 a barrel in recent weeks for the first time in nine years.

Saudi Arabia has suggested that the ideal price would float between $20 to $25 a barrel, a target that Mexico's Tellez lent support to on Friday.

Richardson, however, declined to provide any figures on an ideal price or what he would see as an adequate jump in production, saying the market should dictate prices.

And, to foster the forces of the free market, Richardson added that he did not want to tap the United States' Strategic Petroleum Reserves in order to lift prices, noting that they are designed solely for supply emergencies.

"We didn't intervene when oil was at $10 and we won't intervene at $30," Richardson said.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which President Bill Clinton said he had not ruled out using to help ease prices, holds 569 million barrels of oil.

NO PRESSURE

With many experts speculating that the United States is trying to strong-arm producers -- especially Mexico -- into ramping up production, Richardson again denied that the United States is pressuring nations to back its stance.

"I didn't come to pressure anyone, only to provide the U.S. viewpoint," Richardson said.

Analysts said this week that Mexico is a key pressure point for the United States because the southern nation relies heavily on its neighbor for export revenue. About 80 percent of Mexico's exports are bound for the United States.

The next stop on the oil diplomacy tour is the Middle East, where Richardson is slated to meet with officials from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries. He will also meet with Norway during the 10-day mission.

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Comment from Ru:

"where Richardson is slated to meet with officials from Kuwait,"

Do you think the Kuwaitis remember that the United States saved their country? Why is the Clinton administration letting these people get away with this? All we have to do is stop the foreign aid they get from us.

The answer is simple... Clinton doesn't want this stopped.

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