RE OilThe further into our new world of cheap oil we go, the better for us to gain a wider angle perspective of possible outcomes. Factors that previously meant nothing as recently as 2 or 3 weeks ago now surface to become key pieces in the puzzle. Take Saudi Arabia. Apparently, stories are beginning to emerge re King Salman’s shady past and his connections with extremist groups. Do you remember Louis XIV’s mutterings on his death bed? “Après moi le deluge.” I wonder if the same might apply to King Abdullah’s reign, -you know, the end of that golden era, - the one the Saudis are waving good bye to in their rearview mirror along with the rest of OPEC. And for how long will the Saudis/OPEC be willing to supply the world with cheap oil to knock out competitors? Endlessly? Somehow I can’t see them moiling on the oars deep in the bowels of the ship like the rest of us. We’re talking about a sand box full of “spoiled rich kids” unaccustomed to getting calluses on their hands. And when the price rises they will simply have to supply more oil to keep that from happening. And do you really think the refiners in North America really care where they get their crude if the price is right? If the crude spread to refined products is right, they’ll do it. So in the end, America, with its hard dollar and reserve currency gets exactly what it wants, cheap crude for its feedstock. For those Middle East countries that get 90% of their revenues from oil sales and are leveraged to the eyeballs (Saudis not leveraged) one has to wonder who breaks first. But it certainly won’t be the Americans. And so in North America we take a sabbatical from drilling. No point standing on the track waiting for the train. Let the Russians and Opec do that.