But the events unfolding in the Arab world, the epicenter of global oil production, are a sobering reminder that trading in oil, that mother of all commodities, is at heart a political game. Not since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 have the politics of crude loomed so large. Like much of the Arab world, this market seems like a pocket full of firecrackers, just waiting for a match.
As rebels tightened their noose around Tripoli on Sunday, its critical oil supplies remained constricted. Production from most ofLibya’s oil fields was down to a trickle.
Several ports and refineries were left stricken by workers too afraid to go to work. And with most foreign oil company employees having left the country and armed men beginning to loot equipment left behind, a return to normal production appears weeks away at best.
About 80 percent of the nation’s oil production lies in rebel-held territory, though there is not a way to verify how much rebel leaders directly control.
Granted, the world can cope with a disruption of exports from Libya. But what has brought us to $100-a-barrel oil again — and set people on edge — is the possibility that the uprisings that toppled autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia might spread to other OPEC nations in the Middle East.
http://defense-technologynews.blogspot.com/2011/02/dtn-news-libya-uprising-tremors-from.html
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