Word: bbl
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Fully loaded supertankers are anchored offshore awaiting space to unload their cargo. Even if Iraq's daily production of 3.1 million bbl. or Kuwait's 1.9 million bbl. were cut off, either by military action or by a U.S.-led embargo, a serious shortage would take time to develop. Countries like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, which are producing below their capacity, could quickly fill...
...event of a true oil emergency, the industrialized nations are far better prepared than they were in the 1970s. The U.S. now has 590 million bbl. of crude squirreled away in salt domes in Texas and Louisiana. That is enough to satisfy America's gas-guzzling habit for about 34 days. Japan has a similar reserve that would last 142 days...
Despite the stretched nerves in Geneva, OPEC's other producers were delighted with the outcome of Saddam's antics, since discipline on quotas will mean more money for all of them. The 13 members agreed to cap their total output at 22.49 million bbl. a day through the end of this year, an increase over the previous ceiling of 22.08 million but less than the 23.5 million that was actually flowing when Kuwait and the U.A.E. were breaking the rules...
Even before the OPEC meeting began, uncertainties generated by Iraq's brinkmanship had driven the average price of OPEC oil to $16.25 per bbl., from less than $14 per bbl. at the end of June. But because buyers have stocked up on cheap fuel in recent months, it will take some time before the new production cap shoves prices as far as the new $21 benchmark. That level may be difficult to sustain beyond the winter, when fuel demand rises naturally, as OPEC members with spare capacity are likely to press for new, higher quotas...
...greater cause for concern. The country relies more on foreign fuel today than it ever has, importing 49.9% of its total consumption. If prices rise $3 per bbl., as OPEC wants, the total U.S. import bill will be fattened by about $9 billion, to $63 billion a year. And, unlike the Japanese, Americans tended to relax their efforts to conserve fuel once it became cheap again. At this point, economists do not expect a $3 oil hike to stunt economic growth seriously in the U.S., but even a slight shock is painful with the economy as weak...