There is no gas shortage
Ed Wallace BusinessWeek USA April 1, 2008

"They see speculation in the market, I see decline in global inventories. I don't think this is a big surprise, that we've had a jump in price when there has been a decrease in crude inventories." — Energy Secretary Sam Bodman, Bloomberg News, Mar. 5, 2008

"It should be obvious to you all that the [gasoline] demand is outstripping supply, which causes prices to go up." — President George W. Bush, Associated Press, Mar. 5, 2008

One wonders if verifiable facts ever get in the way of this administration's statements on issues that are critical to the average American's wellbeing. After all, last time I checked, when politicians are elected to public office, or appointed, as is Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman, they must take an oath to the American people before assuming their new positions. How can they forget a sacred oath so quickly? Were they daydreaming when they took it, so it never meant anything to begin with? Maybe it's just another promise you have to make to get into office: When you're securely incumbent you can ignore even solemn oaths you took. Obviously, the two quotes that led this article came from discussions concerning the current high price for oil on the futures market. Bodman appears to be protecting the speculators in oil, as opposed to looking after the interests of all Americans. President Bush, apparently, has never talked to the Energy Dept.'s Energy Information Agency to see whether gasoline demand is actually up. More troubling, the writer of that particular Associated Press article obviously didn't look up the EIA's numbers to verify the President's assertions. They weren't accurate. ... On the same day the President and our Energy Secretary made those foolish comments, no less an authority than ExxonMobil Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson was quoted by Marketwatch as saying, "The record run in oil prices is related more to speculation and a weakening dollar than supply and demand in the market." He added, "In terms of fundamentals, fear of supply reliability is overblown." ...

Oil over $117, Opec refuses to raise supply
Times of India India April 22, 2008

Crude oil rose above $117 a barrel for the first time after Opec said it will maintain production, rejecting calls from the UK and Japan to boost output. There is no shortage of oil in the market, secretary-general Abdalla el-Badri said on Sunday in Rome, blaming the weak dollar and speculators for high prices. Even if the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raises production, "we will not find people to buy the increment," president Chakib Khelil said, as cited by Kuwait's state news agency. ...