Why is Strait of Hormuz the World's Most Important Oil Artery

[canadas canadas + 136]

I though that they were working on a canal as a optional bypass to the Straight of Hormuz.  

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

2 hours ago, RuudinFrance said:

Hi Tom,

I like the rabbit, but what's the hat? RT as in Russia Today?

Being a happy "Exit" member and having access to the "Peaceful pill handbook" as well as the "Exit" fora, it's comforting to know that there are many peaceful ways with little stress to "exit" when one wants to. No need for any third person(s) to help one decide, or forbid one to do so as certain inhumane rules (laws) have not been complied with. I would believe that especially Americans would appreciate the possibility to even do the ultimate under their own direction (in most states, the law prohibits this). Maybe people in the USA would apply a fire arm, I prefer some friendlier and more secure way when I decide it's time to go.

There will be little use for the Sarco, there are numerous easier and less costly ways for people who do not want to make a spectacle of themselves. 

We are members of a Dutch cooperation (22000 paying members) as well and work for a legal way to purchase life ending chemicals for all. It's our idea that all people have a right to exit peacefully when they themselves feel it's time to go.

Have fun.

 

 

Argon breathing is apparently a pretty peaceful way to go.

[Enthalpic + 1,496]

1 hour ago, Tom Kirkman said:

It's a line from the old Rocky & Bullwinkle show

https://youtu.be/kx3sOqW5zj4

I'm just about to turn 41 and that show was barely within my time.  I liked it.

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

On 5/23/2019 at 1:08 AM, Tom Kirkman said:

 

 

Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat...

3D-printable 'Death Pod' for 'stylish' and 'peaceful' suicide premiered at Venice expo

Tired of the old, painful and ugly suicide methods? Now you can have a "peaceful, elective and lawful death" at the press of a button with Sarco, a suicide pod – and it even comes with a built-in eco-friendly coffin.

 Alongside halls filled with abstract art and video installations, browsers at the 58th Venice art Biennale can now get a sneak peak at "Sarco" – short for sarcophagus, – a sleek, portable and 3D printable machine that could help bring suicide into the 21st century.  ...

"This is the most important day of your life, the day you die. It is something not to be hidden, it should be eloquent and beautiful."

... Sarco's main features were first advertised in 2017, and include an unspecified electronic questionnaire to make sure you're sane enough to decide to die. After locking yourself inside and passing the test, you get the code to start the euthanasia process. Enter it, and Sarco starts pumping nitrogen to replace the oxygen in the pod, producing a slight "tipsy" feeling before you nod off for good.

As an added bonus, the transparent lid allows you to die somewhere with a view.

"You can tow it off and have it overlooking the Alps or the lakes. When you're ready you say goodbye, use the code to get in, pull down the canopy, press a button and you die in a few minutes. It's a very peaceful death," Nitschke explained.  ...

 

17 hours ago, RuudinFrance said:

Hi Tom,

I like the rabbit, but what's the hat? RT as in Russia Today?

Being a happy "Exit" member and having access to the "Peaceful pill handbook" as well as the "Exit" fora, it's comforting to know that there are many peaceful ways with little stress to "exit" when one wants to. No need for any third person(s) to help one decide, or forbid one to do so as certain inhumane rules (laws) have not been complied with. I would believe that especially Americans would appreciate the possibility to even do the ultimate under their own direction (in most states, the law prohibits this). Maybe people in the USA would apply a fire arm, I prefer some friendlier and more secure way when I decide it's time to go.

There will be little use for the Sarco, there are numerous easier and less costly ways for people who do not want to make a spectacle of themselves. 

We are members of a Dutch cooperation (22000 paying members) as well and work for a legal way to purchase life ending chemicals for all. It's our idea that all people have a right to exit peacefully when they themselves feel it's time to go.

Have fun.

No thanks.  I'll die gloriously in battle and be ushered into Valhalla by Valkyries, just like my ancestors. 

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

15 hours ago, canadas canadas said:

I though that they were working on a canal as a optional bypass to the Straight of Hormuz.  

That's interesting.  Source? 

[canadas canadas + 136]

https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/study-calls-for-950-kilometre-canal-bypassing-hormuz-1.1581884

[ceo_energemsier + 1,818]

19 minutes ago, canadas canadas said:

https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/study-calls-for-950-kilometre-canal-bypassing-hormuz-1.1581884

They would be very wise to skip Yemen all together and not deal with sabotage and worse things during the construction and after. Oman is good and stable. However, who wants to go and hang around in the Khali?

Many years ago I was in a meeting with several high ranking officials in KSA and some Royals, along with execs from the oil company, the idea was being floated (pun intended) , to build a Panama Canal type sea to sea connection from the East coast to the West coast of KSA, so VLCCs could move back and forth avoid the Hormuz along with other shipping traffic and as a touristic attraction as well.

[ceo_energemsier + 1,818]

Ship insurers 'already charging' war risk premium around Fujairah post-sabotage attacks

Shipping and maritime insurers have already started charging war risk premiums in the waters around the Middle East bunkering hub of Fujairah after the insurance coverage area was expanded to include the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, according to industry executives.

Following attacks on four oil tankers near Fujairah on May 12, the Joint War Committee of insurance body Lloyd's Market Association on May 17 issued a circular adding the Persian Gulf and adjacent waters including parts of Gulf of Oman to the list of areas under risk of "Hull War, Piracy, Terrorism and related perils."

The JWC said the premium will vary and is not automatically added for the insurance cover.

Given the circumstances in the Persian Gulf, it would be expected that underwriters are reviewing voyages on a case-by-case basis and acting according to the risk presented, Neil Roberts, secretary for JWC in the Lloyd's Market Association, told S&P Global Platts.

This may involve changing the terms and conditions of the policy, which can also include charging an additional premium, Roberts said.

However, he said this premium does not get automatically added.

War policies have a seven-day cancellation notice and so the new area is already effective a week after the individual underwriters would have given notice to their clients, he said.

Since the JWC circular was issued on May 17, the new notification will have started from May 24, Roberts said.

Shipping industry sources said it is the prerogative of the insurers to charge such a premium from the owners, who can then strive to pass it on to the charterers if the market situation so warrants.

They confirmed that some of the underwriters are already charging the war risk premium.

A dry bulk Supramax owner whose ships pass the Gulf of Oman told Platts that "our underwriters are already charging [war risk] premium" from us.

On Friday, the Petroleum Association of Japan's president Takashi Tsukioka said that Japanese refiners had not seen an increase in insurance rates as yet.

"We have seen little impact so far [on insurance rates], but this is the beginning of such moves," he said (see story 0907 GMT).

Japan relies heavily on crude imports from the Middle East -- most of which transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Middle Eastern supplies accounted for 89% of Japan's crude imports of 3.15 million b/d in January-April, according to government data.

The expansion of the war risk area comes after Saudi Arabia said two of its oil tankers were victims of a "sabotage attack" off the coast of Fujairah on May 12, while two other vessels -- identified by market sources as UAE-flagged and Norwegian-flagged -- were also attacked.

Fujairah is one of the world's biggest bunkering hubs and lies just outside of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint through which 30% of the world's seaborne oil transits, giving it a strategic location for oil trading.

[ceo_energemsier + 1,818]

Trump’s sanctions hit OPEC oil output despite Saudi boost: survey

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has raised production in May, a Reuters survey found, but not by enough to compensate for lower Iranian exports which collapsed after the United States tightened the screw on Tehran.

The 14-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 30.17 million barrels per day (bpd) in May, the survey showed, down 60,000 bpd from April and the lowest OPEC total since 2015, the Reuters survey showed.

The survey suggests that even though Saudi Arabia is raising output following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to bring down prices, the kingdom is still voluntarily pumping less than an OPEC-led supply deal in place this year allows it to.

“We are seeing OPEC supply falling in May to its lowest in numerous years,” said an industry source who monitors OPEC output. “There are not many big increases this month, and lots of countries posting lower supply.”

Despite lower supplies, crude oil has fallen from a six-month high above $75 a barrel in April to below $68 on Thursday, pressured by concern about the economic impact of the U.S.-China trade dispute.

An OPEC delegate said most countries had kept a lid on output in May, although they might have sought to boost sales in the faster-growing Asian market.

“Producers may change the portfolio to target Asia but not increase production generally,” he said.

OPEC, Russia and other non-members, an alliance known as OPEC+, agreed in December to reduce supply by 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1. OPEC’s share of the cut is 800,000 bpd, to be delivered by 11 members – all except Iran, Libya and Venezuela.

The producers are scheduled to meet in June to decide whether to extend the deal or adjust it.

In May, the 11 OPEC members bound by the agreement achieved 96 percent of pledged cuts, the survey found, compared to 132 percent in April, due to the rise in production in Saudi Arabia, and increases in Iraq and Angola.

But a drop in supply in two of the exempt producers more than offset these gains, the survey found. Iran posted OPEC’s biggest supply drop this month of 400,000 bpd.

The United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in November after pulling out of a 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers. Aiming to cut Iran’s sales to zero, Washington this month ended sanctions waivers for importers of Iranian oil.

Iran has nonetheless sent abroad about 400,000 bpd so far this month, less than half as much as it exported in April.

In Venezuela, supply fell by 50,000 bpd in May due to the impact of U.S. sanctions on state oil company PDVSA and a long-term decline in production, according to the survey.

Output also dropped in Nigeria – which last month overproduced its target by the largest margin – because of a pipeline shutdown that disrupted exports.

Among countries pumping more, Saudi Arabia boosted supply by 200,000 bpd to 10.05 million bpd, the survey found. This is still below its OPEC quota of 10.311 bpd.

Iraq boosted exports and Libya, which is volatile due to unrest, enjoyed a period of relative stability.

Even so, May’s output is the lowest by OPEC since February 2015, excluding membership changes that have taken place since then, Reuters surveys show.

The Reuters survey aims to track supply to the market and is based on shipping data provided by external sources, Refinitiv Eikon flows data and information provided by sources at oil companies, OPEC and consulting firms.

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

On 5/29/2019 at 4:09 PM, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

It certainly is.  The average IQ is 100, and half the population is below that.  Trump - like every other politician - knows this and adjusts to it.  His behavior differs from other politicians for three reasons:
1)  He's a businessman.  He knows appeasing people is a fool's errand and doesn't waste time on it.
2)  He's independently wealthy.  He need not resort to corruption to earn his fortune. 
3)  He's extremely good at showmanship.  If other politicians attempted the level of energy & rhetoric Trump displays, they'd inevitably do something stupid, ending their careers.  Trump is good enough to dance on the edge of that cliff without falling off. 

I'd write a novel on Trump's persuasive skill, but it's already been done.

I expect the average person to be fooled by Trump.  What surprises me is how many of the intelligentsia think he's an immature fool.  Does he make mistakes?  Certainly.  Does that detract from his incredible skill as a politician and chief executive?  Not at all.  Here we have a man who has maintained a business empire, won the most ruthlessly competitive political competition in the world, and proceeded to largely accomplish what he said he'd accomplish despite having zero political experience.  In the face of that, allegedly intelligent people deny his competence.  If I've learned anything from this presidency, it's that a large fraction of "intelligent", credentialed people deserve no respect and should be ignored. 

How did they come to this state though?  They're gullible and weak.  <mild sarcasm> Their belief that Trump is the Great Satan was formulated by the Church of Leftism and handed down by the high priests of media. <\mild sarcasm>  Having accepted this idea uncritically, "intelligent" people can't stomach the idea that he might be competent.  It's too much for their fragile emotions, so they live in denial, grasping at the slightest indications that Trump might have made a mistake.  It's pathetic for "educated" people to behave in such a manner. 

Of course, some of these people maintain the facade that Trump is bad because their fortunes rely on it.  When I see a businessman espousing such ideas, I recognize that they're probably priests of Leftism, guiding their flocks to achieve greater profits. 

Atleast you are honest about Trump being calculative. 

 

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

5 minutes ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

Atleast you are honest about Trump being calculative.

Who ever denied that? 

[Jan van Eck + 7,558]

On 5/31/2019 at 11:54 AM, canadas canadas said:

https://gulfnews.com/world/gulf/saudi/study-calls-for-950-kilometre-canal-bypassing-hormuz-1.1581884

I guess if you throw enough money at it, you too can go blast through a mountain 2,300 feet high for your canal. Maybe you can put all those ridiculous idle Princes to doing real work,  that would have a social benefit, stop them from drag-racing their Lamborghinis around. 

Quote:   “The highest altitude on the Saudi side will be 300 metres above sea level, but in Yemen or Oman, some sites will be 700 metres high,”

 

[Rasmus Jorgensen + 1,169]

3 hours ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

Who ever denied that? 

fair enough. 

So, Trump thinks his voters are "deplorables", but is smart enough not to get caugth saying it? 

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

1 hour ago, Rasmus Jorgensen said:

fair enough. 

So, Trump thinks his voters are "deplorables", but is smart enough not to get caugth saying it? 

Now you're just calling names to provoke a reaction.  Grow up.