He goes on Bloomberg and explains that under-investment by producers is not the explanation for the rise in oil prices.

 

Right now, he says, the world is burning 96 million barrels per day.  But pre-COVID the world was burning 100 million barrels per day, and the price was quite a bit lower.  So this proves that inadequate CAPEX is not the problem.  Something else must be going on.

 

Does he say what that might be?  Of course not.  You are invited to cook up your own conspiracy theory.

 

I take from this that Birol and his masters are seriously concerned about how the energy situation will affect the social license they have developed for their climate agenda.  They're willing to say just about anything to try and keep it more or less on track.

 

Not terribly shocking - we're in a say-anything-you-can-get-away-with world.  The money question is whether they will do absolutely anything that in their minds might help protect their agenda.

 

In this context the DEBKA piece about the Bidenistas reaching for an Iranian accord  fits right in.  The Saudis don't like it, for sure, so there's some payback for Riyadh's rejection of the request for more oil production.  (Plus, the US Administration doesn't like MBS anyway.)  A relaxation of sanctions on Iran might get some more oil into the markets, which in turn would mitigate the gasoline price rise and help keep the US population on board for saving the planet.

 

It might hold together for them until after the next election.  And if that's their calculation, it's probably going to happen.

 

Again, the DEBKA link is here