The price of oil gushed above a record high $44 a barrel this week. The president of OPEC called the price crazy and then announced that the cartel has no reserves to meet demand or cool the market.
The U.S. is still OPEC's best customer, with a demand that climbs every year by more than the total consumption of any other country, except Japan and China. Those two countries are engaged in a battle to secure their supplies. Now, emerging economic powers like India and Brazil are also part of the global guzzling that's increasing oil demand by millions of barrels a year.
Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran, Global Environment Energy Correspondent for "The Economist," and author of "POwer to the People: How the Coming Energy Revolution Will Transform an Industry, Change Our Lives, and Maybe Even Save the Planet"
Ed Morse, Exective Advisor, Hess Energy Trading Company, Deputy Asst Secretary of State for International Energy Policy under Carter and Reagan administrations
