President George Bush's aim of developing a new national energy strategy based upon cutting prices and reducing US reliance on foreign oil is unfeasible, according to Petroleum Argus Weekly.
"A policy which purports to reduce import dependency while bringing back cheap oil is not a viable one," the London-based news letter warned.
If Bush wants the US to use less Middle East oil, he should encourage OPEC to sustain its tight control on output so that a period of high prices will prompt western firms to find new sources of oil, it said.
But this was incompatible with his aim of cutting energy prices and "both cannot be satisfied at the same time," the weekly said in its latest editorial.
It referred to the US always being unsure where it stands on oil prices and suggested that the new US president had a choice to decide whether he wants cheap gasoline or lower Middle East crude prices.
Petroleum Argus said that while an incoming administration must be seen to be doing something innovative, it advised Bush that he may find "in the long run supply and demand problems are best left to the market."
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
