New offshore oil images on Photobucket

oil offshore

alphanatics — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:46:15 MDT

oil offshore - offshore.jpg

Offshore Oil Drilling

chance1298 — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:51:33 MDT

Offshore Oil Drilling - Oil-2.jpg

Oil Lamp

buttercole — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:41:56 MDT

Oil Lamp - offshore_oil_production_oil_lamp.jpg

Offshore Oil Rigs

lago_b — Fri, 8 May 2009 16:16:52 MDT

Offshore Oil Rigs - ca_offshore_oilrigs.jpg

oil rig

cdcass-photos — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:58:04 MDT

oil rig - Gulf_Offshore_Platform.jpg

JVPC offshore

leanhpho — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:19:10 MDT

JVPC offshore - oil-rig_working.jpg

Offshore oil rig

kimkirk98 — Sat, 9 May 2009 22:38:40 MDT

Offshore oil rig - 100_2425.jpg

Oil Rigs 3

gogo_01ss — Sat, 9 May 2009 21:13:13 MDT

Oil Rigs 3 - a1c57f74.jpg

Semisub by moonlight

steven_topinka — Wed, 20 May 2009 05:04:37 MDT

Semisub by moonlight - offshore-oil-rig.jpg

Offshore Helipad

alexkurian — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:23:21 MDT

Offshore Helipad - 7793-17.jpg

Muppets big in oil

BIGSTU_uk — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:38:14 MDT

Muppets big in oil - DSCF2214.jpg

DSC04460.jpg

dandanthrash — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:36:16 MDT

DSC04460.jpg

offshore oil rig

ThunderHawk Platform 1

waytoomanyhobbies — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:36:29 MDT

ThunderHawk Platform 1 - IMG_0108.jpg

Offshore oil production platform topsides

After Offshore Oil Drilling

BishopPlace — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:02:53 MDT

After Offshore Oil Drilling - the-beach-1.jpg

After Offshore Oil Drilling

rig north sea

bluebost — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:47:16 MDT

rig north sea - An_oil_rig_offshore_Vungtau.jpg

My Bro offshore on a oil righe dives

Bluekitty5912 — Sat, 9 May 2009 22:40:16 MDT

My Bro offshore on a oil righe dives - underwaterboy.jpg

Offshore Rig at sunset

timvines5640 — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:02:10 MDT

Offshore Rig at sunset - offshore_pic.jpg

Giant offshore oil rig

GSRPOC — Sat, 9 May 2009 21:20:20 MDT

Giant offshore oil rig - IMG_0867.jpg

UK Offshore Oil Production

Don_Migeru — Sun, 10 May 2009 18:11:10 MDT

UK Offshore Oil Production - UKoffshore00to05grp.png

Oil consumption with new offshore drilling

ailladar — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:34:21 MDT

Oil consumption with new offshore drilling - usoilconsumption.jpg

Offshore Oil Rig

RyanOReilly — Sat, 9 May 2009 12:39:46 MDT

Offshore Oil Rig - OffshoreOilRig.jpg

Oil rigs 160 miles of the coast of Texas

erw5979 — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:48:13 MDT

Oil rigs 160 miles of the coast of Texas - HoneymoonCruise526.jpg

Beautiful Jackup Platform

tahulendinghendra — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:41:52 MDT

Beautiful Jackup Platform - Offshore_Oil_Platform.jpg

Location of Brazil's Oil Offshore

climatedata — Sat, 9 May 2009 21:32:17 MDT

Location of Brazil's Oil Offshore - _44229006_braz_oil_map203.gif

Florida Map 3

p4ngo1ln — Sun, 10 May 2009 20:19:42 MDT

Florida Map 3 - florida-moving-companies-map3.jpg

Oil Rig Mural

capnbryan — Sat, 9 May 2009 23:11:59 MDT

Oil Rig Mural - OilWallpaper.jpg

Offshore oil rig

kimkirk98 — Sat, 9 May 2009 22:38:40 MDT

Offshore oil rig - 100_2426.jpg

oildiving

nogososro — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:44:46 MDT

oildiving - capernwray_oil_rig.jpg

Sunset View from offshore rig

alexkurian — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:22:44 MDT

Sunset View from offshore rig - 7a1b-7.jpg

drink my oil

Koryoshi666 — Sun, 10 May 2009 15:13:54 MDT

drink my oil - Milkywhale.jpg

a reply to offshore drilling you suck McCain

Back beach again The water is filthy from offshore oil platforms

Willinasia — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:02:12 MDT

Back beach again The water is filthy from offshore oil platforms - P1000865.jpg

Oil amp Gas Production Platform

operator0224 — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:58:37 MDT

Oil amp Gas Production Platform - productionplatform.jpg

Offshore Oil amp Gas Production Platform

Oil Rig

saigon113 — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:28:11 MDT

Oil Rig - oil_rig.jpg

Oil Rig

NativeOne_2008 — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:08:47 MDT

Oil Rig - Rig.jpg

offshore

nogososro — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:47:51 MDT

offshore - offshore-Malampaya.jpg

77 Lucas Oil

NigelHook — Mon, 11 May 2009 06:58:03 MDT

77 Lucas Oil - _Y2Z0641.jpg

Overnight sail past offshore oil platforms

jimmiebuchanan — Sun, 10 May 2009 17:27:53 MDT

Overnight sail past offshore oil platforms - DSC01834.jpg

sares4

1ace11 — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:39:10 MDT

sares4 - sares4.gif

2009 Lucas Oil Outerlimits Offshore Raceteam

NigelHook — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:22:53 MDT

2009 Lucas Oil Outerlimits Offshore Raceteam - PBP1Mmd_M0198.jpg

Mike Fiore Andy Wilby Joe Sgro and Nigel Hook

Offshore oil rigs

gonewestphotography — Wed, 2 Sep 2009 07:42:09 MDT

Offshore oil rigs - 100_1413.jpg

ASWR

Balth3465 — Sun, 10 May 2009 23:45:12 MDT

ASWR - skeleton_008.jpg

An offshore oil extracting platform lost in the middle of the Linden seas

Oil amp Gas Offshore Tug Boat

Sabahan69 — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:59:40 MDT

Oil amp Gas Offshore Tug Boat - OilGasTugBoat1221007.jpg

Standby in Labuan Port area Oil Gas Tug Boats

Baldwin Hills Oil Rig

alexcathy — Sun, 10 May 2009 17:36:15 MDT

Baldwin Hills Oil Rig - pxp_oilrig.jpg

Onshore Rig

nogososro — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:37:39 MDT

Onshore Rig - Rig2Apexindo.jpg

Oil in Arctic

arctifocus — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:30:43 MDT

Oil in Arctic - Fotolia_4955324_XS.jpg

Peak Oil USA

exit27a — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:33:42 MDT

Peak Oil USA - US_Oil_Production_and_Imports_1920_.png

USA oil production peaked in 1970 Demand for consumption is still growining

A Debate over Florida's Future Offshore Oil Drilling

ruben2009_album — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:12:30 MDT

A Debate over Florida's Future Offshore Oil Drilling - IMGP5122.jpg

The Florida House Democratic Caucus hosted a discussion concerning proposals to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling in state waters Presenters included Frank Matthews of the Hopping Green Sams law firm and others representing Florida Energy Associates Eric Draper of the Florida Audubon Society and various other experts on the subject

Jack up Rig

Lost_Cajun — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 08:33:31 MDT

Jack up Rig - PIC-0114.jpg

2008 World Champion Lucas Oil Outerlimits

NigelHook — Mon, 11 May 2009 08:18:51 MDT

2008 World Champion Lucas Oil Outerlimits - KW08_3741OL_JayNichols-small800.jpg

Super V Unlimited

lego mania

marylodge — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:53:59 MDT

lego mania - DSC02065.jpg

no these are actually 2 of 3 mud pumps that were installed for the drilling fluid on the offshore oil rig

Oil workers embarking SSFC Super Puma offshore Phan Thiet

locnvvn — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:41:22 MDT

Oil workers embarking SSFC Super Puma offshore Phan Thiet - EC332L2_SSFC2.jpg

Birds hate offshore drilling

mbayrob — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:57:10 MDT

Birds hate offshore drilling - korean-spill.jpg

Korean oil spill

well workers

rotorhed22 — Sun, 10 May 2009 01:55:02 MDT

well workers - IMG_6236.jpg

Superior Offshore well services division workers pumping oil or whatever out of the well in the cofferdam

saudirig

1ace11 — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:47:18 MDT

saudirig - saudirig.gif

Majority Supports Drilling

DonaldDouglas — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:47:59 MDT

Majority Supports Drilling - 080619_drilling1__sjsuuuu.gif

Gallup Poll

robeliusfig66r

1ace11 — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:05:38 MDT

robeliusfig66r - robeliusfig66r.png

immersion006.jpg

bigsteves — Sun, 10 May 2009 17:59:57 MDT

immersion006.jpg

neoprene suit

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - AerialFrontRunner0061.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - AerialFrontRunner008.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - AerialFrontRunner009.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - AerialFrontRunner010.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - AerialFrontRunner0111.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - AerialFrontRunner012.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - AerialFrontRunner014.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - FrontRunner01.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - FrontRunner02.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - FrontRunner03.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 23:32:47 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - FrontRunner04.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA

IMG_3813.jpg

hrbcphoto — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:24:38 MDT

IMG_3813.jpg

The house Don and Jim worked on was right next door to the Bootheville Heliport The helicopters take workers out in the Gulf to the offshore oil rigs

price

1ace11 — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:07:52 MDT

price - Price.jpg

Aramco field capacity

1ace11 — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:33:48 MDT

Aramco field capacity - Aramcocapacityfield.jpg

Lirik

nogososro — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:43:31 MDT

Lirik - DSCN2329.jpg

South American sea lions

johnnyrook1 — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:54:46 MDT

South American sea lions - 800px-Lobo-001.jpg

South American sea lions

Space Radar Image of Oil Slicks

cdo908 — Sun, 10 May 2009 21:59:58 MDT

Space Radar Image of Oil Slicks - PIA01803_md.jpg

radar image of an offshore drilling field about 150 km 93 miles west of Bombay India in the Arabian Sea The dark streaks are extensive oil slicks surrounding many of the drilling platforms which appear as bright white spots

Oil and the World Economy

aangelinsf — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:35:17 MDT

Oil and the World Economy - Slide-OilAndTheWorldEconomy.png

Strangling Oil Supplies

MSimon6808 — Sun, 10 May 2009 19:16:08 MDT

Strangling Oil Supplies - 5292008stranglingsupply-jpg.jpg

GoM200801

1ace11 — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:54:23 MDT

GoM200801 - GoM200801.gif

Blaiza

s_veilleux32 — Tue, 12 May 2009 10:17:07 MDT

Blaiza - asia_map.jpg

angola

chevwrong — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 00:14:02 MDT

angola - offshore-oil-rig.jpg

Offshore

LadyOfMist36 — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:08:38 MDT

Offshore - 110platform.jpg

Oil platform

mrc well

1ace11 — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:20:16 MDT

mrc well - maximum_reservoir_contact_well.jpg

Danish wind power

Nick_Rouse — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:00:24 MDT

Danish wind power - Danishwindpower.jpg

WHCP

nogososro — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:09:12 MDT

WHCP - wellheadcontrolpaneljpg.gif

PinochiObama

mgarbettjr — Sat, 9 May 2009 11:20:44 MDT

PinochiObama - pinochi-Obama.jpg

Arctic sea ice June 2000

johnnyrook1 — Mon, 11 May 2009 02:28:24 MDT

Arctic sea ice June 2000 - 800px-Sea_Ice_MeltPondsNOAAJune2000.png

Arctic sea ice June 2000

WTG New Transmission Lines Needed

NBBooks — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:51:21 MDT

WTG New Transmission Lines Needed - WTGNewTransmissionLinesNeeded.jpg

Rebuilding New Orleans

thetealwonder — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:57:04 MDT

Rebuilding New Orleans - nola.jpg

When President Bush stood in Jackson Square and promised a sweeping recovery the city of New Orleans cheered It was a touching moment where politics were pushed aside hope was restored in a city without a future and if but for a fleeting second New Orleans breathed againNow that promise is just one of the many broken ones New Orleans is trying to piece together Much like the levees that could withstand a category three hurricane the buses that never came the government loans cut short and the insurance money that for many will never come the promise of sweeping recovery and massive government aid is just a ghost that continues to haunt the city as it tries to move onWorse still many are debating whether or not the city should be rebuilt at all and if it is whether any Federal money should be spent on it In their minds the city invited trouble by existing below sea level After all they say this type of disaster was inevitable and will just happen again perhaps worse if its rebuilt Theyve already taken to calling New Orleans Americas Atlantis and have written off the city as a footnote in historyNew Orleans however is not dead but it is living off of a steady diet of MREs and broken promises Promises fed by the government at all levels and promises that we now need to collect on one way or another if we hope to surviveAbandonmentMany wonder aloud whether or not the city is worth being rebuilt Its a well known fact that the city is slowly sinking that nature is quickly trying to turn New Orleans into an island and that much of the city was built upon poorly engineered soil Though other countries such as the Netherlands have little problem dealing with such challenges people still say that New Orleans is doomed and that no amount of repair work is going to change thatFurthermore they say that what happened to the lives in New Orleans is the fault of those who made the choice to live there not the engineers who told them that the levees were safe or the officials who were tasked with making sure the city was prepared They want to look for any reason to avoid spending federal money on the city while dodging the guilt and shame that would come with ignoring the cries of thousands of needy peopleIf one wants to skip on giving Federal aid because the disaster was inevitable and is likely to happen again thats fine But one has to apply such a policy fairly and that means not giving any funds to San Francisco when another earthquake hits any Midwestern city that get struck by a tornado any village along a river that gets flooded any coastal city when a hurricane strikes New York City or Washington DC when another terrorist attack hits or any other city with a disaster that was in any way predictable and likely to be repeatedIf you think that such a policy would be cruel but that somehow New Orleans is an exception you have to ask yourself why Arent all of the above disasters just as predictable and at least as likely as what happened to New Orleans It is a bitter pill to swallow but it is the cold truthThe fact is most people who want to abandon the city want to do so not because its impractical to sustain it 14 billion dollars to shore up the levees and protect the city against erosion is well within the reach of the worlds wealthiest nation but because of Katrina burnout With the startling images off of our TVs and the memory of that dark September fading people dont want to foot the bill for major disaster relief The heartstrings are exhausted and the minds have long since forgottenIn short people just dont care anymore and the excuses for why it is ok not to care have already started Much of the nation wants to move on and is willing to leave New Orleans behind in the processIt makes you wonder though exactly what country am I inReasons Not to LeaveThough no city should ever have to justify its existence New Orleans does have an easier time than most in doing so In addition to being one of Americas most unique cities especially in terms of culture being a famed city of both song and literature alike being an integral part of American culture and being one of the nations most popular tourist destinations New Orleans has a lot to offer the country in more practical termsThe Port of New Orleans for example is the worlds largest port system and the only deepwater port in the country with proximity to six class one railroads New Orleans business district known as the CBD is one of the countrys largest and was ranked by Expansion Management Magazine as being the fourth biggest hot market and Inc a popular business magazine also ranked the city itself as the eighteenth best market for doing businessNew Orleans is also critical for the production of oil and natural gas many large oil companies have critical facilities including refineries and pipelines in and around the city and use New Orleans as a base for their offshore activities The state of Louisiana spearheaded by its New Orleans facility produces 162 million barrels of oil a day and leads the country in natural gas infrastructureFinally New Orleans is one of the few places in the country where manufacturing is still thriving especially in the shipbuilding industry with large companies such as Northrup Gruman and Bollinger Shipyards employing thousands of workersIn the end even if you dont agree with the humanitarian reasons for investing in New Orleans its plain to see that it makes good financial sense When the local economy offers so much to the state and to the country much of it due to the citys location and history its easy to see why investing in it is not just the right thing to do but also good businessOne would think that our government if nothing else would understand money well enough to know a good deal when it sees oneApparently though that is simply not the caseTrying to Move OnDespite the promises the humanitarian needs and logical reasons New Orleans is having to press on largely without federal aid As FEMA caps aid to the city and bills to rebuild the levees and protect the city sit idle in Congress New Orleans tries to move on Its residents those that have returned have begun the process of rebuilding with their own funds what insurance money they are able to get and what federal assistance is availableThough jobs are plentiful in the city there is little housing to sustain them Most of those who are in the city now either sustained little damage to their homes or are workers here solely to do hurricane repairWhile the city is certainly alive and coming back into its own that heartbeat is being sustained by locals here and scattered throughout the country that are keeping it going We are not Americas Atlantis yet but without help from our countrymen we very likely will beIts time for the government to fulfill the promises that they made both before and after Katrina and for all of us to band together and help rebuild one of the countrys greatest and unique citiesWe can do it the resources and plans are there to make it happen we just have to be willing to work in order to make it happen

Stock Prices during the Kuwait Souk Al Manakh

don_veto — Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:42:37 MST

Stock Prices during the Kuwait Souk Al Manakh - manakh_prices.jpg

Perhaps the greatest speculative mania of all time was Kuwaits Souk alManakh stock bubble in the early 1980s which is as fascinating as it was devastating The bull market began when investing in local Gulf Companies became in vogue with Kuwaitis who wished to ride the coattails of the oilinduced Middle Eastern economic boom A peculiar Kuwaiti custom allowed traders to pay for stocks using postdated checks under the assumption that default would be unthinkable Unsurprisingly human avarice prevailed as some traders speculated in stocks paid for by billions of dollars worth of unsecured checks causing the stock market to inflate like a balloon and pop in a most analogous manner The rise in oil prices in the late 1970s created an unprecedented amount of wealth in the oilrich Persian Gulf countries with Kuwait receiving a particularly large share of the good fortune As US stocks embarked down a perilous bear market Kuwaiti shares were experiencing a seemingly unstoppable bull run as nouveau riche Kuwaitis turned to stocks as an investment vehicle to store their wealth The bull market was abetted by the scarcity of Kuwaiti stocks which consisted of only a few dozen uninteresting companies that were traded on the official exchange 1 The scarcity was the result of the royal sheiks reluctance to grant the corporate charters necessary for companies to become publicly traded for fear that companies might become vehicles for stock speculation 2 Kuwaiti investors however werent concerned with risk as their collective memories recalled a market panic in 1976 and 1977 in which the government had moved in to support prices buying heavily for its own account so that nobody would suffer 1 These traders assumed that the government would always be on the sidelines ready to bail the market out if needed in the future in effect creating a floor underneath share prices By the summer of 1981 an unofficial overthecounter stock market was formed called the Souk alManakh which started specializing in the trade of highly speculative unregulated nonKuwaiti companies such as those incorporated in Bahrain or the United Arab Emirates 3 Formerly a camel trading venue 1 the Souks history was long intertwined with trading Not long after the Souks founding the market became a hotbed of speculation overflowing with portly gentlemen in flowing white gowns thobes with capacious pockets full of papers worry beads in one hand cigarette in the other 1 Interest in Kuwaits heavilyregulated official market dwindled as the Souk earned the reputation of being the more exciting of the two markets in which one could double their money within a few months Sharing more similarities with a casino than a stock market the Souk alManakh attracted wealthy highrollers whose preferred method of trading entailed placing orders via car phones 1 Boredom during Ramadan spurred daily flurries of trading activity lasting well into midnight as a form of entertainment 1Souk stocks were Gulf companies incorporated outside of Kuwait and not subject to Kuwaiti regulation with interests ranging from property to poultry farming 4 Fitting the markets gambling nature most of these companies were little more than shell games 2 with very little in the way of assets let alone earnings with only about half of the Manakh companies even publishing annual reports 1 Company fundamentals mattered very little however to traders who regularly saw these same stocks rising 20 to 50 percent a month 1 According to Collapse of the Souk Eventually the securities of fiftyfour real and ficitious offshore companies were traded on the Souk with no relation to company performances or prospects Most of these companies had been established as recently as 1979 or 1980Adding fuel to the fire was the type of informal margin financing through the use of postdated checks which were accepted as a cash equivalent as per Kuwaiti custom This type of personal credit didnt require a bank balance the receiver hopes that there will be one when the due date rolls around 5 The Kuwaiti culture mandated that payment would be made as a default would have violated the tradition of trust 1 as well as caused a loss of face upon the entire family The rapid influx of speculative capital caused Kuwaiti stocks to skyrocket with Souk shares increasing by an average of 63 percent in 1981 3 The prospect of nearly instant wealth proved too enticing causing many Souk players to draw against funds they didnt have convinced that they could simply sell off their shares to raise cash when the checks came due This type of speculation involved financial leverage which can greatly amplify any gains or losses in the underlying market Greed caused traders only to see themselves tripling their money as compared to the equally plausible scenario in which they could have incurred large debts resulting in bankruptcy Trading on the Souk epitomized financial Russian roulette Stock speculation fever gripped Kuwaiti culture as thousands of traders with little business experience rushed to get their hands on any stock they could find As the Souk alManakh market soared to incredible new heights many speculators became willing to issue postdated checks for double or triple a stocks purchase price confident that the share prices would rise by that much by the time they had to pay 1 An informal futures market arose in postdated checks as investors upon receiving their shares used them as collateral to borrow even more money for stock speculation The traders who received the double or triplepremium postdated checks in return for selling their stock then proceeded to discount the checks in return for cash that cash was then parlayed into an even larger stock investment 3 Like the tulip bulb mania and the South Sea bubble before it the Souk alManakh miracle was an illusion an inverted pyramid reliant upon share prices increasing exponentially for its continued existence Word of the Souk alManakh money machine spread like wildfire around the Middle East causing wealthy Palestinians Egyptians and Pakistanis to purchase stock through Kuwaiti nominees as only Kuwaitis could trade legally NonKuwaitis were just as eager to invest despite their lack of legal standing At the booms peak in 19801981 some stocks were advancing 100 percent per month with some advancing tentimes One stock The Gulf Company for Industrial Development even advanced fifteenfold The combination of extreme stock gains and astronomical amounts of leverage made many speculators millionaires and billionaires many times over The IPO market flourished as enterprising and crafty business people sought to take advantage of the credulous investing publics insatiable appetite for shares of all kinds Scam companies were spawned overnight with neither customers nor products while legally escaping the regulation of Kuwaiti authorities One IPO example was formerly a failed 100 million real estate venture that was converted to a hospital called Gulf Medical and brought public by the individuals looking to recoup their initial investment So successful was the IPO that it was 2600 times oversubscribed where for a whole week one to two planeloads of completed subscription forms arrived daily from around the Middle East The investment bank hired forty Egyptian schoolteachers to process the stacks of paperwork Over the next few months Gulf Medical proceeded to to advance 800 percent garnering the owners a handsome profit 1 Shares of investment companies that invested in other Souk stocks were among the more popular types of stocks traded creating a large amount of overlap between stock opportunities as well as serving to inflate the market as whole Even more preposterous were the Fund of Funds of Fundsinvestment funds that specialized in investing in companies that invested in Manakh companies Each Manakh fund sold at large premiums over their assets 1 highlighting their sole purpose of making a quick profit at the expense of their investorsThe height of the societywide insanity occurred as eight individuals known as the Cavaliers floated a total of 55 billion in postdated checks seemingly in an attempt to corner the market The most prolific check writer of the Cavaliers was Jassim alMutawa a Passport Office employee in his earlytwenties who managed to pass off 14 billion all by himself Sloppy accounting on the part of his brother and partner Najeeb alMutawa caused Jassim to become a staggering 34 billion overdrawn 1 According to Collapse of the SoukEventually approximately 29000 checks amounting to 93 billion were estimated to have been written against the shares of companies that were for practical purposes worthless Even government leaders werent immune to the stock speculation fever with members of the ruling alSabah party and members of Parliament trying their luck in the market It was even rumored that the Minister of Commerce Jassim alMarzouk tried his hand in the market despite it being his responsibility to regulate it 1The vast pools of cash being pumped into the market resulted in over 35 billion shares having traded hands by early 1982 4 with Kuwaits total market capitalization rocketing from 5 billion to an unsustainable 100 billion 1 Despite Kuwaits miniscule size its market capitalization was the third highest in the world behind only the United States and Japan 2 By late 1982 share prices commonly doubled by the hour and no price was considered too high to pay for a share4 Stories abound of outsiders questioning the Souk alManakh markets sustainability only to be dismissed with quips such as But things are different here Our government cant permit a collapse 1 and You Westerners have been coming here for five yearsyou all have predicted a crash Dont you understand there has never been a place on earth like the Gulf with such unprecedented wealth You will never understand that the Gulf market cannot crash 2 Just like in the tulip bulb mania the Mississippi Buble the South Sea Bubble the 1929 bubble the Nasdaq Bubble investors thought they were in a New Era The Kuwaiti version of the New Era stemmed from their taking for granted that the government would support share prices and the assumption that the Persian Gulf oil economy would keep soaring to even more spectacular heights In August of 1982 a female speculator presented one of Jassim alMutawas postdated checks for payment ahead of its due date catching him unable to pay his debts Within an instant the Souk alManakh house of cards imploded throwing hundreds of speculators into default Gulf Medical lost 98 percent of its value To make matters worse an overabundance of oil suppressed prices dropping Kuwaits 1982 oil revenues to only a quarter of those of 1980 Most devastating was the statement by Kuwaits new finance minister Abdelatif alHamad indicating that he had no intention of supporting the market at the insane levels to which it had risen1 preferring that speculators should pay for their sins in accordance with Islamic tradition 3 The Souks decline was so instantaneous and dramatic that it couldnt even be considered a crash as there were simply no bids 2 By September 1982 the Ministry of Finance ordered all dubious checks to be turned in for clearance tallying the value of worthless checks at 91 billion 5 The final result of the worlds greatest speculative orgy was a loss equivalent to 90000 for every Kuwait man woman and child 3 and commerce slowing to a trickle The Kuwaiti government promptly shut down the Souk alManakh built a new stock exchange and started over again

un mapa de sur amiericana

lmasse37 — Sun, 10 May 2009 18:34:07 MDT

un mapa de sur amiericana - south_america_map.gif

Bush Kissing Saudi Prince

codename_009 — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:45:59 MDT

Bush Kissing Saudi Prince - BushKissingSaudiPrince.jpg

guapings of offshore

dween64 — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:06:26 MDT

guapings of offshore - DSCF0624.jpg

oil and gas platform of Brunei Shell petroleum co

Murphy FrontRunner

nomadnivrek — Mon, 11 May 2009 22:11:39 MDT

Murphy FrontRunner - FrontRunner05.jpg

This is a oil and gas production platform It is located in the Green Canyon Block of the Gulf of Mexico and is owned by Murphy USA