Oil over troubled waters

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: An element of farce and futility pervaded the Jeddah Energy Meeting in Saudi Arabia on the June 22. But the lack of communication that attended that gathering was best symbolised for me the next day when, as part of a journalist pack, I was flown to Khurais - the new showpiece oil production facility of Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil monolith. The trip was organised to demonstrate Saudi readiness to boost global oil supply. From mid-2009, Khurais will add 1.2 million barrels a day to global production. Minutes after the Saudi Aramco owned Boeing 737 lifted off from Jeddah, the aircraft's audio system crackled to life with a rendition of the takbeer, an Arabic invocation to the greatness of Allah. With the British journalist from AFP next to me suddenly getting restless, and noticeably paler, I asked... [read full story]