Even as Gordon Brown proposed a “new deal” between oil producers and consumers, the outlook worsened in the dirty market for crude – a short-term world of crises, logjams, turbulence and market speculation.

In the Niger delta, an oil pipeline operated by Chevron was blown up yesterday, and an offshore oil platform was attacked by rebels last week. Nigeria, an Opec state, has probably lost a third of production.

This wipes out what gain might emerge from King Abdullah’s promise of more oil from Saudi Arabia, even assuming that the market wanted his barrels. The truth is that the world doesn’t need the extra Saudi crude. ... Read full article