Egypt Protests Could Lead to $150 Oil

Egypt is hardly the most influential player in the global energy market. Crude oil production has been in decline there for nearly two decades. Since hitting its peak level of 941,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 1993, producion has dropped steadily – falling to 873,000 bpd in 1997, 696,000 bpd in 2005, and finally to about 685,000 bpd currently. Of course, while Egypt may not produce very much of the world's oil and gas, it does control about 5% of the world's oil and gas delivery. For that reason, the Egypt protests have had a very pronounced effect on the global energy market. The price of oil futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) remain above $90 a barrel, while London Brent Crude has traded above $100 a barrel for two days.