As long as the prospect of sanctioning 4 million barrels per day of Iranian oil is out there, the Iranian situation, in our view, will be the front and center issue that will command market attention.

Sometimes one comes across an especially odd trading day when nothing much makes sense. Yesterday's session was a case in point, with the action in the natural gas complex being particularly puzzling.

Now more than ever, the money is gushing into the pockets of the oil and gas industry, ... The five largest oil companies have recorded profits of over $46 billion during the first six months of this year.

It's hard to make a convincing case that we're reaching peak oil production. It's really a technology issue. The question is how quickly is technology going to advance and will it advance as quickly as demand.

I am extremely skeptical that we're looking at a peak oil perspective. We have tar sands, oil shale, advances in deep drilling. There's a lot out there,

Oil prices are effectively a tax and we want a low-tax global economy. I am happier with lower prices, even if the profits of oil companies come down.