Errata
ERRATA
Last time (NUMBERS) I tried to make the point that we are all bombarded by so many numbers that we tend to skim over them like so much trivia. How true! I can offer my own proof. In the prior message I referred to comparative statistics regarding oil well production and costs in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the US. The relative differences were startling. But in whizzing by the related numbers, I overlooked one teeny little detail – just a teeny little one.
The study that inluded the production/cost data was taken in 1979, and following that study there have been 3 wars and UN sanctions that no doubt affected the numbers.
I guess I could reason that even if the numbers were affected by 20%, the basic point would still be valid, i.e., if managed properly the Iraqi oil industry could be a huge (if not dominant) player in the internation oil business. Can you imagine what would happen to the economies of Russia, Venezuela, Mexico, Saudi, Iran, etc., if the world was awash with cheap Iraqi oil?
Oh well. Humble pie isn't all that bad if not eaten too often.
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