Please give us a New Oil Deal!

Sir less than ten years ago the price of oil was less than ten dollars per barrel, the Economist wrote in "The next shock?" March 1999, that "in today's condition the price would head down towards $5" and Sheikh Yamani was the toast of the town with his cute ''The Stone Age didn't end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil.'' Of course all that set us up for low investments in oil exploration and as a consequence the current high prices of oil.

It should therefore be quite clear that when now "Opec seeks assurances on oil demand from consumer nations", FT front page November 12, so that they can invest, it behoves the consumers all over the world to come up with some constructive proposals. The world needs urgently a New Oil Deal and the only ones standing in between consumers and producers to reach it are those who just want that deal for themselves.