[midas]

BBB-

$80 per barrel ($4 per gallon) - depression? Doubtful - people will always adjust - as gas prices head higher - fuel economy will start to prevail again putting downward pressure on demand. Alternatives such as electric cars, biodiesel and fuel cells will also become more cost effective thus lessening demand. The China factor could be an issue - put one car in every family over there and there could be shortages.

I'll give you the armaggedon scenario - $5-10 barrel. Every developing country who relies on oil for hard currency could collapse. Russia, most middle Eastern countries and most U.S. oil companies would be screwed. Especially if their cost of production is greater than $10 per bbl.. That's why the gov't talks a good game about reducing gas prices but really does nothing about solving the long-term dependency problem. Us gas guzzlers are basically supporting very fragile countries everytime we fill-up.