Abrupt changes in the Middle East situation has bounced up the world oil price continuously.

Light sweet crude oil for August future delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit the record high of 78.40 US dollars per barrel on July 14.

Rise and fall in oil price is a normal thing, but scaling still higher in oil price has puzzled people. The price of oil, which was merely about 30 dollars per barrel in early 2003, jumped over 150 percent only in three years' time. "the sinister hand" to persistently push up the oil price is precisely the chaotic situation resultant from prolonged conflicts in the region.

The Middle East has long been a sensitive region for big powers. It can be said that "a slight move in the region shakes the whole world." At present, oil reserves of the Gulf countries amount to more than 49 billion tons, and 70 percent of crude oil extracted in the Gulf region is for export, with a daily export volume of 2 million tons on average, or 60 percent of the total world oil trade volume.

Oil has also brought endless conflicts and disputes among the nations as well as untold sufferings to people in the region, while producing infinite wealth "rolling into" many Gulf oil producing nations.

Incessant bloodshed and wars have upset the entire region, from the Iran-Iraq war in September 1980 to troop dispatch by the United States in 1991 to curb Iraq's annexation of Kuwait and the war launched by the U.S., Britain and other nations on March 20, 2003, apart from sustained bloodshed between Israel and Palestine, and numerous explosions carried out by terrorist organizations.

Turbulence in the Middle East has deprived the oil price of "the sense of reasoning", as the world economy will be affected with the impeded flow of "black blood". Since the outbreak of the Iraq war in 2003, hostilities have all along propped up the world crude oil price. The unresolved nuclear program of Iran, a major oil exporting country, in particular, has led to intensified worries for global oil supply. Moreover, the escalation of conflicts between Israel and the Islamic resistance organization in Palestine, and between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah has made the Middle East situation hard to predict.

Oil is an important strategic resource. Since the beginning of the 20th century, hostilities and belligerent fires have never ceased from the horn of Africa to the Red Sea, and from the Gulf to the Arabia Sea centered on the topic of controlling the Middle East oil. And the "route map" for plundering oil resources has now been extended to major oil producing regions in central Asia and Africa.

It is very likely for oil price to hit 80 dollars per barrel before long provided the chaotic situation remains unresolved. And industry insiders do not even rule out a possibility to chalk up the oil price even to 100 dollars per barrel next year. The oil price's "sustained high fever "is bound to bog down the world economy and proceed to induce inflation and even the possible global economy crisis. So it is extremely urgent for the international community to work in concerted efforts to "extinguish" the Middle East crisis.

By People's Daily Online