Energy Panic Trigger#1:

Saudi Arabia is the biggest exporter of oil in the world, and it is the only OPEC producer with any significant spare production capacity. It's also the #2 supplier of U.S. imported oil.

Problem: It supplies mostly the heavy oil that, regardless of any production increases, will have little impact on the market that matters the most for U.S. consumers.

I'm talking about gasoline, which is refined mostly from light crude: And light crude supplies are not only tight; the premiums over heavy crude are soaring to their highest levels of all time.

Most important: The Saudis aren't motivated to pump enough oil to bring down prices even if they could! Why should they? They're making money hand over fist - hauling in huge, historic profits - with each new surge in oil prices!