????康菲充分利用差價，為其位于大陸中部的煉油廠購買低價原油，然后將加工出來的燃料以較高的全球價格售予美國人和其他買主——這種做法不僅沒有受到質(zhì)疑，還得到了行業(yè)的支持。去年11月，康菲宣布將把海路石油管道的部分所有權(quán)售予新的所有者，后者確認(rèn)將反轉(zhuǎn)石油輸送方向，將庫欣的石油再次運出，美國油價應(yīng)聲躍升至100美元/桶以上。很少有某一個單一的事件能如此清楚地顯示出擁有美國戰(zhàn)略管道的公司掌握著這樣巨大的影響力，但美國政府的應(yīng)對舉措依然不痛不癢。

????簡單回顧一下歷史價位表，就可以了解到情況的嚴(yán)重性：2003年以來油價不斷沖擊新高，全然無視中東局勢的最新進(jìn)展以及供求數(shù)據(jù)。自從第二次伊拉克戰(zhàn)爭期間能源價格開始失控以來，美國官員們要么兩手一攤，辭職了事，要么呼吁增加石油鉆探，好像這就是終極解決方案。坦白說，如果解決供應(yīng)是萬能藥，庫欣創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的庫存水平早就應(yīng)該能夠壓低油價，遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)離開100美元的水平線。但事實并非如此。

??? 同樣，也不能說“石油需求”是油價不斷上漲的罪魁禍?zhǔn)祝驗槿蚪?jīng)濟(jì)下滑趨勢延續(xù)，全球石油需求增長亦低迷，美國能源部（Department of Energy）下屬統(tǒng)計部門——能源情報署（Energy Information Administration）本周公布的數(shù)據(jù)也支持了這一點。

????全球電子交易的激增也助長了油價的攀升。如今，任何人只要有交易意愿、有互聯(lián)網(wǎng)接入，就可以把美國能源市場當(dāng)作拉斯維加斯的一個賭場。這是政客們不愿承認(rèn)的另一個事實，潘多拉魔盒（Pandora's Box）已經(jīng)打開，誰還能關(guān)上它呢？

????不相信電子交易容易滋生腐敗的人不妨再好好想想。上個月，美國一家聯(lián)邦上訴法庭駁回了對一位高盛（Goldman Sachs）前程序員的有罪判決；此人曾被認(rèn)定從高盛竊取高頻率交易代碼。美國助理檢察官約瑟夫?費西龐蒂認(rèn)為它可能被用于“操縱市場”。

????雖然這種專有交易代碼是不是真的會失竊還不好說，但我們首先想問的，不愿置評的高盛為什么會擁有可能操縱市場（包括石油市場）的代碼。或許，我們可以從中挖出更多的料來來。

????利亞?麥克格雷斯?古德曼是《避難所：綁架世界石油市場的叛徒》

????譯者：早稻米

????Conoco took full advantage, snapping up the lower-priced barrels for its refineries in the midcontinent and then selling the fuel it made from them to Americans and other buyers at the higher global price -- a move that not only went unchallenged, but was supported by the industry. This past November, after Conoco announced it would sell its portion of Seaway Pipeline to new owners who confirmed they would reverse the pipeline's direction to allow oil to flow out of Cushing again, oil prices promptly popped back above $100 a barrel. Rarely does a single incident so clearly highlight the immense power held by those wielding our nation's strategic pipelines, yet our government continues to wield the kid-glove treatment.

????A cursory glance at the historic price chart reveals the seriousness of the situation: oil prices have hit unprecedented highs for sustained periods since 2003, regardless of the latest news in the Middle East or supply and demand data. Ever since energy prices began to run off the rails during the latest Iraq war, our nation's elected officials have either thrown up their hands in resignation or called for more drilling as if it was the ultimate cure-all. Frankly, if supply was truly the panacea, Cushing's record supply highs should have been enough to knock oil far from its $100 pedestal. But they were not.

????Meanwhile, demand for oil can't be blamed for keeping prices up either, as global demand growth has been sluggish in light of the protracted economic downturn, supported by data out this week from the Energy Information Administration, the statistics arm of the U.S. Department of Energy.

????The global growth spurt in electronic trading hasn't helped matters. These days, anyone in the world with a caffeinated trigger finger and an Internet hookup can treat the U.S. energy market like a Vegas casino. This is another fact politicians don't like to acknowledge, because now that Pandora's Box is open who's going to shut it?

????For those who do not believe electronic trading is susceptible to corruption, think again. A federal appeals court last month reversed a conviction decision against a former Goldman Sachs (GS) programmer who was found guilty of stealing high-frequency trading code from the bank that, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Facciponti, could potentially be used "to manipulate markets."

????While it is concerning that such proprietary trading code might be stolen at all, one might also ask why Goldman, which declined to comment, has code that might manipulate markets – including the oil market – in the first place. Perhaps we could just drown it in more oil.

????Leah McGrath Goodman is the author of The Asylum: The Renegades Who Hijacked the World's Oil Market.