Generic sci-fi scenario #922

[glenatron]

If I was starting a near-future sci-fi novel I might begin with some kind of natural disaster striking one of the areas of the US that handles a sizeable chunk of it's oil production. As American oil prices rise to almost a third of what people in the UK routinely pay OPEC comes under pressure to increase production and it transpires that due to some rather bizarre rules imposed to limit production levels mean that no-one actually admits how much oil they have and that may be there actually is no way to increase output. The market loses faith in the oil companies, and they come crashing down in a cloud of dubious accounting practices, bringing their wage slaves and ultimately the markets themselves down with them.

I'm not saying that's what will happen, but it would be a good start to a near-future sci-fi thriller if one was writing one...