The international crude oil market powers the world. Despite the trend towards more alternative sources of energy, petroleum continues to be, as Marc Rich once said, "the blood that flows through the veins of the earth." With more than half the world's reserves in the Middle East, the most turbulent political region on the planet continues to be in the crosshairs of the fundamental equation for the energy commodity. However, the supply picture has changed dramatically over recent years. Technological advances have lowered the cost of extracting crude oil from the crust of the earth