Crude Oil -  is the main energy source in this world, with the Global consumption reaching about 85 Million barrels per day.

Crude Oil  is mixture of hydrocarbons that exists as a liquid in natural underground reservoirs and remains liquid at atmospheric pressure after passing through surface separating facilities.

The origin of crude oil

Crude oil is created in places where there are high concentrations of plants and microorganisms in the depths of the earth.
Conditions such as high temperatures and high pressure causes the plants and microorganisms to break up into a mixture called crude oil.
Crude oil is usually found in traps or underground reservoirs until it is discovered by humans.

Crude oil composition

Crude oil is a mixture of hydrocarbons dissolved in each other.It also contains compounds of different elements, where the most important ones are – sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen.
The exact composition of crude oil varies according to the well location (Where it is pumped).

Refineries role

Refineries separate the compounds of crude oil to groups using distillation towers:
Heating the Crude oil in a distillation tower comprised of trays.

Generated steam, condense and heat the most volatile liquid, it than evaporates and rises to the next tray and so on …
(Note that the trays are arranged so that liquid can not go back down). Eventually each tray contains a hydrocarbon mixture with a different boiling range.
The main By-products include cooking gas, fuel oil, tar and polymeric materials.

European Central Bank (ECB)

The European central bank  also known as the “ECB” is The European Monetary Union’s central bank, which governs monetary policy for member countries.

The European Central Bank is considered a top Monetary authority for the 17 countries making the Eurozone: Italy, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Austria, Finland, Belgium, France, Slovenia, Slovakia, Cyprus, Estonia and Malta and it defines and implements the monetary policy for the block. Shareholders of the ECB are the central banks of the 27 EU member states.

The European Central Bank nature and history

The bank was established on June 1th 1998 on the model of the German central bank, the Bundesbank, and is administered by a committee of directors headed by a President.

The European Central Bank goals

The bank proposed to maintain low inflation in the euro, while striving to keep it around the level of 2% per year.
It must also verify the existence of a high and stable employment, deal in foreign reserves of the European System of Central Banks, promote smooth operation of financial market infrastructure in the Trans – European at real-time, and to serve as a technical platform developed to Regulate European Securities.

In addition, the Bank holds the exclusive rights to order the issuance of paper money in Europe.
Member States may issue euro currency, but the procedure must be approved in advance by the ECB.
Until the advent of the euro the Central Bank was the sole authority to issue currency.

On May 9, 2010 the 27 EU Member States agreed to establish the European financial stability mechanism – EFSF.
The purpose of the mechanism is to protect the financial stability of European countries by providing financial assistance to member countries in the eurozone.

The European Central Bank independence

EU institutions and Member States’ governments are obliged to respect the independence of the Bank.
To fulfill its liability to regulators, the central bank has to publish reports on its activities with respect to,among others, to the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council.
The European Parliament also reserved the right to voice their objections and then pass its recommendations regarding candidates to serve on the board of the bank.

The Bank independence has been tested significantly since Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president of France.
Sarkozy sought to make the ECB more sensitive to political influences, while he frequently criticizes the bank interest rate policy.
The independence of the bank had been restricted as a result of the pressure of France and Greece.

Senior official in the budget Committee of the European Union claims that there is a hole in the budget totaling 11 billion euros.

The deficit was caused mainly due to the increasing demands on the part of debt stricken countries for an immediate monetary support.

He also claimed that the Union’s member states are responsible for creating the deficit, mainly due to an incorrect monetary design.

“The European Union has increased the budget for 2012 by 1.86%, compared to the 2011 budget , while the rate of inflation stands at 2%, creating a budget deficit that is continuously growing.”

The EU budget for 2012 stands at 129 billion euros, but due to the European crisis and the growing requirements of other European countries for further assistance, it turns out now that this budget is not enough.

For example, the European Union together with the IMF plan to grant Greece a second rescue package worth of 130 billion euros, with a decent amount financed by the European Union.
In addition, the European Central Bank, a holder of Greek governmental bonds would cut about 11 billion euros off the Greek debt.

Greece to reach an agreement by late Sunday

The Greek government probably prefers to close the details of its rescue package totaling 130 billion euros before it maintains the most significant condition to receive the package, reaching an agreement with representatives of the private
sector about deleting some of its debts.

Greek Finance Minister Mr Evangelos Venizelos, announced following a meeting with representatives from the euro zone, that the parties reached an agreement regarding reforms with the Greek banking system though there is still no agreement on labor market reforms.

During a conference call with reporters Venizelos described the conversation as a “hard” conversation.

He added that they should agree on the rescue package by late Sunday.
“The conference call we had was very difficult,” said Venizelos “There is a lack of patience and great pressure not only from entities that make up the troika – composed of the European Union, European Central Bank and the IMF – but also from countries in the euro area, each of which has its own requirements, problems and priorities.”

It should be noted that one of the conditions for obtaining the longed aid package is agreement from the private sector to erase some of the Greek debt, but last weekend there were no contacts between the Greek government and representatives of the private sector which places the receipt of the aid package in doubt.

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