Kuwait's oil minister says there will be no oil supply reduction at OPEC's meeting in September, predicting oil could be as high as $US80 a barrel by Christmas.

Frankly, OPEC was as surprised as everyone else when oil topped the $70 a barrel - US - mark early this month. OPEC cut oil production by 4.5 million barrels a day last year in a failed attempt to maintain the price above $US50 a barrel.

Uncertainty over political unrest in Iran has not yet affected oil prices. But analysts say disputes over the recent presidential election in Iran have the capacity to de-stabilise the world oil market.

So, what a pity the Persian Gulf doesn't contain two-thirds of the world's known reserves Big Macs ... instead of oil. Iran, which most people in the west probably wouldn't be able to find on a map, produces 3.8 million barrels of oil a day. More worryingly, it could block the Straits of Hormuz - the narrow waterway through which all the oil passes. If that happens, we'll all get a front-row seat on the Oil Crisis express. Again.