Ever since demand for commodities like oil began to sputter in the second half of 2008, driving the price of crude down from a high of $147.50 per barrel to a four-year low of less than $40.0 a barrel, few seemed willing to look past the demand slump and think about the issue of supply. But with geopolitical disputes ringing in the New Year in sensitive areas such as the Caucasus and the Middle East, supply worries are gradually overtaking priced-in fears about weak demand.