Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
A goal of mine has been to contact individuals in
various positions that may have first hand information that may shed more light on the energy situation. Today was one of those days. I had an interesting discussion with a senior level executive of one of this country’s reputable energy firms.
Saudi Arabia failed to provide the United States with any new promises or assurances over oil supplies ahead of a key meeting between Crown Prince Abdullah and George W. Bush at the president’s ranch in Crawford, Texas on Monday.
[Interview with President Bush covers gas prices, Saudi pumping capacity and the future of hydrocarbons] “…we’re just going to have to change our habits. And that’s one of the reasons why I funded the hydrogen-powered automobile initiative, fully recognizing that, you know, with the decade we’re going to have to think about how to drive different — you know, power, power our automobiles. It’s a — the hydrocarbon society will still be with us, but it can’t be with us to the extent it is today.”
UK oil depletion awareness organisation PowerSwitch.org.uk officially launches free forum for people concerned about the imminent peak in global oil production and the consequences for the UK to meet, talk and work locally to raise awareness.
Oil production could peak next year, reports John Vidal. Just kiss your lifestyle goodbye. [Long serious piece in a major UK newspaper, featuring Collin Campbell, Chris Skrebowski, etc.]
…there’s a sense in which it’s advantageous if the oil peak is earlier. The reason why is it will compel the world, primarily the U.S. here, to move toward something like sustainable energy.
If there’s unbounded amounts of hydrocarbons, we’re just going to destroy the environment for human life or most biological life, so the earlier the peak is, in some respects – yes, it could be catastrophic, it could also be beneficial.
PO means we need to get out of our cars / IMF urges oil data transparency / Energy bill full of pork / Underwater crystals may yield energy / India loves its trains / Eat local / Cross between car and bike
NG industry insider talks / CS Monitor: Good-bye cheap gas / America’s peak experience / PO a myth, says OPEC / Farmers hear about PO / ODAC report / Greenspan wants an energy policy / Republican says hydrogen is B.S. / more
So just who is this super-spike man, and what in the world was he thinking? Well, his name is Arjun Murti, and he’s a veteran oil analyst and a managing director at Goldman. Press-shy by nature anyway, the poor guy was so unsettled by the reaction to his report that he refused all interview requests—until, that is, I was able to persuade him to take my call.
A number of unpublished agreements purportedly signed between the governments of Ukraine and Turkmenistan for the purchase of natural gas have inflamed the conflict between Kyiv and Moscow over natural-gas deliveries from Turkmenistan.
For those wanting to know about the situation in Saudi Arabia or wanting an advance look at Simmons’s book “Twilight In The Desert” or what will likely be his presentation in Edinburgh, this PDF presentation will be of key interest.
“I think they’re [the Saudis] near capacity, and so we’ve just got to get a straight answer from the government as to what they think their excess capacity is,” Bush said, adding that he would not characterize the Saudi production as “flat-out” yet. (updated 21 April)
