Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The Green Party of New Zealand is enthusiastically welcoming the intent and content of the Government’s Sustainable Energy report, but says it still lacks a sense of urgency. A key example is Peak Oil. Some sections acknowledge that global oil production is going to peak in the foreseeable future. Yet it still appears to accept oil price forecasts that many experts think are way too optimistic.
The Russian government is moving to tighten its grip on the country’s lucrative hydrocarbon and energy sectors, trying to consolidate all of the government’s energy assets under one roof.
Claude Mandil, executive director of the Paris-based International Energy Agency, presented a reassuring assessment today of the prospects for global energy supplies, but drew attention to serious concerns about energy security, investment, the environment and energy poverty. He called for more vigorous action to “steer the global energy system onto a more sustainable path”.
“Nuclear power has run out of steam.” That was prime minister Göran Persson’s conclusion earlier this month when the government announced the decommissioning next year of the Barsebäck 2 nuclear plant. A survey has now shown that most Swedish people think that Sweden should continue to use the nuclear power plants currently in use.
The Spanish wind industry is planning to grow up to 20 to 30,000 MW installed power and they are seeking for offshore platforms, a possible indication that the best fields are reaching a peak in the country.
Third-quarter oil output fell 7.6 percent from a year earlier, and natural-gas production slid 5.9 percent, partly because of asset sales, ConocoPhillips said.
Oil production rose from wells in Vietnam and the Timor Sea and declined everywhere else, the company said. Gas output fell everywhere the company did business except Norway and Vietnam.
In the same time period during which the price of oil has gone up in terms of the dollar, it has remained stable in terms of the EURO. This has prompted speculation that OPEC will change from denominating all sales of oil in the dollar to other, more attractive currencies, like the EURO, which would be disastrous for the US economy and the dollar as world reserve currency.
The former head of Saudi Arabian Oil Co’s oil exploration Wednesday sharply criticized U.S. government oil supply projections. “The whole industry laughs at it,” said Sadad Al-Husseini.
The Iranians are about to commit an “offense” far greater than Saddam Hussein’s conversion to the euro of Iraq’s oil exports in the fall of 2000. Numerous articles have revealed Pentagon planning for operations against Iran as early as 2005. While the publicly stated reasons will be over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, there are unspoken macroeconomic drivers explaining the Real Reasons regarding the 2nd stage of petrodollar warfare – Iran’s upcoming euro-based oil Bourse.
Abortion. Same-sex marriage. Stem-cell research. U.S. legislators backed by the Christian right vote against these issues with near-perfect consistency. That probably doesn’t surprise you, but this might: Those same legislators are equally united and unswerving in their opposition to environmental protection.
Petrodollars (huge financial surpluses accumulated among oil exporters due to high oil prices) were a major feature of global capital markets in the 1970s and 1980s. Are the western banks and financial markets in for another period similar to the 1970s and mid-80s in terms of flows?
ATA Airlines Inc., the nation’s 10th-largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection Tuesday and sold off airport slots and other assets to AirTran Airways Inc. for $87.6 million, to become the latest U.S. airline tripped up by rising fuel costs and fare wars.
