Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Americans have long considered Saudi Arabia the one constant in the Arab Middle East–a source of cheap oil, political stability, and lucrative business relationships. But the country is run by an increasingly dysfunctional royal family that has been funding militant Islamic movements abroad in an attempt to protect itself from them at home.
Lee Raymond CEO of Exxon Mobile
Declining grain output and mounting concerns over food security seem to alarm Chinese leaders again as central and local governments vow to subsidize the world’s greatest number of peasants to grow more grain.
As the BTC Pipeline Nears Completion, America & Russia Make Their Respective Moves Seeking Strategic Control Over Caspian Energy Resources
Differing interpretations of control over Iraq’s oil revenues emerged on Tuesday in Baghdad, potentially calling into question the financial independence to be ceded to the interim government that is due to take charge of the country in July.
Abrupt climate change. We will look at the oceans’ role in the climate, the ocean conveyer system, the history of abrupt climate change episodes, and the effect of these episodes upon previous civilizations.
Simulations of the World Oil Production Capacity (Wocap) model suggest that global oil production will peak at a point near 81 million b/d well before the end of the decade, likely by 2006-07
…we looked to one example, Cuba, the only country that has successfully passed through its own artificial “peak oil.”
British Petroleum states that Russian oil reserves equal to 60 billion barrels.
Such relatively modest amount leads us to believe that a new Russian law consummated in February 2004 was no coincidence. According to the new law, any information concerning oil reserves in the country is in fact State secret.
Suncor Energy Inc., the second- largest oil-sands miner in the world, said first-quarter net income fell 38 percent after the company paid more royalties to the Alberta government. The company also said it will stop hedging oil-production.
So it’s almost official: World oil production is in trouble. The secret has been slipping out of late, with reports of Royal Dutch Shell and other oil producers downgrading their reserves, but it now seems that Saudi Arabia may also be in crisis mode over its reserves.
Such relatively modest amount leads us to believe that a new Russian law consummated in February 2004 was no coincidence. According to the new law, any information concerning oil reserves in the country is in fact State secret. Actual oil and gas reserves in Russia turned out to be not quite as big as the Russian elite had envisioned them. Taking into account today’s export tempo of oil products, Russia could soon begin importing oil.
