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Exhibition coming: “1973: Sorry, Out of Gas”
Canadian Centre for Architecture
7 November 2007 to 20 April 2008
The exhibition examines the oil crisis of 1973 as a major precedent of contemporary concerns about energy resources and fossil fuel dependency. The 1973 shortage triggered research and development of renewable energy sources, improved technologies, and social experiments that were to have an enduring impact on the architectural and political fields. The global response to the crisis is presented through a juxtaposition of individualistic, counterculture North American approaches with the more structured collective responses of European communities. A diverse range of materials, including archival newspapers and television footage, architectural drawings, artefacts, and photography capture the political urgency and international scope of the energy crisis.
Curated by CCA Director Mirko Zardini, the exhibition considers the lessons of thirty years ago in relation to the current climate of concern about limited resources with the goal of increasing public awareness and encouraging contemporary research in the field.
(August 2007)
Global oil reserves up only 1% last year
Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post (Canada)
CALGARY — Record global oil and gas profits of US$243-billion and record spending of US$401-billion have resulted in a marginal 1% increase in world oil reserves last year — all of it coming from a 1.9-billion-barrel addition from Canada’s oilsands, according to a new study.
Without Canada’s contribution, 228 public oil and gas companies active globally and included in the study would have collectively produced more oil than they found, John S. Herold, a U.S.-based independent petroleum research company, and Harrison Lovegrove & Co., a global oil and gas advisory firm, said in the 2007 Global Upstream Performance Review, released yesterday.
“With many prospective regions still off-limits, oil reserve and production growth remains infinitesimal,” says the study, the 40th conducted annually by the two organizations and based on data filed with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission and similar agencies worldwide.
…The challenges are heating up the debate over peak oil, the report says.
“Without expressing a position on the matter, we believe that the issue has become part of the industry’s long-term planning,” the study says.
“If the peak oil theory is correct, and a decline in world production is imminent, a company must choose among four alternatives — try to become a dominant participant, find a niche operational talent, harvest assets or liquidate quickly.”
(30 August 2007)
TWIP (This Week in Petroleum)
Nate Hagens, The Oil Drum
This morning’s Petroleum supply report released by the EIA showed reasonably high crude oil inventories, but all time record low gasoline inventories, as measured by days of supply. On the day, crude oil rallied $1.78, reformulated gasoline gained 8.5 cents and heating oil gained 6.5 cents.
(30 August 2007)
Saudi Arabia – production forecasts and reserves estimates
Euan Mearns, TOD: Europe
…This post is a brief summary of my views on Saudi reserves and production. My conclusion is that Saudi Arabia likely has at least 120 Gbs of remaining reserves (C+C+NGL) for a URR in excess of 240 Gbs (C+C+NGL). The remaining reserves according to this analysis are almost double those reported by Ace.
The point I have reached in my analysis of peak oil and energy decline is that reserves and production forecasting are of paramount importance. It seems increasingly likely to me that Planet Earth has ample supplies of alternative energy that may be gathered (nuclear and renewable solar sources) and which may replace declining fossil solar fuels when that happens. The major challenge that confronts us is not a lack of energy or engineering solutions but one of political, institutional, corporate and personal behaviour.
The human race seems intent upon running for the edge of an energy cliff. Persuading politicians and OECD institutions now that energy decline is a very serious threat to the future of industrial civilisation is the single most important task that confronts us. Reliable and credible energy forecasts lie at the heart of that task.
Forecasting oil, gas, coal, uranium reserves and production is a highly complex process, not to be taken lightly. It is therefore with some reservations that I present this view on Saudi Arabian reserves and production as I simply do not have all the information required to do this job reliably. This seems an appropriate time to quote Colin Campbell’s 10th commandment:
ALL NUMBERS ARE WRONG – THE QUESTION IS : BY HOW MUCH ?
(30 August 2007)
Detailed but readable article ends with links to previous posts on TOD about Saudi Arabian oil. -BA
USGS Greenland Survey Shows Much Lower Resource Potential
Ian Talley, Dow Jones Newswires
The northeastern shore of Greenland could provide the U.S. with significantly fewer billions of barrels of oil and gas resources than previously thought, the U.S. Geological Survey said Tuesday.
The lower resource estimate will mean that, as domestic production declines, the U.S. will have to increasingly rely on other major producers such as Russia, Venezuela, West African states and the Middle East.
The USGS published the first review of the hydrocarbon potential of the region in seven years, estimating more than 30 billion barrels worth of petroleum reserves.
The government agency said it believed the area – which lies under massive sheets of ice in water depths up to 500 meters – holds 9 billion barrels of oil, 86 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 8 billion barrels of natural gas liquids that are undiscovered but recoverable.
The 2000 survey estimated 47 billion barrels of oil, 81 trillion cubic feet of gas, and 4 billion barrels of natural gas liquids.
(29 August 2007)
