Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The oil sands are an issue of global importance. As conventional sources of crude oil are depleted, unconventional sources of oil, such as the bitumen found in oil sands, play a larger role in offsetting declining conventional production. The Canadian oil sands are the second largest proven oil reserve after Saudi Arabia.
In our history, the American nation committed obvious sins against select groups of people, and we’ve paid bitterly for some of that. But now it’s our sins against the land itself that threaten to sink the USA as a viable enterprise.
A weekly review including:
– Production and prices
– The crack spread
– Ominous forecasts
– Quote of the week
– Briefs
Many Oil Drum readers imagine what is ahead as a slide down the net energy curve, as the amount of oil and natural gas available gradually decline. Somehow, business as usual will continue, but at a lower level, as resources deplete. But what if a better model for what is ahead is overshoot and collapse?
In late August the Vancouver Sun ran an article on the bullish prospects for Canadian shale gas. The piece began this way: “What energy crisis? Despite what you may be hearing about a global peak in oil production, waning reserves, and $100-plus oil prices, North America is suddenly awash in fossil fuel.”…
San Antonio’s new Mayor Julian Castro, in office just three months, has inherited a dilemma. The nation’s 7th largest city is suffering from almost 8% unemployment. With limited resources, the Mayor and City Council are searching for ways to create local jobs. At the same time, the City, through its municipal utility City Public Service (CPS), is burning through hundreds of millions of dollars on just paperwork, to prepare to spend billions on a new nuclear power plant project some 200 miles away at Bay City, TX.
This week saw further oil discoveries in the Santos Basin and off the coast of Ghana, extending a run of sizeable finds in recent weeks. Following much breathless reporting of such discoveries, it was good to them put into context by solid analysis from Morgan Stanley and Bank Macquarie…
Today’s article is the first of a two-part series in which I attempt to forecast general economic conditions that will affect the oil market over the next 10 years. Despite Galbraith’s sensible warning, what we will experience in the aftermath of the Great Recession is not a complete mystery. Strong evidence suggests that during the next decade, the global economy will struggle to regain a sound footing supporting vigorous growth.
-Supply constraints to push oil up to $105 a barrel by 2012
-Peak oil expected in 2009: Macquarie
-Oil strikes not enough to quench demand
A weekly round-up including:
– Prices and production
– Elsewhere
-What we need to form Florida’s green economy
-Britain’s first housing co-op leads the way in sustainable living
-No Impact Man and the Pursuit of Happiness
-Enabling Inward Community Investment: insights from the DTA conference
-Squatters’ rights
-One Man’s Trash …
-Real people, real preparation, Part 5, Carolyn Baker Interviews Robin Rucker
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-World Bank spends billions on coal-fired power stations
-EPA moves to block W.Va.’s largest mining permit
-“The Coal Nightmare”
