Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
If, as seems likely, the omnibus financial bailout does little good and the world goes into a prolonged recession, then we probably are on the peak/plateau of world oil production right now. Demand will drop, production will be slowed, and new multi-billion dollar oil projects that are not already well underway will be delayed or cancelled due to lack of demand or capital to pay for them.
Houston with oil at $70 or $300
How some Torontonians are preparing for PO
ASPO-USA conference proceedings
Commodities head for biggest weekly decline in over 50 years
Oil markets shifting from bullish to bearish
Coal’s comeback
‘Clean coal’ policies absent, GAO finds
Al Gore’s call for civil disobedience to block coal plants
The backdrop of a financial crash on Wall Street cast a shadow over this year’s Association for the Study of Peak Oil – USA conference in Sacramento in late September. Speakers talked of an ominous parallel between the financial crisis and another graver crisis in the making – the coming rapid decline of worldwide oil production, which has stalled after reaching an all-time high more than three years ago.
New projects are harder to fund. Highly leveraged companies are sometimes finding it necessary to shed assets. Some players are finding themselves to be the indirect casualties of other players, like Lehman, that have already failed. Long term, we will probably see consolidation and lower production than would have been the case without the credit crunch. Of course, if there is a major recession, it is possible that we won’t need as high production.
Heinberg: Bursting bubbles
Matt Simmons: Oil and gas — The next meltdown?
Companies scramble for ever-scarcer resources
Personal view of ASPO-USA – day 3
The recurring myth of peak oil
Complex issues in a world of soundbites
Crude (manipulating the price of oil)
BP: ‘We should see volatility increase’
The upside to global energy scarcity
Global crude oil prices and the GCC
Der Spiegel: America Loses Its Dominant Economic Role
The Geopolitics of Energy: A Systems-Thinking Approach
After war, Russia’s influence expands
Tension as EU monitors enter Georgia
Sharon Astyk and hard times
Buy local and help Main Street
What to Do with Your Money During Tough Times
Middle Class Lifeboat: Careers and Life Choices for Staying Afloat (video and audio)
A Sympathetic Critique of Localisation by Peter North
A digest of news and commentary from a UK peak oil perspective
In the first half of 2008 we saw oil climb to approach $150 a barrel amid the pundits’ warning of oil rocketing to $200 a barrel and way beyond due to the phenomenon of Peak Oil. In the wake of those heady days we have now witnessed the slumping of oil prices to well under $100 a barrel into October.
So what is happening to cause the retreat of oil prices?
Mid-week update including:
– Waiting for Congress
– Shortages
