Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
No voices of caution or reason were invited to a $500-a-head meeting of government and energy industry leaders licking their chops and gripping their forks as they gaze out over the beautiful British Columbia coastline
The gathering in Iran is a testimony to a consensus that has shaped a rare unity among the Gulf oil producers in the cartel over the past five years. This rapprochement helped set in motion the group’s most successful period since its creation in 1960.
The leading energy analysts who foretold Enron’s demise have an alarming new claim: The world’s major oil companies are almost tapped out.
When you finally realize how pervasive oil is in our everyday lives, you will begin to understand exactly how much the human race must change in order to do without it.
That’s the view from analysts who may have considered that prospect a long shot just a few months ago. And to be sure, some still think that’s a stretch from the current $55 level, short of a major disruption like a terrorist attack.
The slower increase in non-Opec supply is boosting demand for the cartel’s oil, reducing Opec’s already low spare capacity, while demand continues to grow.
Conservative Congressman Roscoe Bartlett, Chairman of the Projection Forces Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee, gave an hour long presentation on Peak Oil to the US Congress on Monday. This is the full transcript.
Cartel producers say they can’t keep up with strong global demand. ‘This is their claim. But the fact of the matter is that nobody knows what their capacity is.’
— Sen. Ron Wyden
Dem. – Oregon
Over the past two years, though, oil markets have been sending a clear message, reinforced during the past two months as prices have surged as high as $55 a barrel.
The gnawing concern about Hubbert’s Peak, the theory that worldwide oil production may be in permanent decline, is colliding with increased demand from emerging markets such as China. The result is an oil market that defies convention.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to increase production for the fourth time in less than a year. “What will happen after the OPEC meeting is that they will all be producing at capacity,” said Kenneth Deffeyes
““Understanding depletion is simple. Think of an Irish pub. The glass starts full and ends empty. There are only so many more drinks to closing time. It’s the same with oil.” – Colin J. Campbell
“Oil prices will rise through 2008 and stay high thereafter as demand increases and concern mounts that global production is nearing its peak,” according to analysts at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (March 8, 2005)
When Lehman Brothers admits oil is peaking on Bloomberg, its time to fasten your seatbelts. The ride is going to be rocky.
