Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
PowerSwitch recently held a conference outside London, titled Peak Speak, providing a platform to discuss the causes, consequences, and mitigation of the peak and decline in global oil production, and action that can be taken. Report includes notes on the speakers, topics they covered, and links to presentations.
Expanded efforts to drill for oil and natural gas off the California coast and elsewhere in the US will be among the direct impacts of the growing demands for oil and natural gas as their supplies diminish.
LA PAZ, Bolivia – For centuries, this country made it easy for prospectors to mine – from the Spaniards who plundered gold to the tin barons of the 19th century to the multinational energy companies that flocked here in the 1990’s to develop Latin America’s second-largest natural gas deposits. B like many energy-producing countries these days, Bolivia has pulled back the welcome mat. With an angry population demanding a larger share of the benefits, and some groups even calling for expropriation, the government recently raised royalties and taxes to among the highest levels in Latin America.
The competition to build LNG terminals on (or off) the US west coast is hotting up, with corporate contenders having to deal with new geological and operating safety concerns, untested technology and planning framework changes, never mind the political arm wrestling. Martin Hastings updates us on who is still in the game.
Caltech professor outlines energy/climate problem, proposes solar /
Bush condemns Kyoto, dependence on Middle East oil /
PO doesn’t mesh with our picture of the world /
Review: Deffeyes new book is unclear on future /
Oilcast in Spanish /
Shell escapes charges over reserves reporting /
Lundberg: Active citizenry before petrocollapse? /
PO article from 5 years ago /
Discussion on peak natural gas /
US uproar about China’s Unocal bid (video) /
Some experts unconcerned about Unocal /
The Oil Drum IS concerned – is oil still fungible? /
Foreign buyers not new to US oil patch
BP: world oil consumption hits record in 2004 /
Don’t lower taxes on oil /
Critic: Kunstler is a ‘reactionary envrionmentalist’ who isn’t nice /
Declaration of Independence from Mid-East oil /
OPEC, investment and efficiency are keys, says IEA /
Coming to terms with oil supply squeeze /
Cost of diesel worries truckers /
Greenpeace: fusion project ‘senseless stupidity’ /
Are LNG terminals safe? /
Spotlight on gasification
Natural gas appears to be a good replacement for oil. It comes out of the ground easily. It burns cleaner than other fossil fuels, though it does release carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas that causes global warming….The positive spin on natural gas as the preferred replacement for oil given by Forbes and the New York Times is contradicted by Julian Darley’s “High Noon” book.
Article depicts the situation of Russian oilfields being auctioned off to the oil companies and coming online. It explains why Russian goverments keeps the size of its petroleum reserves secret, why the Eastern Siberia oilfields will not save the world from the lack of oil, and why the Eastern Pipeline being built to supply the countries of East Asia with Russian oil will never be filled.
DOMESTIC gas bills are expected to soar this winter as the future cost of gas hits record highs. The price of gas for delivery in October is currently 66p a therm, a 75% premium on this point last year.
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Azerbaijan (an Asian republic of the former USSR) on April 12th. It became Rumsfeld’s second visit to the republic in four months — that is why it can hardly be treated as a formal visit of no particular importance.
From Washington to New Delhi, Caracas to Moscow and Beijing, national leaders and corporate executives are stepping up their efforts to gain control over major sources of oil and natural gas as the global struggle for energy intensifies. Never has the competitive pursuit of untapped oil and gas reserves been so acute, and never has so much money as well as diplomatic and military muscle been deployed in the contest to win control over major foreign stockpiles of energy.
The Arab-South America summit in Brasilia may herald the start of a new diplomatic circle. Central to that could be a new geo-political axis, an axis of non-aligned oil interests. Some of the countries attending the summit are leading players in the world of oil and energy.
