Of Economics, Resources & Energy
An off-planet view of economic theory and its applicability when dealing with limited primary resources.
Oil
Chart watchers eye $70 peak for oil
Signals are growing that oil’s price surge could push all the way to $70 a barrel, according to the technical analysts who forecast market trends by interpreting chart patterns.
How to Bring Down Civilisation
Derrick Jensen thinks the collapse of civilisation, be it deliberate or through oil depletion or any other means, can only be a good thing for the planet.
Venezuela raises oil drilling tax
Venezuela has announced that it is increasing the royalties paid by foreign oil companies from 1% to 16.6%.
World oil demand estimate raised
The International Energy Agency has revised upwards its estimate of world oil demand, quashing hopes of an imminent decline in oil prices.
Oil and Empire in the Middle East
Henry Kissinger’s famous declaration that, “Oil is too important to be left to the Arabs” best expresses the experience of the Middle East over the last century.
US developers see hope in abandoned oil wells
Production from “enhanced oil recovery” peaked at about 750,000 barrels a day in the early 1990s, and has fallen back slightly, with gas “flooding” now viewed as more economical than thermal methods, while chemical treatments have proved to be too expensive.
Saudi Arabia bitter over global taste for sweet and not sour oil
SAUDI ARABIA’s oil minister said his country was ready to pump more oil but it could not find buyers as the Kingdom’s high-sulphur crude was being rejected by Western refineries.
High Oil Prices Jump-Starting Exploration Efforts
With short-term oil prices currently above $50 per barrel and the futures markets predicting long-term prices of around $34 on five-year contracts, signs of a rebound in exploration efforts are suddenly popping up everywhere.
Venezuelan Ambassador: Peak Oil is good for Venezuela
Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alfredo Toro Hardy writes: Everything seems to indicate that Venezuela is at the end of the tunnel and about to enter into a new period of prosperity.
Energy transition and final energy crisis
The current ‘oil price crisis’ in reality reflects an emerging and permanent supply crisis for oil and gas (which currently provide about 65% of world commercial energy).
Pouring oil on troubled economists
My sense of last weekend’s G7 meetings is that there is an atmosphere of suppressed panic about the oil price, and about the danger of a serious crisis.
