Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
The United States, land of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles and air-conditioned McMansions, might do well to turn to the country Americans love to hate for lessons on how to curb its reliance on imported oil: France.
The costs and benefits of America’s occupation of Iraq vary, according to proponents and opponents, except when it comes to oil exports.
World’s Seven Largest Economies (G7) Admit They Have No Idea How Much Oil Is Left – Issue Emergency Call for Transparency at DC Summit ….
Recent statements by the G7 group of nations and other breaking news stories have now irrevocably placed Peak Oil on the table. The bottom line is that the G7 have admitted that demand has outpaced supply and that due to cooked books and secrecy, they really have no idea how much oil is left, or available for production (two different questions). Within months there will be no more important story on the planet.
The absorption of Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft by the gas giant Gazprom appears to have run into trouble amid press reports yesterday of furious infighting among top Kremlin officials over the deal.
Some ominous words from a G-7 official tend to corroborate the ‘alarmist’ view that the world is running out of oil and that high prices are here to stay — a structural phenomenon rather than a spike.
For the past century or so, the biological origin of oil seemed to be the accepted norm. However, there remained a small group of critics who pushed the idea that, instead, oil is generated from inorganic matter within the earth’s mantle. Ugo Bardi concludes that the theory is false, or at best irrelevant.
Oil giant BP has reported buoyant trading in the three months to September, with production up by 11%, on the back of soaring crude prices.
When Bush seized Iraq – using Saddam as an excuse – it was the first step in an endgame for the remaining oil reserves necessary for the American way of life. According to Stan Doffish, this horrible logic may lead the Bush administration to attempt to ‘depopulate’ Asia
China’s search for oil to power its fast-growing economy has led it to various parts of the world where there are large oil reserves.
The recent oil price surge underscores the economic importance of oil and the reality that oil supplies are starting to dwindle. This is an issue that no longer can be ignored.
Malaysia and Indonesia appear headed towards a territorial dispute, with their national oil companies laying claim to potentially rich offshore oil-and-gas blocks off Borneo island.
Malaysia has said it was ready to contest any overlapping claim to the area. Petronas, Malaysia’s national oil company, said that it “was in advance stages of awarding the ultra-deepwater blocks… which are within the Malaysian territorial boundary”.
The forces driving the price of oil to $50.12 (U.S.) a barrel may wax and wane. Still, the quagmire that the industry is sinking into won’t blow over any time soon.
