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.
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
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.
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.
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.
With crude at US$50 a barrel and producers operating near maximum output, fears are widespread that the world is on the cusp of a major oil shock.
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”.
$50 or $60 a barrel oil is still affordable by western standards, but surely debilitating for growing economies What if it hits $80, or even $100 by estimates of pessimists?
In the face of record high oil prices, Germany and Britain are expected at the G7 meeting on Friday in Washington to propose measures to make world oil markets more transparent.
China’s need for oil has led it to West Africa’s oil fields in the Gulf of Guinea, and to Central Africa, where oil production in several countries is also coming on line.
