The Twilight Era of Petroleum

By Michael T. Klare Several recent developments — persistently high gasoline prices, unprecedented warnings from the Secretary of Energy and the major oil companies, China’s brief pursuit of the American Unocal Corporation — suggest that we are just about to enter the Twilight Era of Petroleum, a time of chronic energy shortages and economic stagnation […]

Sichuan

Doctor Wang said that the virus sample specimen was examined as soon as it was received and a type of Ebola virus was extracted from the specimen. When asked why The Epoch Times

Toyota to add 10 hybrids to lineup

In its attempt to be the leading environmentally friendly automaker, Toyota (TM) says it will add 10 hybrid cars to its lineup and plans to sell 600,000 hybrids annually, or 25% of its total sales, in the USA in the next decade. Hybrids are a key part of Toyota’s effort to reduce the automotive industry’s […]

Chinese oil giant circles Australian producers

Major Chinese oil producer CNOOC Ltd might seek to acquire Woodside Petroleum or Santos in the wake of its abortive bid for US-based Unocal Corp, the Financial Times reported today. Quoting unidentified analysts, the business newspaper said in its Asian editions that any such acquisition plans could run into political problems in Canberra due to […]

Oil discovered by foreign companies to be marketed in India, says Aiyar

The Indian government on Thursday made it clear that all oil and gas discovered by foreign exploration companies in India would be marketed only inside the country. “Whatever oil is discovered has to be marketed in India. Similar is the case regarding gas. We shall not allow any collaboration with any foreign company which is […]

CN accused of taking too long in oil spill cleanup

Some people in a resort community in central Alberta are accusing CN crews of moving too slowly to clean up toxic oil that is spreading across a lake after leaking from derailed train cars. On Thursday morning, CN Rail crews were still trying to determine how much fuel had leaked into Wabamun Lake, about 70 […]

Venezuela State Oil Company Signs JV

Venezuela’s state oil company signed a series of deals with eight private oil firms Thursday, obtaining a majority stake in oil fields where the firms used to pump crude independently under contract. The move to set up joint ventures with the companies is one of many recent steps by the Venezuelan government to exert more […]

Air Texans Breathe Being Polluted by ‘Accident’

Texas is turning a blind eye as state refineries and industrial plants spew millions of pounds of “accidental” pollution each year, a new report charges. The pollution is hitting the communities of Corpus Christi and Port Arthur particularly hard, where refineries operated by San Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp., Flint Hills Resources, Motiva Enterprises, BASF Corp. […]

Greenpeace Urges Bulgaria To Halt Nuclear Plant Project

Greenpeace activists urged Bulgaria on Thursday to halt a project to build a second nuclear plant on the Danube River and instead opt for renewable energy sources, the environmental organization said. The Balkan country, with one nuclear plant in the Danube town of Kozlodui, has also launched a euro2 billion (US$2.46 billion) tender to build […]

Open Letter to Sen. Schumer On SPR

Ianqui from The Oil Drum asked me to post this letter that she is sending to US Senator Chuck Schumer. You will see lots of politicians pandering to their gas-guzzling constituency as oil prices climb. What we need to do is show them that these quick fixes are really just like giving an addict one […]

Astronauts see environmental damage from shuttle

Commander Eileen Collins said astronauts on shuttle Discovery had seen widespread environmental destruction on Earth and warned on Thursday that greater care was needed to protect natural resources. Her comments came as NASA pondered whether to send astronauts out on an extra spacewalk to repair additional heat-protection damage on the first shuttle mission since the […]

Water shortage is more serious than global warming: expert

Water shortage is more serious than global warming, and water-related problems are much harder to detect than temperature changes, said Syukuro Manabe, a meteorologist with the Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Program under Princeton University.     He released a paper of his study at the on-going ninth Scientific Assembly of the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric […]

Oil climbs amid refinery worries

Crude oil futures rose by about $1 on Thursday, recovering most of the losses suffered in the previous session, amid concerns about global refinery tightness and the threat of another tropical storm sweeping through the Caribbean. IPE Brent for September delivery gained $1.01 to $60.66 a barrel in late afternoon London trade, reversing the 97 […]

Clean coal moves forward

Unlike domestic oil supplies, the nation’s reserves of coal remain considerable, so that this coal gasification/liquefaction process could prove crucial down the road as inevitably the availability of inexpensive petroleum declines. It is unfortunate that it has taken so long for the state and the country to recognize the merits of this technology, which was […]

Wind, Natural Gas Hybrid Project Moves Ahead

 A UK-based company has formally submitted an application for environmental assessments of what could eventually be the world’s first offshore gas / wind hybrid energy generation project. Known as the Ormonde project, the project would see the installation of 108 MW of offshore wind power capacity coupled with 98 MW of natural gas generation in […]

Russian Official Blames High Taxes for Slack in Oil Production

Russia

New rules in global rivalry for oil

Although a Chinese oil company withdrew its bid for a major US-based energy producer this week, the effort put America on notice: China and other nations have launched a concerted push to secure access to oil and natural gas, and the United States must consider how to respond. It’s probably too strong to call it […]

US mortgage applications fall as rates climb – MBA

Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week as interest rates on 30-year loans rose more than in any week since March, industry group figures showed on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity fell 0.3 percent to 752.1 in the week ending July 29, adding to the […]

Stock price helps CNOOC lick Unocal wounds

China National Offshore Oil Company Ltd (CNOOC) had the space to sweeten its acquisition offer for US oil company Unocal, but decided not to take any more political risks, a company insider said here on August 3. “The company [gave] active consideration to that [sweetening the offer],” the insider told Xinhua under condition of anonymity. […]

India, Iran target pipeline framework by yearend

India and Iran on Thursday concluded their first joint working group meeting on a proposed gas pipeline via Pakistan with the expectation of finalising a “framework agreement” on the project by the yearend. “The Indian side was very hopeful that a framework agreement between the governments of India, Iran and Pakistan would be finalised by […]

OPEC output rises to highest since 1979

OPEC oil production rose 290,000 barrelsper day in July to the highest level since December 1979 asIraq boosted exports and the UAE restored output at oilfieldsafter maintenance, a Reuters survey showed. Record crude oil prices have encouraged the Organization ofthe Petroleum Exporting Countries to push output to near26-year highs.Leadingthecharge

Saudi Arabia: And what now? – Oilcast #21

In this Oilcast we look at the possible outcomes of the death of King Fahd in Saudi Arabia.
We also take a look at a market so sensitive it hardly even needs any news to – once again – break record price highs. But the news that did it includes CNOOC, India’s platform disaster and Iranian politics. Meanwhile technical analysts are saying prices can only go one way…listen and find out whether that is up…or down…

Listen right now

http://www.oilcast.com/

Yergin (of CERA fame) Back in the Day….

It is probably wrong to judge a person by comments made 27 years ago, but the quote will be related to a similar recent action that makes it worth bringing up for discussion.

During the 1970

Fossil Fuel Emissions Can Overwhelm Planet’s Ability To Absorb Carbon

BERKELEY — One in a new generation of computer climate models that include the effects of Earth’s carbon cycle indicates there are limits to the planet’s ability to absorb increased emissions of carbon dioxide. “If we maintain our current course of fossil fuel emissions or accelerate our emissions, the land and oceans will not be […]

400,000 new gas wells needed by 2020, industry conference told

Energy companies will need to drill about 400,000 new natural-gas wells in the Rocky Mountain states during the next 15 years to meet projected demand, a Colorado energy executive told an industry conference Tuesday. “We must not delude ourselves,” said Peter Dea, chief executive officer of Denver-based Western Gas Resources Inc., at the Rocky Mountain […]

Even Small Doses of Popular Weed Killer Fatal to Frogs, Scientist Finds

PITTSBURGH-As amphibians continue to mysteriously disappear worldwide, a University of Pittsburgh researcher may have found more pieces of the puzzle. Elaborating on his previous research, Pitt assistant professor of biological sciences Rick Relyea has discovered that Roundup(r), the most commonly used herbicide in the world, is deadly to tadpoles at lower concentrations than previously tested; […]

Earth losing ability to fend off global warming, UC study finds

Scientists speeding through decades by supercomputer are concluding that the Earth’s built-in resilience to global warming — the great carbon storage capacity of its oceans and forests — could be coming to an end. Climate researchers know the world’s plants, soils and seas recently have been absorbing billions of tons more carbon dioxide than in […]

Where our energy comes from

I had planned to post this graph (Energy use by source, from the EIA Annual Energy Review 2004) with the last one. It shows how the different sources of energy used in the United States have grown. It is given in quadrillion btu’s (a unit of energy). To give some relative numbers: one million barrels of oil a day is equivalent to 2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas a year, 94 million tons of coal a year or 2.12 quadrillion BTU’s (Quads).

More after the jump at The Oil Drum

Woodside Hopeful on Mauritania Oil Despite Coup

Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU) insisted Thursday that it will start pumping oil from its US$625 million Chinguetti development by March, despite a military uprising in Mauritania that shook investors in the Australian energy company. Woodside said it is continuing “normal drilling operations” at Chinguetti after a junta overthrew Mauritania’s U.S.-allied President Maaoya Sid’Ahmed Ould Taya […]

Devon CEO Sees Risk of Oil Price Spikes

The balance of supply and demand in the world’s oil markets is “exceedingly tight”, and any disruption could send prices higher, Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) Chief Executive Larry Nichols said Wednesday “There is very little surplus capacity anywhere in the world,” said Nichols in a telephone interview. “Whenever there’s any problem with a source of […]

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