Efficient Markets? How Noise Drives Prices

This week was remarkable. It began with the Americans twisting Saudi arms so they would increase oil production. Nervous that there might be spigots that could actually be opened, oil prices dropped off their lofty levels. Then a decline on global stock markets was greatly exacerbated by the squeeze forced on France Not knowing that […]

$1 Ethanol Isn’t Innovation, It’s a Commitment to Business as Usual

Americans do not reduce. We may reuse, and we may recycle, but our economic system is predicated on steady consumption. So it makes sense that while trying to invent our way out of the consequences of global warming, we would seize upon those ideas that encouraged us to, well, consume. In other words, business as […]

No Matter What Iran Remains A Major Oil Field

In a nervous world facing triple-digit prices per barrel of oil and peering nervously into the abyss of recession, energy projects recently written off as untenable have, like Dracula, risen from the grave. What is most extraordinary about the energy feeding frenzy is how ideology is taking an increasing back seat to pragmatic concerns about […]

Oman eyes Gulf’s first coal power plant – report

DUBAI, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Oman is considering building the first coal-fired Gulf Arab power plant in the latest sign of concern about a gas supply shortage in the world’s biggest oil exporting region, the Middle East Economic Digest reported. Gulf Arab states have about 30 percent of the world’s oil reserves and 8 percent […]

Oil to remain above $81 despite slowdown in US

Oil will climb to a record average above $81 this year, a poll showed yesterday, as analysts believe strong Chinese and Middle East demand will offset any slowdown from top energy consumer the US. The monthly survey of 33 analysts put the consensus forecast for US crude futures this year at an average of $81.33 […]

Lofty Himalaya Magnify Global Warming Impact

The Himalayas are suffering the effects of global warming more acutely because of their height and melting glaciers could flood local settlements, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) said on Thursday. “The Himalaya, that’s really moving very fast. They’re being hit very hard,” IUCN Director General Julia Marton-Lefevre told Reuters at the annual meeting of the […]

Blaming carbon on planes ‘is flight of fancy’

Which is worse for the environment – cars or aircraft? If your answer was aircraft, then you are among a growing crowd of aerophobes egged on by anti-aviation campaigners. But in terms of CO2 emissions you would be wrong. Official figures show an increase in the number of people duped into believing that flights are […]

U.S. worried about Russia’s Balkan energy grab

The United States is deeply worried that Russia’s energy deals with Bulgaria and Serbia will tighten its grip on Europe’s energy supply and turn into a tool of political pressure, diplomatic sources say. The two Balkan states signed up to the Kremlin-backed South Stream gas pipeline over the last week. The 10 billion euro ($14.65 […]

Coal Rises the Most in Three Weeks as South African Mines Shut

European coal prices rose the most in almost three weeks as Anglo American Plc and other mining companies shut production in South Africa because of power cuts. More than a quarter of Europe’s energy coal is shipped from Richards Bay, South Africa. Anglo American, the second-biggest coal producer in the country, stopped five of its […]

China’s railway ministry prioritises coal shipping

China’s railway administration has pledged to prioritise thermal coal shipments to power plants in regions hit by power shortages, as part of efforts to help ease a supply crunch ahead of upcoming Chinese holidays. The railway departments would immediately load and ship coal once they received requests, the Ministry of Railways said on Thursday in […]

U.K. Power Rises on Coal Price Gain, Coal-Fed Plant Shutdowns

U.K. power for delivery on the next working day rose as the network operator said a third of Britain’s coal-fired electricity-generation units are halted and the cost of coal for delivery next quarter jumped. Working day-ahead baseload power traded at 54 pounds ($107) a megawatt-hour as of 5 p.m. in London, compared with a last […]

EU: Cut Back Oil Use

The European Union on Friday called on other major oil-consuming regions to cut back on the amount of energy they use as oil supplies face a tight squeeze that has sent prices soaring. EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs told U.S. and Japanese officials that energy efficiency was “one of the most cost-effective short-term responses” to […]

A $10,000 bet on peak oil

Over the past 50 years the desert kingdom has consistently played the role of global provider of crude of last resort, stepping in at key moments to provide extra crude whenever the world has needed it. When the Iranian revolution resulted in oil from Iran going offline, it was the Saudis who stepped in and […]

‘Global health at risk from climate change’

Climate change is putting global human health at risk and requires an “urgent response”, according to a new paper. The health risks include those from heat waves, floods and wildfires, changes in infectious disease patterns, the effect of worsening food yields and loss of livelihoods, according to the paper published in the British Medical Journal […]

UK: New green taxes for ‘gas-guzzling’ cars

Motorists face having to pay new green taxes as ministers step up their war on “gas-guzzling” cars. The Government wants to get people out of high-emissions vehicles by making them more expensive, while also cutting the cost of driving for more environmentally-friendly options. Two recently published reports commissioned by the Department for Transport examine the […]

In a World Short of Oil, Provisions Must Be Made

MIDDLEVILLE, Mich. — It was around midnight one evening in November when Aaron Wissner shot up in bed, jolted awake by a fear: He wasn’t fully ready for the day when the world starts running low on oil. Yes, he had tripled the size of the garden in front of the tidy white-clapboard house he […]

Tuvalu struggles to hold back tide

The fragile strips of green that make up the small islands of Tuvalu are incredibly beautiful but also incredibly vulnerable. The group of nine tiny islands in the South Pacific only just break the surface of the ocean – but for how much longer? During a King Tide, which is what the islanders call the […]

Mining power crisis sends precious metals to new highs

South Africa’s three top gold producers and world’s biggest platinum miner suspended production today sending prices of both precious metals soaring to fresh historic highs. A power crisis led to production at key mines in South Africa being stopped. Gold surged to a record of $923.40 an ounce, up more than 8% today since sliding […]

Peak Oil Passnotes: Stagflation Beckons

This week, in fact this year, has seen the equity markets fall and fall hard. Maybe not plunge back to the range they were in between the years 2002 and 2005, but the volatility and the worries over the economies of the U.S. and UK has taken the edge off current thoughts of growth. In […]

Oil prices: OPEC’s high wire act

The cartel struggles to keep oil prices high, but not high enough to kill the economy. Long term, are they investing enough to meet worldwide demand? NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — High oil prices are a drag on the economy, but OPEC isn’t likely to raise production at its special meeting next week. But experts say […]

Russia signs Serbia, wins ‘pipeline war’ with EU

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia won the right on Friday to route a major gas supply route to Europe through its ally Serbia, a move analysts described as marking a Kremlin victory in a “pipeline war” with the European Union. The gas agreement, signed in the Kremlin before President Vladimir Putin and visiting Serbian leaders, alarmed […]

Valero suffers refinery fire in Caribbean

Valero Energy Corp. officials experienced a fire Friday in the company’s Aruba refinery in the Caribbean. As a result, the entire refinery has been shut down. The fire began in a vacuum tower of the refinery at around 9:45 a.m. Central time and firefighters in Aruba extinguished the fire at 11:15 a.m. One Valero employee […]

Plenty of oil remains, Exxon manager says

As a public affairs manager for ExxonMobil Corp., Sara Tays is frequently asked if the world’s oil supply is on the verge of running out. Tays, the featured speaker at the Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon Thursday, said this concern was first raised in the late 19th century. Demand has increased exponentially since then […]

OPEC to monitor US price impact – Venezuela oil min

CARACAS, Jan 25 (Reuters) – OPEC will monitor the impact on oil prices of a U.S. economic slowdown at its meeting next month, although it is premature to say if America’s problems will hurt crude values, Venezuela’s energy minister said on Friday. The minister, Rafael Ramirez, also said OPEC should not agree to hike its […]

Nigeria oil exports to fall sharply in March – trade

LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) – Nigerian crude oil shipments are expected to tumble sharply in March because of maintenance work at the Bonga field and a force majeure at the Forcados terminal, traders said on Friday. The March loading schedule is estimated at around 1.72 million barrels per day, down 420,000 bpd from the previous […]

Tajikistan: Citizens Ponder Bleak Future Amid Harsh Winter

The harshest winter in decades is plunging Tajikistan into a socio-economic crisis, as officials find themselves squeezed in a tightening vice of tough choices. The country currently is grappling with an energy emergency, with some areas now left totally without electricity. Efforts to solve the crisis, however, could cause a disastrous spike in inflation in […]

Sasol says power woes to ‘impact on production’

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Sasol, the world’s top maker of motor fuel from coal, said on Friday its output would be affected by a request to cut its electricity demand, but was able to maintain output for the “foreseeable future”. South Africa is in the grip of a national power emergency, and the state-owned utility Eskom […]

StatoilHydro shuts Oseberg South field due storm

OSLO (Reuters) – Stormy North Sea weather has forced StatoilHydro to shut its 54,000-barrel per-day Oseberg South oilfield, the Norwegian energy group said on Friday, adding that it sought to restart production on Saturday. StatoilHydro also reduced manning at platforms at four other North Sea fields but plans to continue production at Snorre, Huldra, Visund […]

High oil prices prompt a scramble for Africa

DAKAR, Jan 25 (Reuters) – High oil prices and the onslaught of resource nationalism from Russia to South America have sent Western majors delving ever deeper into the waters of the Gulf of Guinea, triggering a new scramble for Africa. Unlike more established oil-producing regions, the Gulf of Guinea offers easy access and attractive terms […]

Massive wind farm ‘turned down’

Plans to build one of Europe’s biggest wind farms on the Isle of Lewis are set to be turned down, BBC Scotland understands. The BBC’s Gaelic news service, Radio nan Gaidheal, has learned that Scottish Government ministers are “minded to refuse” the 181 turbine scheme. More than 5,000 letters of objection to the proposals were […]

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