Driven to despair

A HOUSING slump across America; a global credit crisis; crashing banks and tumbling house prices; a food price spike, growing fears of recession, and now, just when you thought the news could not get worse, a new oil price super spike to more than $130 a barrel. Any one of these developments would threaten a […]

Analyst urges search for oil alternatives

Ireland is Harris said speculation was one of the chief factors behind the spike in prices.

Driving down the economy

Good news: Oil dropped 1.8 percent Thursday. Bad news: It was back up on Friday. Trading above $130 crude is up 15 percent for the month and 36 percent for the year. Just in time for driving season. The momentary drop was surprising, given the International Energy Agency warning that supply may outstrip demand. Despite […]

ENERGY MATTERS: Dec ‘08 Crude Tells The Tale Of Mkt’s Surge

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–If there were such a thing an oil futures market archeologist, the December 2008 Nymex crude contract would be the perfect specimen to study to retrace the seismic shift in oil markets. Etched in each trade since the contract debuted Nov. 20, 2001 – shortly after the terror attacks on the U.S. […]

Oil trade’s winners now reap the wrath

Investing in commodities has been a brilliant move in this decade — so brilliant that the strategy has attracted untold numbers of large and small players, particularly in the last few years. What do you suppose all of their buying has done to the price of oil? Pushed it down? With crude surging above $130 […]

Gas prices only get worse

Era of inexpensive oil is coming to a swift, bitter end, analysts say How much of a deal would it be to pay 25 cents for a cup of coffee at Starbucks? How about a quarter for 8 oz. of merlot at dinner? Now what about that same quarter for a cup of gasoline? A […]

Crude Oil and the Polar Bear

Last week the Bush administration declared polar bears as threatened species, acknowledging that global warming jeopardizes the species’ livelihood as a result of rapid Artic sea ice depletion. The polar bear serves as a symbol for those who view climate change and global warning as the most important issue of our time. On the contrary, […]

Oil and Investment Banks: Wrecking economies with hedge funds

I’ve been blitzed with stories all week about what is driving oil to $135 per barrel. Most of what I’ve seen are soundbites and short blurbs from the talking heads known as pundits. Numbers are rare, making it hard to discern fact from fiction. In this case, there seem to be three prevailing theories: The […]

Iran to boost oil production

Tehran, May 25 (Xinhua) — Iran’s deputy oil minister said that Iran will boost its oil output to 4.3 million barrels per day by the end of March 2009, local daily Kayhan International reported on Sunday. Such a rise of oil production owes to some major projects implemented by the oil ministry this year, said […]

Fuel-Efficient Or Financially Prudent

Watching television recently, I was amused by a motorist who said that all he could do about soaring gas prices was to close his eyes and pump. There are some things you actually can do to reduce your costs — and fuel consumption — such as driving slower and taking the junk out of your […]

Peak Oil Overview – March 2008 (Pdf and Powerpoint available)

Preliminary data regarding oil production through December 2007 is now available from the US Energy Information Administration, so it is a good time to put together an updated summary of where we are now with respect to peak oil. The major themes of this presentation are

The well hasn’t run dry: deal makers set sail for North Sea

It was dubbed the “Hallowe’en massacre”. But Canada’s decision to impose swingeing new taxes on its oil and gas trusts could see millions of dollars heading towards the North Sea. The profits of Canada’s energy income trusts are not taxed at the corporate level as long as a high percentage of profits are paid as […]

T. Boone Pickens’ prediction: Oil production is reaching its peak

When T. Boone Pickens talks, oil traders listen. The legendary oilman, who runs a multibillion-dollar commodities hedge fund in Dallas, appears frequently on CNBC to predict oil prices. He’s often correct. So nearly every time he makes a new prediction, the market moves that very day in the direction he forecasts. “I think you’re going […]

London’s new mayor says oil deal struck with Venezuela will be scrapped

LONDON: The British capital’s new mayor, Boris Johnson, said Sunday he was ending a controversial deal that has provided cheap Venezuelan fuel for London’s transport network. The agreement, signed last year by the Conservative Johnson’s predecessor and Labour Party rival, Ken Livingstone, provided discounted oil for London’s iconic red buses in exchange for advice on […]

Running Out of Fuel, but Not Out of Ideas

AS I watch the drama about gasoline and oil prices play out on the streets and in the news media, some images and memories come to mind. There is Will Rogers, the great sage and comedian, who famously commented during the Great Depression that America would be the first nation to There are also scenes […]

France Says Weak Dollar May Fuel Protections

PARIS — France’s finance minister on Wednesday urged central bankers to reduce the “misalignment” in the world’s major currencies, warning that a low American dollar was feeding an increasing trend toward protectionism in the United States and elsewhere. The minister, Christine Lagarde, said the dollar’s decline was a central cause for the rising cost of […]

Coal power generation in Pakistan

Coal as a fuel had been ranked low on the list of Pakistan’s development priorities primarily due to concerns about its quality and requirement for huge upfront capital. Apart from this, in the absence of a strong political will to promote coal based power projects, foreign investors have not been supported as much as they […]

Europe mulling a coal comeback

Europe, especially Germany, plans to bring back old-world coal to fuel massive power plants now under construction amid rising oil prices. Despite the continent’s far-reaching standards on carbon emissions, rising oil prices and fear of Russia’s domination over natural gas supplies have prompted Europe to turn to coal for fuelling its 40 major coal-fired power […]

Kenya: Is local coal the cure for petrol woes?

The cost of manufacturing in Kenya could go down considerably once the country begins to exploit extensive coal reserves in Ukambani. The coal deposits found in the swampy Mui basin in Kitui and Mwingi districts, is touted as the best alternative source of energy to cushion the economy against the adverse effects of high oil […]

UN: “Reconsider biofuel production to face global food crisis”

Echoing the concerns on the soaring food prices across the world, the UN Economic and Social Council has suggested to reconsider the use of food crops to produce biofuels among key elements of a strategy to confront the current food crisis. The proposal figures in a 15-point plan discussed during an intergovernmental debate about soaring […]

Biofuel: a tankful of weed juice

Before we give up on alternative fuels and dive back into an ever-shallower pool of crude oil, though, let’s spare a thought for a new batch of biofuels being cooked up in laboratories worldwide. They hold the promise of more efficient, cleaner energy sources that don’t compete with forests or food crops for growing space. […]

Asian governments forced to act as oil prices soar

Torn between protecting the poor and saving their budgets, governments across Asia are being forced to slash fuel subsidies as world oil prices smash through 130 dollars a barrel. Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan have decided to wield the axe on multi-billion-dollar subsidies despite fears of unrest as inflation spikes and the region’s poor pay more […]

Cheap oil is history. But why?

The stampede in the oil market is making billions of dollars for a lucky few and leading others to wonder whether the world is finally starting to run dry. Until recently, the notion that international production was about to reach its limits – the so-called “peak oil” theory – was the preserve of cranks and […]

India: ‘Uranium shortage serious issue’

NEW DELHI: Reiterating their total opposition to the India-U.S. civilian nuclear cooperation, the Left parties on Friday said their discussions with the government were still going on. “At the last meeting of the UPA-Left joint committee on the nuclear deal, we were told that there is a shortage of uranium and reactors were working at […]

Sony says develops cost-efficient solar cells

Japanese electronics conglomerate Sony Corp said on Sunday it has developed dye-sensitized solar cells with an energy conversion efficiency of 10 percent, a level seen necessary for commercial use. Dye-sensitized solar cells, which use photosensitive dye and do not require costly and large-scale production equipment, are seen as a promising next-generation solar cell variety and […]

S-Af: Wind energy farm will help solve power crisis

The country’s first wind energy farm, opened in Darling on Friday, will help solve the national energy crisis. And the Western Cape, with optimal renewable resources, is leading the way for green energy.Despite South Africa’s limited experience with wind energy, the national ministry of minerals and energy is confident the Darling wind farm will lessen […]

Australian Government moves to drop prices at the pump.

Further ways to cut the price of petrol at the bowser are under scrutiny after the Federal Government said it would look at revenues from petrol in its planned tax review. The tax review was announced in this month’s federal budget, but ministers Jenny Macklin and Chris Bowen confirmed today the review also would investigate […]

Eco-farming ditched as food prices soar

Soaring food prices are threatening to inflict widespread ecological damage on the countryside, as farmers abandon environmentally friendly schemes that have improved much of the landscape. Government-backed environment schemes (ELS, or entry level stewardship) are having to compete with market pressures on farmers as crop values escalate. If farmers start to back out, much of […]

Oil: A global crisis

The invasion of Iraq by Britain and the US has trebled the price of oil, according to a leading expert, costing the world a staggering $6 trillion in higher energy prices alone. The oil economist Dr Mamdouh Salameh, who advises both the World Bank and the UN Industrial Development Organisation (Unido), told The Independent on […]

Slick investors strike riches as they cash in on peak oil

Retail investors have joined a raft of hedge funds and pension funds in making millions of pounds by cashing in on the oil crisis. Thousands of individual investors have piled into oil futures and have made as much as 200 per cent returns as the oil price soared to record highs in recent weeks. Last […]

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