Bust and boom

The precipitous fall in oil prices over the past year may just be paving the way for another spike RISING oil prices, believes Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia In recent weeks America

Economics: Peak-nik (Jeff Rubin)

…Another round of triple-digit oil prices, Rubin warns, will see a relocalization of manufacturing to Hamilton from Guangdong. Western access to cheap Asian labour will decline as energy prices rise It

Crude Oil, OPEC, and Super Contango

On May 28th, OPEC will be meeting for the 153rd time in Vienna, Austria. During this meeting, much of the world will look to OPEC for additional guidance on Oil supply and demand; but should they? What will OPEC do? What can OPEC do? OPEC is between a rock and a hard place as market […]

Oil At $25 A Barrel? Pump Gas $1.50? The Time Is Coming Soon

It’s nearly Memorial Day and time again to kick off the 2009 summer driving season. Each year just prior to the holiday weekend, the major talking point in the media is undoubtedly “What will the cost per gallon of gasoline be over the summer?” This driving season, holiday travelers will have something to rejoice about; […]

Renewables: America's next heavy industry

How three manufacturers in three Midwest states are picking up where the auto sector is laying off. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — About 200 miles south of Detroit, America’s industrial heartland gives way to the Ohio countryside. Here lies the tiny town of Minster, off I-75 past the Ford factory, the Mazda factory, the Jeep factory […]

Oil Industry Braces for U.S. Trial on Rights Abuses

The execution of the Nigerian author and advocate Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995 left lingering questions in the minds of many about the relationship between the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and Nigeria Chevron, for example, could face up to $27 billion in liability in Ecuador for pollution of the jungle. Exxon Mobil is being sued […]

Prince Edward Island exploration planned

Ardent Resources Canada Ltd., private Pittsburgh operator, will drill two exploration wells on Canada’s Prince Edward Island under an agreement with PetroWorth Resources Inc., Calgary. By drilling two wells on the eastern part of the island, Ardent Canada will earn a 50% interest in six permits that cover 444,000 acres. The first well is to […]

Crop to Cuisine: Slow Money

n this episode of Crop To Cuisine, we connect the dots between out outdated and broken economic system and our food system. We speak with founder of the Slow Money Alliance, Woody Tasch. We also visit a local farm to see how Slow Money principles can take shape and sustain a farm well into the […]

Mr. Market Gets It Wrong Again

Once again the price of oil is in La La Land. Today the price of NYMEX light sweet crude surged past $62/barrel. My best guess based on the supply & demand fundamentals is that crude should not be trading a penny over $35 per barrel right now. In a justified fit of pique last December […]

China oil consumption increases 4% in April

China, the second biggest oil consumer, increased oil consumption by 4% in April, the first year-on-year gain in six months, according to a report released by energy information provider Platts on Thursday. The nation used-up 31.47 million metric tons of oil last month, which may signal its massive stimulus plan may be propping-up demand for […]

Oil tanker market to stay in doldrums in 2009

A crude oil rally above $60 will not provide much comfort for the oil tanker market as weak global demand and a growing fleet of vessels will dog hopes of a recovery in seaborne freight rates. The International Energy Agency (IEA), energy adviser to 28 industrialised countries, forecast this month that world oil demand this […]

Nigeria

Nigeria said its oil output has fallen to 1.6 million barrels a day, half the countryBloomberg

Oil revenue down by half in Venezuela

Economics Minister Ali RodrGranma

Petrobras Too Busy For Mexico Offshore

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras has too much on its plate with deepwater projects in Brazil and the U.S. to move into Mexican offshore, Petroleos Mexicanos CEO Jesus Reyes Heroles said Wednesday. Mexico approved an energy reform last fall in an effort to attract new players to its struggling oil industry. This year Mexico’s state […]

Iraq to slap foreign oil firms with 35% corporate tax

Iraq’s cabinet has approved a bill that will slap foreign oil firms with a minimum 35 percent corporate tax in a bid to boost revenues, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said on Wednesday. “The Council of Ministers decided to approve the draft law on income tax on foreign oil companies based on the provisions of two […]

Proposed Tax Changes on US Oil and Gas Producers

Last week, the government released a lengthy document, General Explanations of The Administrations 2010 Revenue Proposals, which includes a 12 page segment titled “Eliminate Oil and Gas Company Preferences”. I’ve excerpted some of these below the fold. It strikes me that the authors of these rules do not grasp that oil has peaked, and we […]

OPEC malcontents challenge oil output targets

With oil rising this week to $62 a barrel from $33 in December, most analysts expect OPEC to stop short of a new cut in output after agreeing to remove 4.2 million barrels per day — 5 percent of world demand — to counter the recession. That is just as well, because OPEC “malcontents” Venezuela, […]

Crucial climate negotiation texts go public

There are 200 days to go before world governments gather in Copenhagen for a last-ditch attempt to agree on whether or not to save the world. The crucial negotiations to be held in December at the COP15 climate summit will decide on a successor for the Kyoto protocol. Now it turns out the meeting will […]

Ignore the spin: Coal gasification is a stupid idea

For anyone lured by the prospect of “clean coal” – the process of pumping huge amounts of energy into a solid fuel simply to change it into a gas or liquid before burning it – take note. The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) just released a comprehensive study on coal gasification that came to […]

With Oil Prices to Jump as Much as 70%, Every Investor Needs an Energy Strategy

The U.S. news media has convinced many investors that oil consumption is falling because of the global recession. While that may be true, it To really see what I

New find may add to Mexico's biggest oil field – Pemex

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – An exploration well drilled near the offshore Ku Maloob Zaap heavy oil field, Mexico’s most prolific producer, appears to show reserves at the complex that could be more than previously thought, the head of Mexico’s state oil company said on Wednesday. The Tekel-1 well, drilled 6 kilometers away from another well […]

Leeb – Oil Above $60/Barrel: Still Cheaper than a Cup of Coffee

Crude oil prices are once again above $60 a barrel and local television newscasts have returned to that old chestnut, consumers grousing about the high cost of gasoline, to fill airtime. Never mind the fact that despite the great lengths we go to extract, transport and refine it, ounce-for-ounce petrol is still far cheaper than […]

John Michael Greer: The economics of decline

I opened last week Most of those who objected to this sketch of the future, in turn, relied on a very curious logic. The internet will remain viable and widely accessible, they claimed, because the economic advantages of keeping it are so great. Those few who addressed the issue of costs at all simply insisted […]

Energy firm warns prices to fluctuate

RAPIDLY fluctuating energy prices like those experienced throughout 2008 are likely to become the norm in the future, a leading British energy company warned today. Scottish and Southern Energy said last year was a “foretaste of what is likely to happen as the supply of finite resources like oil and gas begins to struggle to […]

For Urban Gardeners, Lead Is a Concern

FRANK MEUSCHKE Harmful even at very low doses, lead is surprisingly prevalent and persistent in urban and suburban soil. Dust from lead-tainted soil is toxic to inhale, and food grown in it is hazardous to eat. Health officials, soil scientists and environmental engineers worry that the increasing popularity of gardening, particularly the urban kind, will […]

Nigerian Army Vows to Secure Oil Rich Region

Nigeria’s military is pressing ahead with its offensive against rebels in a bid to re-establish order in the country’s oil-rich Niger Delta. A military spokesman says soldiers are combing the creeks of the delta to flush out militants and wipe out militancy in the region. The army says it will continue to fight criminal gangs […]

IEA warns of falling energy investment

LONDON (Reuters) – The economic downturn is cutting investment in energy supply, risking higher prices in future that would hamper any recovery, the chief economist of the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday. Fatih Birol told Reuters in an interview the agency, which advises 28 industrialized countries, expects oil and gas upstream investment to fall […]

Talking Gearheads: Electric Vehicles and the Future of Cars

As promised, Jim Motavalli of the New York Times’ Wheels blog and I engaged in spirited discussion today about the future of electric vehicles. Jim has posted the debate at Mother Nature Network, where he regularly blogs about environmental issues. (His full bio is below.) Tuesday’s news about raising national fuel-economy standards provided unexpected context […]

Needing cash, Calif. rethinks offshore oil ban

Gov. Schwarzenegger campaigned to keep ban, but likes new proposal LOS ANGELES – With California facing a huge budget deficit, officials at the state Department of Finance saw an opportunity to resurrect a controversial proposal for oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara as a way to boost revenue and potentially bring $1.8 billion […]

Stricter mpg rules may be boon for automakers

Move by Obama could help revive industry in long run, experts say President Barack Obama is trying to shove U.S. automakers toward the future, a high-stakes wager that could help revive the industry in the long run, experts say. By issuing rules aimed at sharply boosting vehicle gasoline mileage and slashing greenhouse gas emissions, experts […]

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