Why is Saudi Arabia Not a Threat to Fracking?

Several media outlets have recently carried a story about a prominent Saudi prince warning that Saudi Arabia is increasingly vulnerable to competition from the US shale revolution, as a result of fracking in tight/shale plays. I would turn the question around and ask why is Saudi Arabia not a threat to fracking? Note that as […]

Perspective on future oil use

(The image shows Eirik Wærness and Staffan Riben.) Network Oil & Gas (NOG) was formed in Sweden 12 years ago. It is a forum for training, exchange of experience and debate on issues that affect the use and significance of fossil fuels. During a year, NOG aims to organise approximately six symposia. Last Monday’s symposium […]

Trying to stay sane in an insane world

In the first three parts (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) of this disheartening look back at a century of central banking, income taxing, military warring, energy depleting and political corrupting, I made a case for why we are in the midst of a financial, commercial, political, social and cultural collapse. In this final installment […]

World population is essential part of food production discussion

Our good friends at Progressive Farmer magazine fill 15 pages of their September issue with a well-researched, well-written “special report” on “Feeding the World.” ( http://www.dtnpf-digital.com/#&pageSet=26) The four-color, four-story package hits all the humane highlights U.S. farmers and ranchers expect in these stories of manifest destiny when “the world will look to the U.S. to […]

Saudi Oil Minister Says Ready to Meet Crude Demand

The global oil market is well balanced and top exporter Saudi Arabia ready to supply whatever volume of crude is needed to meet demand, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on Thursday. Saudi Arabia produced record high volumes of crude in August as it boosted output for the second time in two years to cushion […]

What should Canada do to prepare for the day oil runs out?

When we’ll hit peak oil – or whether we already have – is the stuff of hot debate. But no one’s questioning the ultimately finite nature of oil and gas reserves. So, what should Canada start investing in now, to prepare for the inevitable day that the wells run dry? We asked a range of […]

Albert Bartlett – a tribute

Professor Albert Bartlett has died at the age of 90.   Al Bartlett accomplished a lot in his 90 years—inspiring thousands of students, helping shape Boulder, Colorado’s development policies, and providing the word sustainability with a meaningful definition. But he was best known for The Lecture. In an hour, using simple arithmetic and irrefutable logic, […]

It’s Peak Oil For U.S. As China Takes Greater Share

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers recently estimated that passenger vehicle sales were up 11% in August year over year to 1.35 million passenger vehicles. For perspective, in 1995, just a year before I graduated high school, there were only 1.14 million privately owned passenger vehicles on the road in all of China. These days, […]

A Sharing Economy Policy Primer for Urban Leaders

The Sustainable Economies Law Center and Shareable have jointly released the first ever policy brief of its kind, called Policies for Shareable Cities: A Sharing Economy Policy Primer for Urban Leaders. It details 32 specific policy steps that local leaders can take to benefit from the growing sharing economy and support innovations such as carsharing, ridesharing, cohousing, cooperatives, and urban agriculture. Please share this […]

Oil Prices Still Too High for Economic Recovery

Fatih Birol, the International Energy Agency’s chief economist, comments on price of oil. He spoke in an interview today in the Chinese city of Dalian, where he’s attending the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting of the New Champions. “Oil prices are still very high for the fragile economic recovery. It’s high for Europe and also […]

Peak Petroleum Follie

Two primary arguments are put forward as ways of justifying various economic schemes for reducing oil and gas use (e.g., carbon pricing by way of taxes, subsidies for green energy, emissions trading schemes):   (1) Anthropogenic catastrophic climate change will occur if humans do not reduce their use of fossil fuels and the associated greenhouse […]

IAEA Boss Says Fukushima Water Leak Urgent

International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Yukiya Amano on Monday characterized the leak of radioactive water at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant as “a matter of high priority that needs to be addressed urgently.” Amano pledged to send a team to Japan this autumn to deal with the increasingly worrisome problem. Meanwhile, plant operator TEPCO announced […]

Rohani Says Iran Plans to Restart Nuclear Talks in New York

Iranian president Hassan Rohani said his government plans to restart nuclear talks with world powers in New York, where he will attend the United Nations General Assembly this month. The “serious talks” should help lead to a “win-win” final outcome in the dispute over the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, Rohani said in an interview on […]

Collapse of American Influence Recalls Disintegration of Soviet Union, Fall of France

Not since the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991, and prior to that the fall of France in 1940, has there been so swift an erosion of the world influence of a Great Power as we are witnessing with the United States. The Soviet Union crumbled jurisdictionally: In 1990-1991, one country became the 16 […]

OPEC, US Energy Dept. See Enough Oil In The World

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said the world oil market was well supplied despite a plunge in Libya’s output, and forecast a further drop in its oil market share in 2014. In a monthly report, OPEC said oil stocks in developed countries equaled almost two months of future demand although “some supply outages” […]

How solar PV industry became a global phenomenon

The recent slew of quarterly reports from the world’s major solar PV manufacturers have delivered some encouraging news: surplus capacity is being removed, manufacturing costs continue to fall, selling prices have stabilised and margins are improving. Some solar manufacturers may even post a profit later this year or in 2014. But by far the most […]

Of Milk Cows and Saudi Arabia

Under the desert in eastern Saudi Arabia lies Ghawar, the largest oil field in the world. It has been famously productive, with a per-well flow rate of thousands of barrels per day, owing to a combination of efficient water injection, good rock permeability, and other factors. At its best, it set the standard for easy […]

Paradigm Shifts And Tipping Points

The term, paradigm shift, was coined by Thomas Kuhn in 1962 in his book, The Structure of Scientific Revolution. Kuhn argued that scientific advancement is not evolutionary, but is a “series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions”, and in those revolutions “one conceptual world view is replaced by another.” For the purpose of […]

Chevron’s oil production, sales decline 5 %

After the publication of Caltex Australia’s half year results for 1H 2013 the media again failed to analyse where Sydney’s fuel imports will come from once its Kurnell refinery closes in 2014. Australia will have to pay high prices if it wants to attract these imports against declining sales trends in international markets. Caltex filling […]

Syria Accepts Russian Weapons Proposal

Syria said Tuesday it has accepted Russia’s proposal to place its chemical weapons under international control for subsequent dismantling. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem said Tuesday after meeting with Russian parliament speaker that his government quickly “agreed to the Russian initiative.” Al-Moallem added that Syria did so to “uproot U.S. aggression.” His statement sounded more […]

The Energy Return on Energy Invested of US Food Production

Lactic acid. It has a peculiar taste all its own, one that I’ve come to appreciate as, over the past few years, I’ve developed a taste for fermented foods and fermented vegetables in particular. The sharp tang of lactic acid is what gives many fermented foods their peculiar taste, and as I type this I […]

Gas shortage ignites protest in Murmansk Russia

Thousands of households lost their cooking heat and the eternal gas fire in front of the famous Alyesha war memorial silently died out as Murmansk Oblast experienced one of its most serious disruptions of gas supplies ever. Regional Governor Marina Kovtun fully blames Murmanoblgaz, the main regional gas supplier, for the situation. According to Kovtun, […]

UK Energy Secretary Urges Caution about Shale ‘Hyberbole’

UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey has urged caution regarding hype around the country’s burgeoning shale gas industry, warning that the UK cannot rely on shale has to solve its energy challenges during the current decade. In a speech titled “The Myths and Realities of Shale Gas Exploration” given Monday to The Royal Society, London, Davey […]

Syria Crisis: Will U.S. Tap Strategic Oil Reserves?

Bloomberg’s Alix Steel explains how the United States’ strategic petroleum reserves work and looks at whether or not President Barack Obama will tap the reserves in conjunction with a potential military strike on Syria. She speaks on Bloomberg Television’s “In The Loop.”

Challenging Nuclear Energy In India And EROEI

In all the discussion about Nuclear Energy and the construction of new plants across India, one crucial fact missing from the debate is EROEI (Energy Returned On Energy Invested). There is no conclusive estimate on EROEI of nuclear energy. It varies from an optimistic 11:1 to a negative EROEI. This means that if every thing […]

Natural Gas: What the War in Syria is Really About

The US President is currently undertaking a massive sales pitch for war. We heard on the radio this morning that President Obama was set to front about six different media outlets today to make his case for war with Syria. He’ll be out perpetuating the lie that it’s all about chemical weapons and defending the […]

Peak oil is alive and well, and costing the earth

You might have heard that peak oil s dead. But peak oil is very much alive, and squeezing its hands ever more tightly around the throats of oil-dependent economies. You might have heard that peak oil – the theory that one day crude oil production will stop increasing, even as demand grows – is dead. […]

Tech Talk – of grouting, ground freezing and answers at Fukushima

One of the reasons that I started to write blogs was to help folks to understand some of the technical background that fed into corporate decisions. I was watching the PBS Newshour this past week, and they were discussing the change in philosophy at the Fukushima nuclear plant. After trying to seal the flow of […]

New Australian Prime Minister is sceptical that peak oil has value for policy making

The Australian electorate has voted for a Prime Minister who 3 years ago said he was sceptical that the concept of peak oil has any value as tool for policy makers. That is in addition to him being a climate sceptic which is well known. So Australia has a leader who is in denial of […]

U.S. plans for ’3 days of attack’ on Syria

The Pentagon is readying more intense and longer attacks on Syria than originally planned, set to last three days, the Los Angeles Times reported on Sunday. War planners now aim to unleash a heavy barrage of missile strikes to be followed swiftly by additional attacks on targets that may have been missed or remain standing […]

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