Will Fewer Young Drivers Today Mean Lower Fuel Demand Tomorrow?

Driver’s licenses for those under 40 years of age are down in several large, developed countries, including the US. This is only partially explained by a weak economy. If this shift in attitudes towards driving persists, future demand for both cars and fuel could be permanently reduced. Current forecasts from the Energy Information Administration indicate that US gasoline […]

Robert Rapier: Prepare for the Chinese Energy Juggernaut

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released its International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013). While the EIA doesn’t have a sterling track record for predictions, many organizations make decisions at least partially based on EIA projections. Therefore the organization’s forecasts are worth reviewing. Of particular interest to me were the agencies forecasts about China’s energy demand. […]

Don’t Place Your Bets On Peak Oil Demand Just Yet

For some reason, the oil market is always spoken of in hyperbolic terms. A pending dispute between two nations can double oil prices within a matter of months. Or peak oil worries set in and prices will skyrocket as production declines. Today, the new theory is that we are at a point of peak demand, […]

Fracking Wastewater Cited In Blackside Dace Die-Off

If you’ve never heard of Blackside dace before, now’s your chance. Blackside dace is a federally listed threatened species of minnow found only in the Cumberland Basin part of Tennessee and Kentucky.  We suddenly find them quite interesting because the US Geological Survey has partnered with the Fish and Wildlife Service in a newly released […]

A few thoughts on winter and US natural gas

No one puts it better than Game of Thrones: “Winter is coming.” Granted the market is only now just in the throes of hurricane season, but given the volatility already present in natural gas financial basis markets, I offer up a few thoughts on winter. 1. Farmer’s Almanac ‘Storm Bowl’ The august publication’s forecast of […]

Here Are the Four Missiles That May Fly Over Syria

Bloomberg contributor Richard Falkenrath identifies the four missile weapons systems most likely to be used in the event of an American intervention in the Syrian conflict. (Video from Department of Defense)

SEC bows to federal court on oil rule

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday said it plans to rewrite regulations that would force oil and mining companies to disclose payments to foreign governments. A court struck down a version of the regulations in July, and an SEC spokesman said the agency does not intend to appeal the ruling. “The court remanded […]

Sudan: Oil Will Keep Flowing

After meeting on Tuesday with President Salva Kiir of South Sudan, President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan said oil from South Sudan would continue to flow through his country’s pipelines. Although Mr. Bashir had ordered the pipelines closed and accused South Sudan of supporting rebel movements in his country, the order was never carried out. Mr. […]

Africa Unplugged: Energy Access a Costly Barrier to Growth

Before the advent of the modern communication, humankind was limited to either word of mouth or protracted written communication sent over land or sea. It’s almost impossible to imagine in a digital age that it could ever have taken so long to send information to each other. Facebook, Twitter, Skype, email, voice, video, IM, television […]

Is Europe’s Nuclear Fusion ‘Experiment’ Melting Down?

A Precocious Dawn For The ITER Project? News from Cadarache, France, home of the ITER project’s experimental nuclear fusion reactor, seems promising. After two years of constant delays, rocketing cost estimations and technical difficulties, the project seems poised to begin making up lost time. However, the ambitious project may be critically handicapped by its organizational […]

The top 9 real reasons to go to war in Syria

In no particular order: One: Give the appearance of unifying the country behind the President, who “did his job the right way,” by going to Congress for approval. This elevates Obama’s ratings and, by inference, suggests that his other programs should be accorded more merit. A wartime president always gains more support. Two: Give the […]

The End of the Age of Extraction

Today’s global economy is causing shortages of natural resources (both renewable and nonrenewable) as we come to the end of what might be called the Age of Extraction. A true cost, steady state economy, on the other hand, would prevent resource problems by maintaining population and resource consumption well within the carrying capacity of the […]

Venezuela hit by blackout, government blames ‘sabotage’

A blackout hit much of Venezuela including the capital Caracas on Tuesday, but the oil industry was not affected and the government said it expected power to be restored within hours. The cut struck a dozen of the South American country’s 24 states and caused traffic chaos in parts of Caracas and other cities. The […]

Is the idea of peak oil a false projection or impending reality?

A mixed panel deconstructs the hyperbole. Ledetta Asfa-Wossen reports. Charles HallProfessor Charles Hall, Emeritus Professor at State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, USA The world has recently been exposed to many optimistic estimates on the future of oil production and the media has eagerly picked up these projections. International Energy […]

Gas Driller Freezes Plans in Britain after Fracking Protests

Oil exploration at a site in rural England that sparked anti-fracking protests two weeks ago will be put on hold later this month and reconsidered next year with the freeze hailed a “cautious victory” by campaigners. Shale gas driller Cuadrilla Resources on Tuesday withdrew an application to extend drilling and horizontal well testing at a […]

Permaculture And The Myth Of Scarcity

At a conference a couple weeks ago an activist who does work in Africa recounted an encounter she had with the minister of agriculture of a certain African country. The minister spoke with excitement about the high-tech agricultural technologies he was bringing into the country in partnership with large agribusiness companies, so the activist brought […]

The black blood in the economic veins

Nobody denies that there is a connection between economic growth and oil consumption. The clearest signal came in 2008-9 when the world economy crashed at the same time as oil production sank dramatically. If one is to describe this in a little more detail then it is not oil production itself that is decisive rather […]

Syria and the geopolitics of oil

The global energy market is ruled by geopolitics. With tensions continuing in Egypt, Libya and Iran, and with Syria now added to the mix, things are looking shaky in the Middle East. This week, Counting the Cost discusses what might happen, and how the markets can avoid more potential oil shocks. When there is the […]

A Roadmap to Redesigning Civilization

Toby Hemenway, host of the video Redesigning Civilization — with Permaculture, defines permaculture as a branch of ecological design that employs natural ecosystems as a model. Although most permaculture design relates to food production, its principles can be applied to the management of all human needs, including water, shelter, waste, energy, finance, culture/spirituality and even […]

Water Scarcity Could Drive Conflict or Cooperation

When the General Assembly declared 2013 the International Year of Water Cooperation (IYWC) three years ago, the U.N.’s highest policy-making body was conscious of the perennial conflicts triggered by competition over one of the world’s most critical finite resources. Current and past water conflicts and marine disputes have included confrontations between Israel and Jordan, India […]

Japan Radioactive Water Alarm Spurs Government Intervention

Japan may announce measures today to contain the growing volume of radiated water at the Fukushima atomic station, following findings of radioactive hot spots and leaks more than two years after reactors melted at the plant. The Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters may present steps to tackle the leaks today and plans a “complete package” of […]

US becomes largest natural gas producer

The US is now the world’s largest natural-gas producer, with technological advances allowing for a surge in domestic output. In recent decades, the US has been increasingly dependent on imports to meet its energy needs, but the gas boom makes for a much different situation.

Pemex problems

I have written several times about the quandary the Mexican government faces with its state-owned petroleum company, Pemex, which was nationalized in 1938 and has become a symbol of Mexico’s independence and stand against foreigners. One of the most prolific petroleum producers in the world, Mexico will soon approach the status of being a net […]

Energy: The Next Systemic Risk to Banking?

There will be a delay with the audio and video for this event. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. PowerPoints: Download the PowerPoint presentation in PDF form below. Download Chris Skrebowski’s presentation here Download Prof. Steve Keen’s presentation here Download Dr. Michael Kumhof’s presentation here Download Gerard Reid’s presentation here Dowload Sean O’Sullivan’s presentation here About the Seminar: Fresh from a major INET […]

the latest field development to coax more oil out of the ground

It may not be sexy, or fodder for water cooler chit-chat, but one of the hottest things going right now in shale and unconventional plays is a development technique based on a savvy, complex set of calculations: well spacing. While several large resource plays across North America—such as the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and […]

India oil minister plan to shut gas stations at night

India’s opposition on Monday poured scorn on an oil ministry proposal to close petrol pumps at night, the latest in a series of ideas evoking the country’s austere past as the government grapples with a jarring fall in the value of the rupee. The rupee has plunged almost 20 percent since May, partly on concerns […]

What Syria tells us about world oil supplies

I’ve been watching old episodes of The West Wing, the acclaimed television series about life and work in the West Wing of the White House. In one sequence of shows, bombers kill two U.S. congressmen and a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who are on a fact-finding mission to Gaza. Pressure mounts […]

The Recessions of 1973,1980,1991,2001,2008 Were Caused By High Oil Prices

In Libya strikes by oilfield workers have reduced daily production of crude oil dramatically from 1.6 million barrels a day to an estimated 250,000 barrels a day. In Iraq there have been bombings of pipelines which have interrupted production and promise to put a cap on Iraq’s ability to increase oil production. In Nigeria production […]

Living without a fridge

I’ve been living without a fridge for the last three months – the winter months of Melbourne, Australia. Before you send me to the asylum, however, let me tell you about this experiment which produced several interesting, and I think important, surprises, related to energy consumption and lifestyle habits. My main conclusion, which I’ll unpack […]

Solar Energy Cheap As Natural Gas By 2025

A new Department of Energy study predicts Arizona will use more energy per capita than any other western state by 2025. The study also says that among western states in 2011, Arizona produced the smallest amount of renewable energy as a share of its total generation. New solar projects will significantly increase that share, and […]

« Previous Page — Next Page »

LATEST NEWS HEADLINES

• Why the IEA is Wrong About Peak Oil Demand
• Did we inadvertently speed global warming?  
• Venezuela’s Oil Monopoly Eases
• Why Germany is Choosing Natural Gas Over Nuclear Power
• U.S. coal-fired electricity generation decreased in 2022 and 2023

• America Cracks Down on Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Facilities
• Meet America’s Newest Oil Trader Extraordinaire: Joe Biden
• Is It Time To Refill America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
• Oil prices set to end year 10% lower as demand concerns snap winning streak
• What’s Driving America’s New Oil and Gas Boom?
• China’s peak oil demand bombshell eviscerates Danielle Smith’s energy strategy