Peak Affordable Oil

It is quite obvious that high oil prices in the last 3-4 years. Fig 1: WTI spot prices to 23/1/2015 http://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=rwtc&f=w have reduced demand for oil, as shown in this IEA graph for OECD countries: Fig 2: Oil demand in OECD countries Oct 2011 – Sep 2014 https://www.iea.org/oilmarketreport/omrpublic/charts/ So which oil is affordable? Let’s use […]

Forget peak oil; we’ve reached peak everything

Peak oil is so last year. Now we can worry about peak everything: peak food, peak soil, peak fertilizer, even peak bees. Let’s start small. We depend on bees to pollinate plants that account for about one-third of the world’s food supply, but since 2006 bee colonies in the United States have been dying off […]

Oil workers in US on first large-scale strike since 1980

The United Steelworkers union, which represents employees at more than 200 U.S. oil refineries, terminals, pipelines and chemical plants, began a strike at nine sites Sunday, the biggest walkout held in support of a nationwide pact called since 1980. The USW started the work stoppage after failing to reach agreement on a labor contract that expired […]

World’s renewable resources reach limit

Renewable resources representing 45 per cent of global calorie intake have reached peak production levels Peak oil has become a familiar term over the past decade, but the world will soon have to get used to peak rice, peak wheat and peak maize, according to new research from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research. ‘Peak […]

The Transition Agony Aunt on how to talk about peak oil

“Dear Agony Aunt.  Given that we are now seeing oil at below $50 a barrel, how is my Transition group meant to talk about ‘peak oil’? Peak oil has always been one of the foundations of Transition, but should we drop it now, or how else do we explain it?  Does so much cheap oil […]

Oil: A Geopolitical Conundrum

Summary Through geopolitical meddling, market competition and a host of other reasons, the oil price has been plummeting as of late and is likely to continue falling. Large oil producers who base their country’s economy on oil, such as Russia and Venezuela, are facing dire economic outlooks. The drop in prices are a boon to […]

OPEC Puppets and Canada Give Away Their Oil

  The world is running out of oil. Peak Oil is a reality, all that is open to debate is how fast production will drop off, and how quickly the world will simply run out of oil. The lack of certainty is due to the fact that (as with everything else) we can’t trust the […]

Arctic Oil On Life Support

Oil companies have eyed the Arctic for years. With an estimated 90 billion barrels of oil lying north of the Arctic Circle, the circumpolar north is arguably the last corner of the globe that is still almost entirely unexplored.  As drilling technology advances, conventional oil reserves become harder to find, and climate change contributes to melting sea […]

How Much Will Low Oil Prices Stimulate Demand?

Since weak oil demand growth is a major ingredient in the current oil price crash, higher demand stimulated by low prices could be a moderating factor. While US demand has risen since prices fell, there are several reasons why the global response may be slower to appear and less dramatic. One of the main factors […]

Heinberg: After the Peak

Nearly 17 years ago the modern peak oil movement began with the publication of “The End of Cheap Oil” by petroleum geologists Colin Campbell and Jean Laherrère in the March, 1998 issue of Scientific American. Campbell coined the term “peak oil” to describe the inevitable moment when the world petroleum industry would produce oil at its historic […]

Special Report: Natural gas

As new technology drives a natural gas revolution in America, our correspondents discuss the wider economic impact. Senior Commodities Broker Kevin Craney talks about the snow storm hitting the East Coast and what effects it might have on natural gas

Fuke-Undo

“According to Takasi, bacteria exposed to radionuclides may become resistant to or even capable of chemically transforming and detoxifying radionuclides.” Wadoo, zim bam boddle-oo, Hoodle ah da wa da, Scatty wah ! Oh yeah !… Well, it ain’t necessarily so Well, it ain’t necessarily so Dey tells all you chillun De debble’s a villun, But […]

Delusional America

Robert Parry is one of my favorite columnists. He is truthful, has a sense of justice, and delivers a firm punch. He used to be a “mainstream journalist,” like me, but we were too truthful for them. They kicked us out. I can’t say Parry has always been one of my favorite journalists. During the […]

Why we are at Peak Oil Right Now

In this life nothing is certain. Therefore I am not declaring, absolutely, that we are at peak oil, only that it is a near certainty. But I am putting my reputation on the line in making the claim that the period, September 2014 through August 2015 will be the year of Peak Oil. Below are […]

Commodities crash: Bad news for the world economy, but is anyone listening?

Reading the general run of financial headlines might lead one to believe that price declines in those commodities which are highly sensitive to economic conditions such as iron ore, copper, oil, natural gas, coal, and lumber are good on their face. Obviously, the declines aren’t good for those who sell these commodities. But, those of […]

The new Saudi king Salman bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud

What would happen when Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah died has been discussed for a number of years. Now, a week after his burial we can state that it is still calm in the nation and that the handover of power to Abdullah’s successor has not had a noticeable effect on the oil price. The founder […]

Kirkuk: A new Isis attack is the latest challenge for the long-troubled oil-rich city in Iraq

Iraqi onlookers stand next to a burnt car following a motorcycle bombing attack which killed at least eight people on September 19, 2014 in the northern city of Kirkuk.(Getty) For Kirkuk, its oil-rich surroundings have been more a curse than a blessing. The northern Iraqi city struck black gold in 1927, while still under the […]

Population: Four Out of Five Scientists Agree

A new poll of American scientists suggests that a large majority of them (82 percent) regard population growth as a major challenge, almost as many as those who believe that climate change is mostly due to human activity (87 percent). The poll, which was conducted by the Pew Research Center, indicates that a clear majority […]

Statoil Will Not Drill In Arctic Sea This Year

Norwegian energy firm Statoil will not drill exploration wells in the Arctic Barents Sea this year after a failed campaign in 2014, exploration chief Tim Dodson told Offshore.no. Statoil’s Norwegian exploration will concentrate on the mature North Sea and areas near its Asta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea, with a focus on resources that […]

Lower 48 Oil Production Outlook Stable Despite Expected Near-Term Reduction in Rig Count

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, January Short-Term Energy Outlook. Note: Graph does not include production from Alaska and the Federal Gulf of Mexico. The sharp decline in oil prices over the last quarter of 2014, which has continued in January, is already having a significant effect on drilling activity in the United States, as shown […]

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