Robert Rapier: Are Oil Companies Cooking Their Books?

Recently a friend and I were discussing the most recent quarterly results for certain oil and gas companies, and I pointed out that I was amazed that some are reporting solid free cash flow despite the plummet in commodity prices. He replied that the numbers are suspect, because in many cases companies are reporting negative income […]

Where in the world have we have achieved 100% renewable power?

In a few places around the world, humans have achieved a feat that seemed impossible just a few years ago, and still seems inconceivable nearly everywhere else: They’ve stopped burning fossil fuels for electricity. Throughout 2015, several nations, states and cities announced they had either managed the switch to renewables, or to a massive increase […]

Norwegian Production Decreasing

Norway’s production levels are decreasing, according to preliminary figures from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. The NPD stated that Norway had an average daily production of about 1.993 million barrels of oil, NGL and condensate in November, which was 29,000 barrels per day less than October. The average daily liquid production in November was 1.598 million barrels of […]

China Might have Passed ‘Peak Coal’ in 2013

China possibly saw its coal consumption peak in 2013, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The seismic shifts underway in China have global implications for both coal use and emissions. Global coal use fell by 0.9% in 2014, the first fall this century, says the IEA’s Medium Term Coal Market Report 2015. It says […]

Beyond War – A Tour of Rojava

From our friends at rojavaplan.com a look a Rojava inside the first libertarian commune in the middle east. “We’ve cobbled together a collection of footage to give a taste of Rojava. More than an idea, but actual practice. In Rojava we discover our dreams and what is possible.”

Get Ready for $20 Oil

For those of you waiting for the inevitable rebound in oil prices, you might be waiting a while longer. Global energy markets are still holding out for a much bigger contraction in oil supplies before the oil price rallies, but the ongoing low-oil-price environment will likely put further pressure on this process. With the price […]

In Memorium – CT Rep. Terry Backer

Legislators Mourn Death of Rep. Terry Backer – the Soundkeeper The Peak Oil and Environmental community lost a powerful advocate yesterday. Connecticut State Rep. Terry Backer, an outspoken environmental and alternative energy advocate who served as the state’s Soundkeeper, died Tuesday after more than five years battling brain cancer. He was 61. One of the […]

Oil Price Scenarios for 2016

Every year I have a bet with a good friend on where the Brent oil price will be in December the following year. Last year I estimated $56.50, my friend $99, so this year I am a clear winner, even though I’m out by about 49%. Brent is trading at $38 as I write. I can […]

U.S. Oil Is Too Good, Too Expensive and Too Far for Asia Buyers

Exports seen offering diversity of supply, not discounts U.S. supplies more likely to head to Latin American buyers In the world’s biggest oil market, buyers have better options than U.S. crude. As the country inches toward ending the last restrictions on exports, Asian buyers will probably have a limited appetite for the quality of crude […]

Collapse Cafe – Canadian Prepper

A few weeks ago I ran into a series of videos created by Canadian Prepper, “After the Collapse” for his You Tube channel, which as the name suggest is more oriented towards Prepping than analysis of Collapse Dyamics.  However, he crosses over to this area just as we  cross over into discussions of Prepping, on […]

Something Strange Is Taking Place In The Middle Of The Atlantic Ocean

Early last month, we noted that something very strange was happening off the coast of Galveston, Texas. As FT reported, “the amount of oil [now] at sea is at least double the levels of earlier this year and is equivalent to more than a day of global oil supply.” In short: the global deflationary crude supply […]

For a Resilient Future, Put Community First

Imagine a respite from the relentless torrent of bad news! Both The Transition Towns (Transition) and  Intentional Communities movements facilitate secession, to varying degrees, from the exploitive culture that surrounds us, and build alternatives that are supported by broad networks.  Now the two movements have joined together to share lessons learned about egalitarian community building. […]

$100 billion evaporates as world’s worst oil major plunge

Colombia is nursing paper losses of more than $100 billion after its oil boom fell short of expectations, wiping out 90 percent of the value of what was once Latin America’s biggest company. From being the world’s fifth-most valuable oil producer at its zenith in 2012, worth more than BP Plc, state-controlled Ecopetrol SA now ranks […]

This Is What A Financial Crisis Looks Like

Just within the past few days, three major high yield funds have completely imploded, and panic is spreading rapidly on Wall Street.  Funds run by Third Avenue Management and Stone Lion Capital Partners have suspended payments to investors, and a fund run by Lucidus Capital Partners has liquidated its entire portfolio.  We are witnessing a […]

US On Verge Of Lifting 40-Year Oil Export Ban

The United States appears on the brink of ending a four-decade ban on most exports of crude oil, which would end a years-long fight brought about by a boom in domestic shale output that contributed to a supply glut and depressed prices. The measure is part of a sprawling deal wrapped up by congressional leaders […]

Currency Collapse

Cash is a scarce commodity in Greece. In June, Greek banks declared a surprise limitation on how much could be withdrawn from an account. At present, the government still limits the cash withdrawals of its citizens. Of course, this is just the most recent development in a series of events that make up the cash […]

Fed Ends Zero-Rate Era

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade in a widely telegraphed move while signaling that the pace of subsequent increases will be “gradual” and in line with previous projections. The Federal Open Market Committee unanimously voted to set the new target range for the federal funds rate at […]

Albert Bates: Here Comes the Sun

“The COP agreed that the era of fossil energy is over. That is no longer in question. It will end by 2050, if not sooner. The question is how, and the Paris Agreement leaves that to fairy dust.“   At 7:27 pm Paris time (ECT), the President of the COP, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, […]

An “oil theologist” is needed to interpret the given resources and reserves in World Energy Outlook 2015

This year’s big news regarding the reporting of oil reserves in World Energy Outlook 2015 is that this annual report now discusses “resources that are technically possible to produce” and what proportion of these are proven reserves. When I was working on Chapter 17, The Peak of the Oil Age for my new book a […]

Russia is bracing for $30 oil

Russia is planning for oil prices to drop to $30 per barrel in 2016. The country’s top finance official, Anton Siluanov, said the government must be prepared for prices to fall further in 2016 as the global glut grows and new supply — for example from Iran — enters the market. “Everything indicates that low […]

Saudi Arabia Creates Islamic Bloc to Fight Terror Groups

Projecting its ambition for regional leadership, Saudi Arabia said Tuesday it has lined up most of the Arab world, NATO member Turkey and several African and Asian countries behind a vaguely defined “Islamic military alliance” against terrorists. The move allows the kingdom, which follows a deeply conservative interpretation of Islam, to cast itself as a […]

When you’re broke and aimless, the apocalypse can’t come soon enough

The first season of AMC’s Fear The Walking Dead was rarely as strong as its parent show, but it did feature one great scene early on, where a savvy teen named Tobias raided his high school’s pantry, anticipating that the zombie outbreak was about to blow up into a pandemic. In every post-apocalyptic novel, comic, […]

What it costs to produce oil

The collapse in the price of oil has squeezed energy companies and countries that were betting on higher returns. Here’s what it costs on average to pump a barrel of oil in the 20 biggest oil producing nations. Total cost Cost breakdown Overall cost to produce one barrel of oil United Kingdom $52.50 Brazil $48.80 […]

I’ll Farm Your Lawn

Peak Moment Television by Janaia Donaldson download (size: 25 MB ) Audio: I’ll Farm Your Lawn (298)

$30 Oil Will Accelerate Much Needed Rebound

Oil markets are waiting for a much greater supply contraction before prices rebound, and the deeper downturn in prices will test the current pace of adjustment. With WTI dipping to $35 per barrel, it will likely spark deeper cuts to spending and drilling, which could perhaps contribute to an accelerated pace of adjustment. In other […]

Live Free or Die

Freedom in modern society stands as the ultimate value.  It is the value to which almost all other ones aim, and around which they are organized.  This is most clear in our political and economic ideals, but also visible throughout our moral code or commonly assumed hierarchy of needs.  Equality, for instance, stands as one […]

A New Middle East Is in the Making

When, in June 2006, former US National Security adviser and, later on, Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, spelled out the George W. Bush administration new, magic doctrine for the Middle East, tons of ink was poured and millions of words said in a harsh attempt to speculate with what she really did mean by what […]

Inequality and Globalization

When it comes to wealth and income, people tend to compare themselves to the people they see around them rather than to those who live on the other side of the world. The average Frenchman, for example, probably does not care how many Chinese exceed his own standard of living, but that Frenchman surely would […]

Economics After Capitalism

In his book Economics After Capitalism: A Guide to the Ruins and a Road to the Future (Pluto Press, 2015), Derek Wall (International Coordinator of the Green Party of England and Wales) discusses various critiques of capitalism, and examines how we can create practical alternatives to capitalism and build a ‘democratic economy and a future […]

The Future Belongs to Renewables

Historically, the transition from one energy system to another, as from wood to coal or coal to oil, has proven an enormously complicated process, requiring decades to complete. In similar fashion, it will undoubtedly be many years before renewable forms of energy — wind, solar, tidal, geothermal, and others still in development — replace fossil […]

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