EROEI estimates show PV to be a fully mature technology

“The EROEI of Photo-Voltaics can be whatever you like these days” a friend of mine said once after attending a bio-physical economics conference. It epitomises a growing problem in this field, while the broad concept of net energy or Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI) is broadly accepted there is no unified methodology for its […]

Chevron Announces Sale of Geothermal Operations

Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiaries have entered into a sales and purchase agreement with Star Energy Consortium to sell Chevron’s Indonesian and Philippines Geothermal assets. “These assets deliver reliable energy to support the needs of Asia-Pacific’s growing economies,” said Jay Johnson, executive vice president, Upstream, Chevron Corporation.  “This sale is aligned […]

The Coming Water Crisis

Water is life. Water is the new oil. Water is power. Fresh, life-sustaining water is draining away. It’s becoming an increasingly scarce resource across the globe through overuse and pollution. As these issues become more acute, tensions that have already begun will escalate, and this will affect us all. Some say water is the new […]

U.S. Shale Is Now Cash Flow Neutral

Oil prices are probably already high enough to spark a rebound in shale production. The IEA says that in the third quarter of 2016, the U.S. shale industry became cash flow neutral for the first time ever. That isn’t a typo. For years, the drilling boom was done with a lot of debt, and the […]

Peak Oil? Food For Thought

Some great statistics in this article. The theme: despite the current glut in oil, much of that due to the shale revolution, demand is likely to put stress on supply in the future. It appears, bottom line, IEA has simply moved the “peak oil” concern from 2020 to 2040. Some data points: 1998: IEA forecast […]

A Season Of Consequences, By John Michael Greer

One of the many advantages of being a Druid is that you get to open your holiday presents four days early. The winter solstice—Alban Arthuan, to use one term for it in the old-fashioned Druid Revival traditions I practice—is one of the four main holy days of the Druid year. Though the actual moment of […]

The U.S. Is Now a Country That Can Be Ignored

One of President Barack Obama’s most important legacies is a sense that the U.S. is no longer the dominant global power: It can be ignored. It’s a new reality that became apparent this year as various authoritarian regimes and populist movements have tested it out. President Vladimir Putin’s Russia has been at the forefront of […]

EROEI Calculations for Solar PV Are Misleading

The Energy Returned on Energy Invested (EROEI) concept is very frequently used in energy studies. In fact, many readers seem to think, “Of course, EROEI is what we should be looking at when comparing different types of energy. What else is important?” Unfortunately, the closer to the discussions of researchers a person gets, the more […]

South Korean Scientists Smash Nuclear Fusion Record

Physicists in South Korea managed to keep high-performance plasma stable for 70 seconds this week. This gives the Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) reactor the record for the longest ever time sustaining such reaction. [Image Source: Michael Maccagnan/Wikipedia] This superheated plasma holds the key to unlocking nuclear fusion for virtually limitless and reliable energy. […]

Saudi Arabia Considers Rise in Retail Fuel Prices in 2017

Price increase to be announced before the end of the year Kingdom pursuing plan to cut dependence on oil revenue Saudi Arabia is considering increasing retail gasoline and diesel prices in 2017 for the second year in a row, as the world’s top crude exporter pursues a plan to cut its dependence on oil revenue, according […]

Defend the Hood

Make sure to press CC on the video player for English subtitles In 2016, numerous attacks were launched at diverse symbols of gentrification in the Montreal neighborhoods of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Saint-Henri. We wanted to give space to the people involved so that they can explain a point of view, that corporate media consistently ignore or […]

Why Oil Markets Don’t Have To Worry About Libya

In the wake of recent developments, Libya’s National Oil Corporation now has full control over all its oilfields and export terminals. After the recapture of the Eastern region export terminals by the Libyan National Army (LNA) last September, and the recent announcement by the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) to reopen the Al-Ryayna oil pipeline, the […]

Heinberg: Beyond Trump: The Path to Real Change

This webinar serves as a hopeful antidote to the paralysis felt by many following the election of Donald Trump as the 45th US President. In it, we go beyond the minutiae of the election campaign and explore the bigger picture, including: The increasingly corporatized and globalized economic system which has led to the rise of Donald Trump […]

Glancing at 2017 Bakken Activity Expectations

Short updates from major Bakken operators and drilling rig providers on early 2017 investment plans, DUC strategies and outlooks on the current state of the industry. By The Bakken Magazine Staff | December 20, 2016 With $400 million budgeted for all of its operations in 2017, Enerplus will spend roughly 70 percent in North Dakota. […]

The Oil And Gas Situation – 2016 Year In Review

In the history of the oil and natural gas industry in the United States, 2016 will be remembered as one of the most eventful in terms of major market developments, asset transactions and developments in public policy. As we approach year’s end, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of […]

Peak Oil : The real inconvenient truth

The media talks about ” climate change ” all the time but rarely talk about ” Peak oil ” . When most people think of oil they of oil shooting out of an oil well . This is the cheapest form of oil to produce. This type of oil is mostly found in the middle […]

Chris Nelder: Resources and Economy

Podcast: Play in new window | Download Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS The notion of “decoupling” energy consumption from economic growth has become vogue in policy circles, but how much evidence is there that it’s really happening? If the energy intensity of our economy is falling, are we sure that it’s becoming more efficient, […]

Get Ready for the Great Oil Bust of 2017

Shawn Driscoll has been ahead of the curve when it comes to oil prices. In the first half of 2014, Driscoll—the portfolio manager of the T. Rowe Price New Era fund, which focuses on natural resources—began positioning the fund more defensively to reflect his belief that commodities had entered a secular bear market. He bolstered […]

Solar Now Produces a Better Energy Return on Investment Than Oil

The future is not good for oil, no matter which way you look at it. — Motherboard ***** Solar — it’s not just a clean power source producing zero emissions and almost no local water impact, it’s also now one of the best choices on the basis of how much energy you get back for […]

Peak Oil is Dead. Peak Demand is Dead Ahead.

Today’s issue is a little different to usual. That’s mostly because of time constraints. I’m preparing my speech for the launch party for The Exponentialist this evening. It promises to be a great event. If you’re coming along (it’s by invite only I’m afraid) then I’ll see you in a few hours. But there’s another […]

Kunstler: The Deep State Blues

Lest you wonder, not only did I not vote for Mr. Trump (or Hillary), but I relished heaping opprobrium on him during the election campaign. Just so you know, I’m not advocating for him, but I’m alarmed that the Deep State (the White House + the Intel Agency gang) now appears to be trying to […]

Iran Starts Selling Oil To Italy

National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has signed a short-term contract with Eni to sell crude, an Iranian official said on Monday, as it seeks to revive the agreement it had with the Italian oil major prior to sanctions on Tehran. “The National Iranian Oil Company has sold one cargo of crude oil to this Italian […]

Libya Halts Relaunch of Oil Production at Western Fields

Libya’s National Oil Co. has for now stopped the relaunch of production at oil fields in the country’s west, Libyan officials said Sunday, after a militia threatened to block the petroleum from reaching the market. The aborted restart is a blow for Libya’s oil industry, which has been counting on the country’s big western fields […]

Russia sets up oil-production monitoring group

A handful of Russian oil companies are expected to form a working group to monitor coordination with production agreements, the Russian oil minister said. Russian Oil Minister Alexander Novak said representatives from 12 oil companies in the country agreed to work together to monitor the terms of an agreement to cut oil production during the […]

Jean Laherrere on Proven Reserves

Jean Laherrere has posted the following charts and comments on Bakken and World oil reserves. EIA proved reserves on Bakken (ND +Montana) plus  cumulative production have changed at end : -2012   3754 Mb -2013   5701 Mb -2014   7203 Mb -2015   6671 Mb As shown in this graph in red squares, together with HL ultimates, USGS […]

Instead of another shopping fix, repair what we’ve got

Ah, it’s that fake time of the year for me. I don’t remember my family celebrating the Christmas season with heart and soul like the faithful do when I was a small child, but I do remember unboxing the plastic tree. Fake presents went under it. I wrapped empty boxes in reused patterned paper, and […]

There is only one culture: bringing back science into the fold of humanism

Yesterday, I was invited to give a talk at a public meeting on the usual themes: climate change, resources, pollution, and the like. This time, a question I received from the audience caused me a small enlightenment that I am describing here as I remember it (h/t Lorenzo Citti for having organized this interesting meeting) […]

These striking images show just how overcrowded China’s population really is

China’s population was approaching 1 billion when it established its one-child-per-family policy in the late 1970s. But in the fall of 2015, China announced that the policy would be dropped because of unintended consequences, including a skewing of the population toward males and a disproportionate representation of elderly people. By allowing couples to have two […]

We Need to Accept That Oil Is a Dying Industry

The future is not good for oil, no matter which way you look at it. A new OPEC deal designed to return the global oil industry to profitability will fail to prevent its ongoing march toward trillion dollar debt defaults, according to a new report published by a Washington group of senior global banking executives. […]

Is Economic Growth Environmentally Sustainable?

Is economic growth environmentally sustainable? No, say a group of prominent ecological economists led by the Australian hydrologist James Ward. In a new PLoS ONE article—”Is Decoupling GDP Growth from Environmental Impact Possible?“—they offer an analysis inspired by the 1972 neo-Malthusian classic The Limits to Growth. They even suggest that The Limits to Growth’s projections […]

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