Water Scarcity: India’s Silent Crisis

As Cape Town inches towards ‘Zero Hour’ set for July 15, 2018, the real threat of water scarcity is finally hitting millions of people worldwide. For on that day, the South African city’s 3.78 million citizens — rich and poor, young and old, men and women — will be forced to queue up with their […]

The Population Bomb Has Been Defused

Some of the most spectacularly wrong predictions in history have been made by those who claim that overpopulation is going to swamp the planet. Thomas Malthus, a British economist writing in the late 1700s, is the most famous of these. Extrapolating past trends into the future, he predicted that population growth would inevitably swamp available […]

Russia’s economy : still dependent on oil

After two years of recession caused by lower oil prices and western sanctions, Russia’s recovery benefits Vladimir Putin as he seeks a new term in office. However, this improvement won’t last long without structural reforms. EURACTIV.fr reports. Russia’s economic recovery is timely for Vladimir Putin, following a 15% peak in 2015, inflation fell last year […]

Statoil Kicking ‘Oil’ From Name, Rebranding as ‘Equinor’

Statoil ASA, whose North American portfolio stretches from Canada’s offshore to the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), unveiled plans Thursday to rebrand as “Equinor” to reflect a broader energy strategy that elevates alternative energy and downgrades fossil fuels. “Equinor” would combine “equi” (equal, equality and equilibrium) and “nor,” a nod to its roots. The supermajor is […]

Living At The Height Of Civilization — Staring Into The Abyss

  Texas has switched back to Daylight Saving Time and I am once again driving to work in the dark. The stars were still out this morning when I left the house in the canyon and began my 28 mile commute to work, the first 20 miles or so I now achieve under eV power. […]

Running on renewables: how sure can we be about the future?

A variety of models predict the role renewables will play in 2050, but some may be over-optimistic, and should be used with caution, say researchers. The proportion of UK energy supplied by renewable energies is increasing every year; in 2017 wind, solar, biomass and hydroelectricity produced as much energy as was needed to power the […]

UK ‘looking to other countries’ for natural gas supply amid Russia spy row

UK Prime Minister Theresa May said Wednesday the UK was “looking to other countries” for gas supply due to deteriorating relations with Russia triggered by the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal in the UK.   UK planning series of measures against Russia Russian gas not a big source of UK supply No UK gas price […]

North Sea Back to ‘New Normal’

The North Sea is now back to a ‘new normal’ but we are never likely to go back to the heyday of 2014, according to Kevin Swann, Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) UK upstream research analyst. “Cost cutting has been widespread with an average reduction of more than 30 percent in operating expenditure across the North Sea,” […]

The View from Les Houches: Of Rare Metals and Cute Kittens

Les Houches, March 2018. José Halloy of the Université Paris Diderot discusses mineral depletion in his presentation. Note how he utilizes Hubbert curves to estimate the trajectory of mineral extraction. He predicted that the dearth of very rare elements will negatively affect the electronics industry, perhaps killing it completely. José Halloy’s presentation at the Les […]

Expect oil demand to plateau and not peak: BP

CNBC-TV18’s Anshu Sharma caught up with Spencer Dale, Group Chief Economist of BP and asked him if he expects the oil demand to peak at some point and what are the key levels to watch out for in terms of crude prices. “I think the better way to think about is not peak, think plateau. […]

Projections For Peak Oil Demand Are Overblown

(Source: Bloomberg) Listen to this podcast on our site by clicking here or subscribe on iTunes here. While oil prices trade above $60 a barrel, up over 40% from their June 2017 lows, energy stocks have languished. Why the disconnect, and will this persist? This time on Financial Sense Newshour, we spoke with Dan Steffens […]

Millions Own Gas And Oil Under Their Land. Here’s Why Only Some Strike It Rich.

The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world that lets private individuals own the minerals under their land, a policy that dates to the founding fathers as they sought to elevate private interests over those of the British Crown. This financial incentive to allow new drilling goes a long way in explaining […]

Saudi crown prince: If Iran develops nuclear bomb, so will Saudi

The next leader of Saudi Arabia says his country would quickly obtain a nuclear bomb if arch rival Iran successfully develops its own nuclear weapon. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made the statement about a possible nuclear arms race in the Middle East to “CBS This Morning” co-host Norah O’Donnell, in an interview set to […]

China Now Produces More Oil Abroad Than At Home

China is among the most import-dependent large oil consumers, but imports, it seems, are not its only problem when it comes to oil. Apparently, production from assets the Chinese state oil companies own abroad now exceeds domestic production, increasing the country’s dependency on foreign oil. That in itself is not the problem, writes Michael Lelyveld […]

Shell CEO’s Salary Increases

The salary of Royal Dutch Shell plc’s CEO, Ben van Beurden, was raised by 2.5 percent in 2018, the company’s latest annual report revealed. Effective from January 1 this year, the base salary of Shell’s CEO was set at $1.883 million (EUR 1.527 million). The company’s chief financial officer, Jessica Uhl, also saw a salary […]

Our Latest Oil Predicament

It is impossible to tell the whole oil story, but perhaps I can offer a few insights regarding where we are today. [1] We already seem to be back to the falling oil prices and refilling storage tanks scenario. US crude oil stocks hit their low point on January 19, 2018 and have started to rise again. […]

The search for clean, abundant energy

Oxford-based energy generation and inertial confinement fusion research organisation, First Light Fusion is investing £3.6 million to build a pulsed power machine to advance the company’s work exploring fusion. The device, labelled Machine 3, is under construction and on track to be commissioned by the end of 2018. It will be the only pulsed power […]

World War 3 Is Approaching

“In a nuclear war the “collateral damage” would be the life of all humanity.” — Fidel Castro The Russians, in their anxiety to show the West how friendly they are, left Washington with a toe hold in Syria, which Washington is using to reopen the war. The Russians’ failure to finish the job has left […]

Glut Or Deficit: Where Are Oil Markets Headed?

A flurry of recent oil market forecasts have sent a lot of mixed messages about what to expect both in the near-term and over the next several years. Is U.S. shale about to flood the market, setting off another bust? Or is demand so strong that with the oil market already rapidly tightening, another price […]

BP’s Twisted Timeline Of Oil And Gas’ Future

Spencer Dale, BP’s (NYSE: BP) group chief economist, isn’t trying to predict the future—whether it’s the doomsday scenarios of peak oil demand or the advent of electric vehicle (EV) “carmageddon.” At Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, the unabashedly candid economist presented BP’s Energy Outlook 2018, which is interwoven with what appears likely to […]

Heinberg: Getting Past Trump, Part 2: The Russia Connection

In Part 1 of this essay we surveyed the historical, economic, and cultural context for the upset victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. I did not mention Russian interference in that election. That’s because it is a subject that deserves to be treated on its own. It is, of course, a source […]

Saudi crown prince to visit White House

US President Donald Trump will host Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on March 20, the White House said Monday. “The president looks forward to discussing ways to strengthen ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in announcing the meeting. The hugely influential Saudi prince is visiting Egypt, […]

Former Exxon Head Replaced as US Secretary of State

Former ExxonMobil Corp head Rex Tillerson is being replaced by Mike Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, as the US Secretary of State, US President Donald Trump has revealed.   Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson […]

Does Solving Energy Poverty Help Solve Poverty? Not Quite

Recent research questions a widely held belief. The head of Swedfund, the development finance group, recently summarized a widely-held belief: “Access to reliable electricity drives development and is essential for job creation, women’s empowerment and combating poverty.” This view has been the driving force behind a number of efforts to provide electricity to the 1.1 billion people around the […]

Kunstler: School Daze

Sunday night was Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s turn through the CBS 60-Minutes wringer of censure with a visibly frustrated inquisitor Lesley Stahl trying to hector her into self-incrimination. The sad truth about American schools is that they’re a mirror for the painful collapse of the society they supposedly serve — a process ongoing for […]

The View from Les Houches: Thermodynamics vs. Economics

School of Physics in Les Houches, France, March 2018. Juergen Miknes shows some of the concepts that he has developed in his parallel analysis of thermodynamics and economics. It is a remarkable synthesis that you can find described in detail here. In the slide above, he suggests to replace the Cobb-Douglas function, commonly used in […]

The World Oil Supply is Infinite: I Know That Because I Believe It

Earth scientists have been making the case for years that the present level of human activity is not sustainable.  We’re rapidly depleting resources, degrading ecosystems, altering the atmosphere, etc.  What earth scientists are saying is generally not covered by the mainstream media, or is sugar coated, because the mainstream media is an outlet for the […]

Glut Or Deficit: Where Are Oil Markets Headed?

A flurry of recent oil market forecasts have sent a lot of mixed messages about what to expect both in the near-term and over the next several years. Is U.S. shale about to flood the market, setting off another bust? Or is demand so strong that with the oil market already rapidly tightening, another price […]

Pollution, Invasive Aliens, & Mass Extinction: 20,000 Scientists ‘Warn Humanity’ The End Is Nigh

A wave of nationalist/populist/anti-globalization, record high debt, nuclear doomsday clock at its highs, soaring financial leverage, and now trade wars. If the world did not have enough to worry about, 20,000 scientists have a few more reasons to believe ‘the end is nigh’…and President Trump is not to blame for any of it (yet). A […]

$1 tn needed to achieve 1TW solar power capacity by 2030

At the International Solar Alliance, Emmanuel Macron said the government, private sector and civil society need to work together to overcome hurdles French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday said USD 1 trillion will be needed to achieve one terawatt (TW) of solar power capacity by 2030. Speaking alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the founding […]

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