Peak oil will be demand driven

We were supposed to run out of oil eventually. They called it peak oil. But it will never happen now. At least not how you expected. Can you imagine the early Stone Age humans worrying about running out of stones to make their tools? Or Bronze Age tribes arguing over what would happen to their […]

Oil market re-balancing is here and will continue, IEA says

The oil market has essentially reached a balance and will continue to accelerate in the near term, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its monthly report published Tuesday, just nine days before OPEC‘s much anticipated ministerial meeting. “We think the rebalancing is here and the rebalancing will continue,” Neil Atkinson, head of the oil […]

One in three people ready to ditch cars for apps

One in three people say the ability to book a taxi or minicab through their smartphone is an alternative to owning a car, in a sign of the potential upheaval vehicle manufacturers are facing to their business models. Carmakers are grappling with the prospect of falling vehicle ownership in large cities, where parking costs and […]

Death spiral for cars. By 2030, you probably won’t own one

By 2030, you probably won’t own a car, but you may get a free trip with your morning coffee. Transport-As-A-Service will use only electric vehicles and will upend two trillion-dollar industries. It’s the death spiral for cars. A major new report predicts that by 2030, the overwhelming majority of consumers will no longer own a […]

The trouble with infrastructure

The trouble with infrastructure is that it breaks down and needs to be repaired, it wears out and needs to be replaced, and it gets destroyed and needs to be rebuilt. All that requires energy, resources, labor and money. Conceptually, here’s the problem we face. The bigger we make any part of our infrastructure–roads, pipelines, […]

Crude Oil: Flip A Coin

Summary With confirmed break above $49/bbl (“heads”), crude will likely resume its uptrend. With confirmed break below $47/bbl (“tails”), crude will likely begin a new downtrend. In the short run, supply and demand is a mere headline and has little effect on price direction. Introduction Last week, we outlined a bearish case for crude oil […]

Why More Coal, Oil, And Natural Gas Investments Are Needed

“I think that, in the end, these hydrocarbons are a huge resource for humanity. And I don’t think we’ve got any good substitute. People think that all these hydrocarbons are going to be stranded and the whole world’s going to change. I think we’re going to use every drop of the hydrocarbons, sooner or later.” […]

IEA to review oil demand outlook after China, India signal auto policy shifts

The International Energy Agency will review its electric vehicle (EV) use and oil demand forecasts after India and China recently signaled new policies in favor of electric cars and vehicles using other alternatives to gasoline. In its current policies scenario, last updated in November 2016, the IEA expects vehicle demand for oil to rise until […]

When Oil Stops Pumping Is Game Over

There is a consensus between industry leaders and analysts that world oil production will peak between 2010 and 2030, with a significant chance that the peak will occur before 2020. Dates after 2030 were considered implausible by some. Meaning that by the year 2020 the daily production of oil will only decrease. Now, I’m aware […]

The Crop That Ate America

Farmers who had long rotated plantings among a diverse group of grains are increasingly turning to a single one. Corn has always been a mainstay of U.S. agriculture, but its increasing profitability has driven up corn’s share of total production, while grains such as wheat, oats and sorghum have steadily fallen, according to a Bloomberg […]

Breaking New Ground in Economic Theory

Steve Keen defines a production function based on energy Professor Steve Keen may be the first mainstream economist to address a fatal flaw in economic theory: omitting or minimizing the role of energy. Keen has developed a production formula incorporating energy, not as one factor of production along with capital and labor, but as the […]

Oil Below $65 Per Barrel…For Years

  Recognizing that something had to be done to halt the latest crash in oil prices, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister went public with his support not only for an extension of the OPEC cuts for another six months, but he also dangled the possibility of an extension into next year. “Based on consultations that I’ve […]

Is There Life Before Death?

As the conversation about Near-Term Human Extinction (NTHE) grows increasingly deafening, I notice many people behaving as if they are already dead—and in fact they may be. Do we have 15 years, 20 years, 50 years? Should I move to another location? What’s the point of doing the job I now have? Why even have […]

Population growth will fall to zero in Asia by 2050

Asia’s rapidly ageing population means the region is shifting from being the biggest contributor to the global workforce to subtracting hundreds of millions of people from it, according to the International Monetary Fund. The reversal of the so-called “demographic dividend” will drag on global growth and also that in Asia, the world’s fastest growing region, […]

What if it IS Different for Oil This Time?

It’s time we prepare ourselves. It may actually be different for oil this time… Yeah, I know. It’s an article of faith for investors. Anytime you hear someone say, “It’s different this time,” you can chuckle to yourself with an air of superiority, because you know, you KNOW, that person is just wrong. And not only […]

Is There Such a Thing as a “Net Energy Cliff?”

New research outlines how energy resource depletion and declining energy return on investment (EROI) may affect prosperity. Modern, prosperous lifestyles are heavily dependent on the availability of abundant, low-cost energy supplies. In fact, a society and its component parts (people, groups, organisations, institutions) are physical systems that require inflows of affordable energy resources with high […]

Art Berman: Don’t Get Used To Today’s Low Oil Prices

Oil expert and geological consultant Art Berman returns to the podcast this week to address head-on the question: Was the Peak Oil theory wrong? With the world “awash” in sub-$50 per barrel oil, were all the warnings about persistently higher future oil prices just a bunch of alarmist hand-wringing? In a word: No. Art explains […]

When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation

I left off last week’s post – “Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees, Industrial-Scale Renewable Energy Does” – by mentioning the existence of a rather excellent resource. By that I didn’t mean an energy resource, but rather a book – a book that nonetheless gives a rather fine breakdown of our various energy resources and their […]

Icebergs to be towed from Antarctica to United Arab Emirates for drinking water

Icebergs to be towed from Antarctica to United Arab Emirates for drinking water Icebergs could create micro-climates in the region and bring rain to the arid landscape Simulations predict it will take up to one year to tow an iceberg to the UAE

Real Economic Growth Is 2%

Bill Gross, a fund manager at Janus Capital, says real economic growth in the U.S. is a 2 percent number going forward. Prior to that, Jean-Claude Trichet, former ECB president, says he agrees with Emmanuel Macron on respecting rules and reforming France. Alan Krueger, a professor at Princeton University, remembers the legacy of economist William […]

Humans prosper because of oil, natural gas

The global warming alarmists who want to shut down pipelines, cap wells, limit exploration and make wind and solar the major sources of energy aren’t doing humanity any good, according to a new assessment by a world-recognized think tank, says Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin. If the green crowd that is pursuing the 80 percent greenhouse-gas emissions reduction […]

The Times, They Are a-Changin’

Monetary policy is on hold: The Fed has set a pattern of interest rate increases and is sticking to it. Fiscal policy is also on hold. Republican scorpions bottled in the House of Representatives are split between deficit hawks and deficit doves, and those favoring a border tax and those joining the president in skepticism […]

Oil just dropped to a 5-month low below $46

Oil prices struck a new 2017 low on Thursday as mixed U.S. stockpile data compounded bearishness that has permeated the energy complex in recent weeks. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell below $46 and international benchmark Brent breached $49, both sinking to the lowest level since Nov. 30, the day the Organization of the Petroleum […]

Why the Phrase ‘Late Capitalism’ Is Suddenly Everywhere

A job advertisement celebrating sleep deprivation? That’s late capitalism. Free-wheeling Coachella outfits that somehow all look the same and cost thousands of dollars? Also late capitalism. Same goes for this wifi-connected $400 juicer that does no better than human hands, Pepsi’s advertisement featuring Kendall Jenner, United Airlines’ forcible removal of a seated passenger who just […]

The Return Of Bearishness In Oil Markets

The oil bears are gaining leverage over the bulls as confidence in the stability of crude prices continues to wane. Oil prices traded above $50 per barrel for most of the first quarter, falling back into the $40s in March, although it quickly rebounded back above $50 in April. The high level of OPEC compliance […]

What Is Shaping the Global Oil Market?

In today’s “Futures in Focus,” Dan Deming of KKM Financial discusses the outlook for oil and impact on the market from geopolitical unrest. He speaks with Vonnie Quinn on “Bloomberg Markets.”

Aramco, IEA warn of future supply crunch

Two of the most influential voices in the oil market today separately set out a stark picture of a coming crude supply shortfall. The IEA and state-owned Saudi Aramco both pointed to the sharp reduction in investment levels since the oil price began to fall in 2014, and warned of trouble ahead. The IEA said […]

Peak oil demand ‘not in sight’ in next few decades – Aramco CEO

The peaking demand on oil will not loom over in the next few decades, Aramco’s CEO stated at the 18th International Oil Summit held in Paris on Thursday. “Long-term factors truly define and impact the energy industry, not misplaced notions like ‘peak oil demand’ or ‘stranded resources’,” he said, according to the Saudi oil company’s official […]

EIA: Global Oil Supply to Lag Demand After 2020

Global oil discoveries fell to a record low in 2016 as companies continued to cut spending and conventional oil projects sanctioned were at the lowest level in more than 70 years, according to the International Energy Agency (EIA). Both trends could continue this year, and the EIA warns that global oil supply could lag demand […]

The Autopsy Is in: Natural Gas Killed Coal

In case anyone doubts the death of coal, experts just issued the autopsy. A new report from the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University looks at exactly what’s causing coal’s demise. It finds that cheap natural gas is responsible for roughly half the decline in U.S. coal consumption. Falling demand for electricity and […]

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