Why oil could rally in 2016

Despite the astounding surge in the oil supply over the last year, the Bank of England reported that 60 percent of the recent decline in oil prices was due to demand factors. Cumulative percentage change in the Brent oil price since June 19, 2014, based on 200 commodity price co-Movements Source: Bank of England November […]

Oil and Natural Gas Prices in Historical Context

Memories are short, and we often mistake prices of the last few years as indicative of the historical norm. Indeed, when it comes to the price of crude oil, most Americans would probably be surprised to learn that it is still well above the long-term historical average, once we adjust for price inflation. Contrary to […]

What does a year’s worth of crude oil look like?

Right from the beginning the oil story has always been about big numbers. But what do those numbers mean? Imagine a city building that is 1 kilometre square – about half the size of Sydney’s CBD. Now picture it towering 4.5 kilometres into the sky, up amongst the clouds. That is the volume of oil […]

Is Crude Oil Facing Peak Storage?

Crude Oil (WTI) has had a troubling week, as the commodity continues to slide lower as growing over supply concerns point to further falls ahead. In fact, as a veritable conga line of tankers navigate towards the United States, some are now asking at what point “peak storage” have been reached. A range of factors […]

Promethean Porn and Malthusian Mistakes

Dear Leigh Hello, my name is Mr Puck. I heard about your new book, Austerity Ecology and the Collapse Porn-Addicts: A Defence of Growth, Progress, Industry and Stuff. Now, a title involving the word ‘porn’ that isn’t actually about, er, porn usually indicates something that’s well worth not reading (yes, reader, I know, I know […]

It’s Too Early to Assume Peak Oil Demand

“I believe we may not see $100 (oil) ever again,” said Vitol’s Ian Taylor last week in London. His rationale for making such a prediction is the belief that global oil demand will peak in the medium term. “I have begun feeling that… we are coming to peak demand towards 2030,” said Taylor, the CEO […]

IEA Sees No Oil Price Rebound For Years

Oil prices are likely to stay below $80 per barrel for another five years, according to a closely watched energy report. The International Energy Agency released its 2015 World Energy Outlook (WEO), with predictions for energy markets out to 2040. Although there are no shortage of caveats, the IEA projects that oil prices will only […]

Get ready for car-as-a-service (CaaS)

Self-driving cars are expected to take over the roadways in the next two decades, but the vast majority of the fleet will likely be dedicated to services and not owned by individuals, according to a new report by IHS Automotive. Within five years, Google and carmakers are expected to have driverless vehicles on the world’s […]

Kurt Cobb: Money Cannot Manufacture Resources

Author Kurt Cobb writes frequently on energy and the environment and warns that our current economic policy suffers from a fatal degree of magical thinking: sufficient new resources will emerge if the price is high enough. As any fourth grader will tell you, a finite system will not yield unlimited resources. But that perspective is […]

Why the oil market is behaving normally

FROM John Rockefeller’s Standard Oil in the late 1800s, through the Railroad Commission of Texas in 1930, to OPEC since 1960, institutions have long tried to control and stabilise the oil market for their own benefit. Only rarely, says Jason Bordoff, director of Columbia University’s Centre on Global Energy Policy, has the oil market behaved […]

The Biggest Threat To Oil Prices: 2-Mile Long Stretch Of Iraq Oil Tankers Headed For The U.S.

After some initial excitement, November has seen crude oil prices collapse back towards cycle lows amid demand doubts (e.g. sllumping China oil imports, overflowing Chinese oil capacity, plunging China Industrial Production) and supply concerns (e.g. inventories soaring). However, an even bigger problem looms that few are talking about. As Iraq – the fastest-growing member of […]

Inside The World’s Largest Apocalypse Shelter

It stands alone in a quiet valley in the Czech Republic, bordered by a magnificent countryside. The estate is surrounded by high walls, and is not visible at ground level. From the air, the compound appears to be a large administration center. This is The Oppidum, a massive 323,000 square foot property with plans for […]

Feeling the Elephant

Most people have heard the Indian tale about the blind men and the elephant. For those that have not, it goes something like this. A group of blind men come across an elephant and, perhaps puzzled by the noise it is making, set out one by one to investigate. The first one feels the elephant’s […]

China, Mideast Gas Use to Overtake Europe by 2035

Europe won’t return to peak consumption levels seen in 2010 China’s unconventional gas producion growth uncertain China and the Middle East, spurred by lower prices and ample supply, will drive global natural gas demand growth in the next 25 years as consumption in Europe fails to recover to peak levels seen in 2010, according to […]

The Rapidly Rising Cost Of Living Is Killing The Middle Class In America

All over America, the middle class is dying and poverty is on the rise.  One of the primary reasons for this is the rapidly rising cost of living in the United States.  The cost of just about everything that average families shell out money for on a regular basis – food, rent, health insurance, etc. […]

Designing Resilient Communities

AERO [Alternative Energy Resources Organization] asked Max Milton, who presented a terrific community resilience workshop at the 2014 AERO Annual Meeting, to tell us more about how a serious consideration of resilience can inform the work we each do daily, as well as the future direction of AERO. Here are five questions and their thought-provoking answers. What […]

Kunstler: The Leviathan

The economic picture manufactured by the national consensus trance has never been more out of touch with reality in my lifetime. And so the questions as to what anyone might do can hardly be addressed. How can I protect my savings? Who do I vote for? How do I think about where my country is […]

The Energy World Is Flat

In The Energy World Is Flat: Opportunities from the End of Peak Oil, Daniel Lacalle and Diego Parrilla explore 10 forces that drive the future of energy. Both authors have extensive experience in the energy field. Lacalle’s background is in energy portfolios as an economist, energy sector analyst, and fund manager. Parrilla is a hedge […]

Saudi Minister Says Asia Will Drive Oil Demand

OPEC chief joins Naimi in seeing Asia as main hub for growth Russia targets doubling oil exports to Asia-Pacific by 2035 Oil demand will soon reflect the “attractiveness” of the current level of crude prices, and Asia will be a vital engine of economic expansion for decades, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said. OPEC’s chief joined […]

Vehicle of the Future Might Be an Electric Tricycle

The latest solution for congested cities is an electric, autonomous tricycle for adults. The challenge of moving people and things around the world’s dense, growing major cities is bad and getting worse. Ninety percent of the world’s population growth in this century will be in “megacities,” and cities will soon account for 80 percent of […]

Apartments Waste 33% of The Energy They Use

Energy Awareness Month is the time to promote the importance of finding more efficient ways to use energy, such as weather stripping, upgrading to LED lights and implementing a programmed thermostat. Planning these efforts and taking action will ensure a significant decrease in energy consumption making your building more sustainable and efficient. In fact, the […]

America, oil power

“Freedom is the right to question and change the established way of doing things. It is the continuous revolution of the marketplace. It is the understanding that allows us to recognize shortcomings and seek solutions.” –Ronald Reagan, talking to students at Moscow State University, May 31st, 1988. Gas prices are plummeting like the bit of […]

Iranian Oil Goes Back on the Market

After years of sanctions, the country is boosting production and aiming to win customers back from the Saudis and Russians. The fate of the oil market in 2016 depends in large part on a series of oil fields with names such as Ahwaz, Gachsaran, Bibi Hakimeh, and Darkhovin. All of them are pumping crude buried […]

‘Peak demand’ Means World May Never See Oil at $100 a Barrel Again

Just as the energy industry has brushed aside concerns that the world could run out of oil, industry executives now say they believe it is demand, rather than supply, that is nearing its apex. In 1985, Ian Taylor, today the chief executive of the world’s largest oil trader Vitol, was part of a team at […]

Oops! Low oil prices are related to a debt bubble

Why is the price of oil so low now? In fact, why are all commodity prices so low? I see the problem as being an affordability issue that has been hidden by a growing debt bubble. As this debt bubble has expanded, it has kept the sales prices of commodities up with the cost of […]

Can The U.S. Rebalance The Global Oil Market?

Summary US operator oil production cash flow is down 75% from its peak in June 2014. Cash flow, rig count, and well count all starting to find equilibrium. US oil supply response in the face of current price may be enough to balance market. As third quarter earnings continue at full steam, it’s hard to […]

What’s Next: Deflation, Inflation, Or Hyperinflation?

Divided Opinions We are not the only publishers to offer opinions. And not the only ones with alternative points of view. So, to answer these questions, let’s look first at the range of opinions on offer… First, there is “the authorities must know what they are doing… besides, I have more important things to think […]

We Won’t Have $100 Oil For At Least A Decade

Summary People have been worrying about running out of commodities for thousands of years. History will once again prove Malthusian arguments wrong. OECD oil demand has peaked and China isn’t coming to the rescue. Short-term, the next global recession is at our doorsteps, and weak economies mean less oil consumption. Long-term, America has the best […]

What is Degrowth? Envisioning a Prosperous Descent

This is a transcript of my keynote address presented at the ‘Local Lives, Global Matters’ conference in Castlemaine, Victoria, 16-18 October 2015.Other keynote speakers included Rob Hopkins, David Holmgren, and Helena Norberg-Hodge. Introduction Thank you for that introduction, Jacinta, good morning everyone. I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of this land […]

The I-40 Highway of Shame

“It is good to remember that Milošević ended his days in prison in The Hague for the Bosnian cleansing while Jackson still graces our twenty-dollar bill.”   On Interstate 40 one leaves Fort Smith, Arkansas, crosses the Oklahoma line and immediately the place names begin to change from words like VanBuren and Muldrew to words […]

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