China fears food crisis as imports hit $14bn

“China has become a net importer of farm produce, raising concerns at the highest levels of government about the security of the food supply for 1.3bn people as land and water shortages put pressure on domestic grain production.”

FT

Iraq fighting pushes oil near $50

LONDON, England — Oil prices are approaching the $50-a-barrel level as renewed violence in the Iraqi city of Najaf and strong demand in China and India fuel supply concerns.

CNN

How does this oil crisis compare to 1979?

New Oil Crisis: 1979 In Spades Dan Ackman, 08.20.04, 8:40 AM ET NEW YORK – With crude oil prices nearing $49 a barrel and rising, the real (adjusted for inflation) price of oil is still not as high as it was in the early 1980s. But it’s getting close, and, in some ways, the situation […]

and the stink goes on….

The Carthage turkey-parts-to-oil plant, promised to be emission free, is still stinking the place up, according to this local news story.CARTHAGE, Mo. – A group of Carthage residents plans to raise concerns with the Carthage City Council about odors produced by a local company that converts poultry wastes to oil products. Petitions are being circulated […]

No easy fix for our Saudi oil habit

There are no easy answers. We are addicted to oil, and there is no legitimate methadone program other than returning to a pre-industrial era. About the best the country can do, in addition to conservation, is continue to drill intensely at home to make up for waning production elsewhere.

msn

How oil slipped out of Treasury’s grip

As the mainstream cottons on that there’s a significant sea change in the fuel markets, we’ll be seeing more articles like this one, where a New Zealand columnist questions the disconnect between a national budget designed with cheap oil in mind, and real world needs. Unbecoming as it is to dredge up economists’ forecasts

China promises to cover Yukos’ rail fees

MOSCOW – China has agreed to step in and pay Russian rail fees to ensure that it continues to receive Yukos oil if the company is unable to cover the transport costs, officials at Russia

Oil prices help keep dictators in power

Back in March, pollsters found that 65.8 percent of Venezuelans supported forcing Ch

The Nose Knows

If you are at all like me, you’ve been wondering why we haven’t heard more about the success of the thermal depolymerization plant run by Changing World Technologies and ConAgra in Carthage, MO — the famous turkey-parts-into-sweet-crude plant. Well, persistent digging has turned up info on one of their problems, which recently forced them to […]

Global Peak Oil Gathering – Alexander’s Gas & Oil

The discussion around the future global demand, supply and reserve-situation is intensifying. Are we actually running out of oil (and gas) or not? And if so when? Will the reserves collapse or will new finds take care of the future? Will production keep up with demand? And if not, what then? Many questions and even […]

New Edition of Our Petroleum Challenge Launched

CALGARY, Aug. 11 /CNW/ – The newest edition of Our Petroleum Challenge provides an overview of Canada’s crude oil and natural gas industry through vivid, plain language description of the steps involved in finding, producing, processing, transporting, refining, selling and using petroleum products. Our Petroleum Challenge – Sustainability into the 21st Century, 7th edition is […]

Newsday: 1.3 billion reasons to worry about oil

With 1.3 billion people, a phenomenal rate of economic growth, and an insatiable consumer demand for cars, China will soon come into direct conflict with the United States over oil, the world’s most valuable and increasingly scarce industrial commodity. The pressure on supply will inevitably jack up prices to levels that would make today’s motorists and electricity customers blanch.

Newsday

Small Texas beach town debates planned Liquid Natural Gas terminal

Risk, reward divide tiny town Gas terminal is seen as a danger or a bonanza By RICHARD STEWART Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle GAS PROJECT Freeport LNG Development LP hopes to begin construction of the Quintana terminal later this year with production expected to start in 2007. Every two or three days, the facility will unload […]

Oil prices hit record $46.58

LONDON, England — New York crude oil futures jumped a dollar to a set new record of $46.58 a barrel at the close on Friday on the heels of an explosion and fire at BPs Whiting, Indiana, refinery and worries about supply disruptions in Iraq and Venezuela.

CNN

Energy’s Perfect Storm – and a Script for Hydrogen

Fear drives the political myth of energy independence! John Whitaker’s coined phrase “Energy Independence” from 1973 is often used today by candidates offering a better idea or outlining complex “roadmaps” which are neither understandable nor helpful in the day-to-day survival for the common man. When President Gerald Ford asked America to seek “Energy Independence” in […]

China’s thirst for oil grows despite surge in world prices

China’s economy is based on energy-intensive manufacturing, but labour is so cheap that it can cope with higher prices, experts say. And as its massive workforce shifts from farms to factories, they say demand for fuel will soar.

The Straits Times

Industries feel pinch from rising oil prices

Cost of crude eating into companies’ bottom lines By Phil LeBeau CNBC Updated: 7:23 a.m. ET Aug. 13, 2004 From the ports to the planes, the cost of crude oil is eating into the bottom line. The airlines alone are expected to spend another $4 billion on fuel this year compared to last. “An industry […]

Stocks fall on HP report, rising oil prices

On top of the oil issue, Hewlett-Packard was the latest in a string of technology companies to disappoint Wall Street with second-quarter earnings. Like Cisco Systems and National Semiconductor earlier this week, HP said its third quarter would be similarly grim.

ST

U.S. consumers are paying more than ever before

For consumers, the consequences are stark. Already, extra energy costs are cutting into family budgets. After a modest lull, gasoline prices are expected to resume their climb later this month. The forecast is record heating costs this fall and winter, starting with a 20 percent increase in home heating oil prices on Long Island and in New York.

ND

The Natural Gas Crisis: Greens Engineer Another Disaster

we have plenty of natural gas (as does Canada) but environmental laws have so slowed new domestic and offshore drilling for it that there

Saudis can’t deliver on oil, say cynics

Saudi Arabia sought to calm turbulent oil markets on Wednesday by offering to boost production but, after an initial drop in prices, the cost of oil rose again by day’s end.

SMH

Oil hits record high

LONDON (Reuters) – Oil prices have hit fresh record highs as U.S.-led forces seek to crush a rebellion in the holy Iraqi city of Najaf, a move
which Shi’ite Iraqi militia have warned could trigger fresh attacks on oil infrastructure.

SIe

The Fed’s oil bet

A drop in prices is what the central bank is betting on, but it’s been a no show so far.Kathleen Hays August 12, 2004: 8:37 AM EDT NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – Could oil be taking a toll on Europe’s growth now, too?

Oil prices still close higher as traders doubt ability to deliver

From the Washington Post: Matthew R. Simmons, chairman and chief executive of Houston-based Simmons & Co. International, an energy investment bank, said he did not believe the Saudi numbers. “They’re basically lulling a lot of people into saying, ‘We don’t have anything to worry about,’ ” Simmons said. By Justin Blum The Washington Post Updated: […]

Record Crude Oil Prices and the World Economy

Crude oil prices are reaching new highs seemingly every day. NPR’s Noah Adams talks to Tom Wallin, editor of Petroleum Intelligence Weekly, about events and trends influencing the world oil market.

NPR

New Energy Bill: Reducing Our Dependence on Foreign Oil

Growing transportation requirements combined with declining domestic oil production have led to burgeoning oil imports. Rising oil prices are having an adverse impact on the U.S. economy as evident from recent economic data and stock market performance. We need a responsible energy plan which will balance our transportation requirements with the necessity to reduce our […]

Energy Transition

On Monday, 13 September 2004 we would like to invite you to help us launch the new phase of Energy transition during the conference Energy transition: from vision to realisation. Courtesy of ASPOA reliable, clean and economically efficient energy system is an essential precondition for sustainable economic growth in the long term. The transition approach […]

Petroleum Review Audio

Chris Skrebowski, Editor of the UK Petroleum Review, talks in depth about his BBC encounter with IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol in which Birol made a startling admission, and about Saudi Arabia’s “old lamps for new” policy. Chris also talks about the real significance of the latest edition of the BP Statistical Review, the diminishing […]

Iraq Pipeline Watch

Attacks on Iraqi pipelines, oil installations, and oil personnel:

IPW

China’s power crisis

The Straits Times reports that :

In the first half of this year alone, 24 out of the China’s 31 provinces and municipalities have suffered from blackouts because Chinese power companies just cannot generate enough electricity for all of the country’s factories and smelters.

This summer, China’s power companies are expected to fall short by 30 million kilowatts, more than half of which will be needed in Shanghai and the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

… as the frequency of power outages shows no sign of abating as the weather heats up, the local authorities have resorted to more drastic measures, including offering subsidies for factories to buy their own power generators and asking some companies to give their employees paid vacations this summer. All these measures helped prevent the 757,000 brownouts that plagued China in the first half of this year from being more than it was, said industry experts.

http://www.jroller.com/page/lowem/20040726#china_s_power_crisis

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