Peak Oil Review – Apr 6

1. Production and Prices

2. The Clean Energy & Security Act

3. Cuba

4. Detroit

5. Briefs

1. Production and Prices

After falling into the high $40s, oil prices closed out the week about where they started, at $52 a barrel. The struggle continues between bad economic news combined with pessimistic economic forecasts vs. investor optimism that the end of the economic downturn is in sight. […]

2. The Clean Energy & Security Act

Last week the chairs of two key Congressional Committees released a draft of the most far-reaching energy and climate change legislation ever proposed in the U.S. The four titles of the bill, which has dozens of subsections, encompass: […]

3. Cuba

Relations between the US and Cuba seem to be warming. Cuban officials are already in discussions with members of the US Congress to end the 47-year trade embargo. Last week a senior Cuban official said that Cuba would welcome the help of US oil companies in developing its oil resources. Although Chinese, Russian, Angolan, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Malaysian companies are already in discussions about developing Cuban oil, US companies have vast resources in and near the Gulf of Mexico that could develop Cuban oil much more quickly and cheaply. The official noted that the problem of bringing equipment from China is one reason that Cuba to date has only drilled one off-shore well. […]

4. Detroit

With the rejection of the automobile industry’s recent restructuring plans, attention is now focusing on some sort of managed bankruptcy before the end of June. […]

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