News from May 2004

Iraqi Oil Exports Hit $10 Billion

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – Iraqi crude oil sales since last year’s U.S.-led invasion have hit more than $10 billion, the U.S.-led authority governing Iraq said on Monday.

Reuters

N.Y. Crude Oil May Rise as Saudi Attack Raises Supply Concern

June 1 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil may rise in New York on increasing concern supply from Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter, may be disrupted after the third attack this month against foreigners left 22 dead over the weekend.

Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia: Oil-Sector Experts Try To Gauge Impact Of Terror Attack

Al-Muqrin has repeatedly issued calls for the Saudi royal family to be overthrown. But until last year, the Saudi government played down evidence that Islamic radicals were posing a threat to security. That has changed since a series of deadly attacks — including last month’s attack at the Yanbu petrochemical complex. Saudi officials are now seeking to reassure the global markets that their oil pipelines, terminals, and processing centers are protected.

Radio Free Europe

Investigating phantom barrels in the oil sands

Western Oil Sands Inc. chopped 15 million barrels from the estimated reserves for its part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, while its partner Shell Canada Ltd. made no change at all.

Globe and Mail

Don’t Gripe About Gas Prices

Oil prices, at their highest levels for more than a decade, are trending upward. Natural gas prices are going out of sight. Yet more blips in the ups and downs of fuel costs? Or, as many believe, the start of an era of ever-more-expensive energy? Globe And MailIndustry magazines have been tracking a controversy about [...]

The Empire at Oil’s End

The oilmen in the White House, of course, have the best view of the lush terrain on the far side of Hubbert’s peak. No wonder, then, that a map of the “war against terrorism” corresponds with such uncanny accuracy to the geography of oil fields and proposed pipelines.

Alternet

PowerDown review by Bruce Thomson

Moderator Bruce Thomson reviews ‘PowerDown’ (Richard Heinberg’s upcoming book) on the EnergyResources Yahoo group. Summary: he likes it. New Society Publishers sent me a draft of ‘PowerDown’ (Richard Heinberg’s upcoming book) to preview. It’s good, so I’ll send out this recommendation of it to the main egroups. A GOOD COVERAGE, A VERY USEFUL BOOK FOR [...]

Do we have to beg for affordable oil?

Such a public plea, from the leading western industrial countries plus Japan, was hardly a show of strength. But in the old days the accompanying news that Saudi Arabia was prepared to raise output to assist western economies would almost certainly have brought instant relief.

Guardian Unlimited

A Saudi Riddle

A Saudi Riddle
Billmon – Whiskey Bar
May 30, 2004

Which is this:

In yesterday’s attacks in Al Khobar, as in the attack earlier this month in Yanbu, the terrorists went after people, not infrastructure. And yet, if ex-CIA agent Robert Baer is right, they could have done far more damage and sown far more chaos if they had gone after the delicate web of pipelines, pumping stations and terminals that is currently squirting 8.35 million barrels of crude a day into the global oil market.

Here’s Baer’s take, from his book Sleeping With the Devil:

http://billmon.org/archives/001490.html

Solar Concentrators Tackle the Hydrogen Test

SHEC’s unit uses a system of mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy much like a satellite dish concentrates data frequencies to a central receiver. In the company’s previous press release from last June, SHEC said their unit could concentrate sunlight by a factor of 5,000 times.

SolarAccess