Peak Oil ‘Demand’ & The Duelling Narratives Of Energy Inventories

Crude oil inventories in the U.S. have fallen 23.9 million barrels since the end of April, but, as Bloomberg notes, oil bulls counting on further declines are fighting history. Over the past five years refiners’ crude demand has fallen an average of 1.2 million barrels a day from the peak in July to the low […]

Kurt Cobb: Are you anti-science if you don’t like GMOs?

It’s all the rage to call people who oppose the cultivation of genetically engineered crops anti-science. But if science is an open enterprise, then it should welcome discussion and challenges to any prevailing idea. We should, however, remember that in this case genetic engineering of crops is not merely a scientific enterprise; it’s big business. […]

Why we’re on a collision-course with crisis

Life is full of examples where folks make bad choices for noble reasons. Not every decision is a winner: sometimes you make the right call, sometimes you don’t. In 1962, Decca Records passed on signing a young new band because it thought that guitar-based groups were falling out of favor. That band was The Beatles. […]

How Much Should Food Cost?

Nothing illustrates the weirdness, injustice, and unpleasantness of the present economy more clearly than the misdirected attempts of government to reduce the price of food. All seem to accept that to reduce food prices is good and necessary, and that it represents ‘progress’. Certainly it is necessary to ensure that everyone can afford good food, […]

We’re Apocalypse Pop Culture Junkies

The bearded guy holding a sign that says “The end is nigh” might not be wrong — at least, from Hollywood’s perspective. For decades — actually, centuries — people have been fascinated with apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic scenarios. But in more recent years, especially since 9/11, it seems our entertainment industry has majored in catastrophe. “Mad […]

The US – Saudi Relationship Starts To Fray

We taste the spices of Arabia, yet never feel the scorching sun which brings them forth.   -Inscribed around the rotunda of the Jefferson Reading Room in the US Library Congress, above the figure of Commerce The long-overdue release of the classified 28 pages of a 2002 congressional inquiry into the 9/11 attacks represents the […]

Michael Klare, Fossil Fuels Forever

Think of them as omens of our age.  While global temperatures have been soaring lately — May was the 13th month in a row to break all-time heat records — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just reported, more parochially, that this was the hottest June on record for the lower 48 states. (USA! USA!)  […]

EIA reports on changing US energy mix

Primary energy consumption fell slightly in 2015, as a decline in coal use exceeded increases in natural gas, petroleum and renewables use. In most cases, changes between 2014 and 2015 reflect longer-term trends in energy use. In 2015, natural gas consumption increased more than any other energy source, accounting for 29% of total primary energy […]

Pakistan Oil output drops 8%

Oil production in Pakistan fell over 8% to an average of 87,000 barrels per day in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016 due to gradual depletion of reserves in existing fields and no significant new discovery, a brokerage house reported on Friday. In the previous fiscal year 2014-15, the country’s oil production stood at […]

The Rise And Fall Of The Petrodollar System

The Transition   “The chaos that one day will ensue from our 35-year experiment with worldwide fiat money will require a return to money of real value. We will know that day is approaching when oil-producing countries demand gold, or its equivalent, for their oil rather than dollars or euros. The sooner the better.” Ron […]

Saudi Arabia Declares Cease-Fire in Oil War

The new Saudi oil minister, Khalid Al-Falih, says the oil glut is over. That means the kingdom’s war against U.S. shale producers is coming to an end, too. Who won it is a tough question to answer; on balance, it’s probably the Saudis, but they have paid a huge price, and the surviving U.S. frackers […]

Peak Oil Redux

Peak conventional crude petroleum oil production is apparently here already – the only thing that’s been growing global total liquids is North American unconventional oils : tight oil – which includes shale oil in the United States of America – and tar sands oil from bitumen in Canada – either refined into synthetic crude, or […]

The Hard Truths of Globalization

Free trade is under assault—but it’s more important than ever. It’s easy to feel that ­globalization—one of the most vital business trends of the past half-century—is in retreat. Millions of ­voters in the U.S. and Britain blame it for stealing their jobs, and it was a major reason for the international civic convulsion known as […]

America’s biggest oil boom came under Obama

Donald Trump’s potential energy secretary took President Obama to task for trying to “destroy” the U.S. oil boom. Harold Hamm, a shale oil billionaire, gave a speech on Wednesday night at the GOP Convention arguing that Trump will become the first president to achieve American energy independence. “President Obama chose not to get it, and […]

The Peak Oil Paradox – Revisited

Back in the mid-noughties the peak oil meme gained significant traction in part due to The Oil Drum blog where I played a prominent role. Sharply rising oil price, OPEC spare capacity falling below 2 Mbpd and the decline of the North Sea were definite signs of scarcity and many believed that peak oil was […]

Drilling in the ‘Permian Mother Lode…for the Next 100, 150 Years

The Permian Basin is and will remain the key oil resource of the U.S. onshore because its deep and varied formations hold at least a century’s worth more of resource opportunities that eclipse any other part of the country, Pioneer Natural Resources Inc. CEO Scott Sheffield said Tuesday. “The Permian is the mother lode. You […]

Oil glut seen easing

Supplies of crude oil and demand for the stuff will strike a balance in the second half of this year, though there is concern over how much Britain’s decision to leave the European Union will impact the market, according to reports released earlier this month. U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures are hovering near $45 […]

Drones Are Revolutionizing Agriculture

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)—better known as drones—have been used commercially since the early 1980s. Today, however, practical applications for drones are expanding faster than ever in a variety of industries, thanks to robust investments and the relaxing of some regulations governing their use. Responding to the rapidly evolving technology, companies are creating new business and […]

Those Who Want to Boost the Global Economy Should Have More Kids

The Brexit will almost surely hurt economic growth across the world, but the sharp pain of the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union is small compared with the economic cancer of slowing productivity growth. But that isn’t even the biggest challenge the global economy faces. There is an even bigger problem that will hurt economic […]

Chilcot’s Blind Spot: Iraq War Report Buries Oil Evidence, Fails to Address Motive. Why did the UK go to War?

… Most important of these is oil. Buried in deep in volume 9 of the 2.6 million-word report, Chilcot refers to government documents that explicitly state the oil objective, and outlining how Britain pursued that objective throughout the occupation. But he does not consider this evidence in his analysis or conclusions. Oil considerations do not […]

French & US airstrikes ‘kill over 140 civilians’

Syria is demanding the UN take action after it says French war planes killed more than 120 civilians during airstrikes on Tuesday near the Turkish-Syrian border. The deaths came just a day after US air assaults killed a further 20 people in Manbij. TrendsIslamic State, Syria unrest The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent letters to the […]

Russia revisits oil pipeline to avoid Black Sea

Russia could revisit a land-based oil pipeline meant to get around Turkish waterways if the political situation worsens, a Russian executive said. Nikolai Tokarev, the head of Russian pipeline company Transneft, said there was renewed interest in building the Burgas-Alexandroupolis oil pipeline. “Everyone is now interested in it, including Bulgarian partners,” he was quoted by […]

why geo-engineering is a not a good idea

Geo-engineering is often regarded as something with no basis in reality that only conspiracy theorists and loons believe exists. However, it is indeed very real. In fact, geo-engineering has been looked at as a way to control the weather for decades. In fact, John F. Kennedy first suggested the development of new technology to control […]

The bottom of the oil bust does not a boom make

The oil and gas industry is finally finding a balance, if not a profit. Two years after West Texas Intermediate crude oil began falling from $109 a barrel, global demand has grown high enough, and oil production has dropped low enough, to begin balancing, according to the International Energy Agency. This is not to say […]

The Shopping Mall Death Spiral

Did the people who built this think it would fail in less than a generation? The answer might surprise you. The shopping mall is the epitome of America’s Suburban Experiment. From a local government standpoint, it was the golden chalice of development, a winner-take-all prize in our race to the bottom. Whoever got the mall […]

Oil Prices Might Not Rebound Until 2019

It’s a safe bet that investors are getting increasingly tired of all the conflicting forecasts about oil and gas prices. Some argue that oil is heading back to $20 thanks to the continuing excess supply. Others claim that the excess is overestimated and crude is well on its way to reach $80 or more by […]

Israel’s blessing to the world

The Jewish nation is tiny yet its contribution to humanity is astounding; its footprints of blessing, innovation and aid etched into the areas of mankind’s greatest need. Dr. Yuval Levy, a member of an Israeli military medical team that treated earthquake victims in Haiti, holds hands with Woodley Elize, a six-year-old Haitian boy who would […]

Erdogan’s Historic Purge Claims 50,000, Turkey Set To Unveil “Emergency Measures”

Erdogan’s historic purge of dissidents and adversaries – many of which curiously are to be found in the country’s educational system – continues, and according to the latest count, a total of around 50,000 soldiers, police, judges, civil servants and teachers have been suspended or detained since the coup attempt, stirring tensions across the country […]

Prepare for Primitive

  It is time to become organized, prepared, focused and self-sufficient. You can do it. If you don’t take control of your future now, there are dark and powerful forces that are prepared to shape that future for you. Indeed, there isn’t a whole lot that most of us can do individually to stop what […]

Saudi Arabia Seeks to Create Biggest Tanker Fleet

A venture between Arab Petroleum Investment Corp., known as Apicorp, and National Shipping Co. of Saudi Arabia will create the world’s largest fleet of oil tankers and support the kingdom’s plan to boost crude exports, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said. Apicorp, a multilateral energy-finance lender, and the Saudi shipping company, known as Bahri, formed a $1.5 […]

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