Archive for the ‘Oil’ Category
Oil’s Out – Find Out What’s In
The International Energy Association (IEA) has spoken. What the world needs now is a clean energy technology revolution.
June saw the 2010 launch of IEA’s biannual report, Energy Technology Perspectives. Speaking at the launch was Nobuo Tanaka, executive director for IEA. The Gulf oil spill, he said, could prove to be a tipping point in the world’s energy consumption habits. He added that the disaster serves as a tragic reminder that our current path is not sustainable.
As far as the IEA is concerned, this is probably a very important moment to start looking at alternative energy sources. If we, as a collective group of consumers, continue on the business-as-usual path, the scenario for 2050 is looking grim. Read the rest of this entry »
Florida – Much Worse Problems Than the Oil Spill
By Doug Hornig, Senior Editor, Casey Research
Media coverage of the oil spill’s effect on the Gulf focusing on tourist income lost by the waterfront towns – with footage of empty beaches, restaurants and T-shirt shops – dominates the news. Interviews with devastated business owners are heart rending. But they always end with references to somehow hanging on until “things get back to normal.”
Trouble is, things are not going to “normalize.” Not for the Panhandle of Florida, and probably not for the rest of the state, either.
Projections suggest that Florida can expect oil all along its west coast, and possibly throughout the Keys and up the east coast as well. Yet even before BP’s well began spewing crude, pressures within the state’s economy were building. It was an explosive situation awaiting a match.
Gulf Spill: Obama’s Waterloo?
By Marin Katusa, Chief Energy Strategist, Casey’s Energy Report
The White House might be gaping in shock that the U.S. federal court overturned the six-month drilling moratorium, but it really isn’t all that surprising. Amid the finger pointing and political posturing, the Obama administration seems to have missed a vital detail – the U.S. oil industry is in a spot of bother.
It’s not just America’s oil supply and energy security that’s in danger after the BP oil spill and the subsequent drilling ban. The Gulf economy is hanging by a thread, and it won’t take much to send it over the edge. Read the rest of this entry »
The Hungry Dragon: China’s New Oil Market
By Marin Katusa, Chief Investment Strategist, Energy Division
If you ever happen to eavesdrop on a conversation between energy investors, two words are sure to crop up – China and oil. Usually, they’re used together and usually, it’s about China’s increasing presence on the global oil scene.
It’s a pretty safe bet that, as one of the world’s fastest growing economies, China needs a lot of energy. And with an oil appetite that grows by 7.5% each year, seven times faster than the U.S., the country’s reserves don’t even begin to compare to the consumption.
But fuelling the blistering pace of its economy is China’s number one priority, and it is on a mission to lock down its energy interests all around the world. The emerging powerhouse has often felt that it was the last one onto the energy playing field with a lot of catching up to do.
Cheap Oil is Gone, and That’s Good News
By Marin Katusa, Senior Energy Strategist, Casey’s Energy Report
Over the next year or two, you will likely find yourself paying a LOT more at the gas pump. Big changes are taking place in the oil industry. With increased global demand and declining supply, easy oil is not so easy anymore.
Everything is about to get more expensive. From gasoline to anti-freeze, life jackets to golf balls, and eye glasses to fertilizer. There are very few things in the modern world that aren’t made from oil, made by machines dependant on oil, or shipped by vehicles powered by oil. Read the rest of this entry »
Washington Capitulates: Peak Oil Is Real
Editor’s Note: Over the last few years, news of world renowned geologist M. King Hubbert’s theory of peak oil theory has circulated widely. Most have now heard his theory which in a nutshell says, global production of Oil and Natural Gas will decline due to increased difficulty in getting to the Global reserves of these fossil fuels. Many have studied the peak oil phenomenon, trying to confirm (or deny) Hubbert’s timing of the peak. Oil companies and International Energy Agencies have both confirmed and denied the case for “Peak Oil” over the years. But current information from the Energy Information Administration sheds new light on the subject as Doug Hornig of Casey’s Energy Opportunities shows us in this article.
Washington Capitulates: Peak Oil Is Real
By Doug Hornig, Editor, Casey’s Energy Opportunities
Each year, generally in May, the Energy Information Administration publishes a less-than-eagerly-anticipated tome called the International Energy Outlook, 250+ pages of mind-numbing text, charts, graphs, and tables.
No one reads it. The mainstream media ignores it.
It’s the product of the best prognosticators in the Department of Energy. Okay, that may be what puts most people off. But if you’re patient enough to dig into it, it will cough up some fascinating nuggets of information.
The present edition is no exception. The report refrains from spelling out the peak oil conclusion that seems most obvious from its data. However, confirming a trend begun just last year, the 2009 edition clearly reveals that the government has been forced to admit that Peak Oil is coming. Moreover, it’s expected to arrive much faster than was believed as recently as two years ago. Read the rest of this entry »
