Many people are now getting jittery about Saudi Arabia. Protesters in the Kingdom have called for a “day of rage” his Friday to show their dissatisfaction with King Abdullah’s regime. Meanwhile the King has tried to head off serious unrest in the country by pledging to boost spending on housing, social welfare and education. And … Read More
Peak Oil
“An oilquake that shakes our world to its core”
The press reports this morning that members of Opec have joined Saudi Arabia in boosting oil output to make up the fall in output from Libya. The countries concerned – Kuwait, UAE and Nigeria – have all promised to boost production. In many ways you could argue that OPEC’s gamble is trying to delay the … Read More
Deepwater Increases Chance of “Oil Crunch”
Its not rocket science. But if you delay further expansion of offshore drilling because of the Deepwater disaster, then you risk compromising the supply of future oil supplies. If deepwater drilling is where over a quarter of new oil reserves are, then any delay in accessing these reserves could mean trouble. That is the conclusion … Read More
If one volcano can do this, what will peak oil do?
To anyone in North America, the Icelandic volcano fiasco must seem something of a distant story, unless you are trying to fly to Europe right now, when it will be a living hell. It is a hell being experienced by hundreds of thousands of people stuck abroad who are unable to get home from their … Read More
US Military Warns Of “Severe Energy Crunch”
The United States Joint Forces Command goes by the slogan “Ready for today. Preparing for tomorrow”. But the military planners are certainly getting worried about tomorrow. They argue that “Fossil fuels will very likely remain the predominant energy source going forward,” but then warn that “a severe energy crunch is inevitable without a massive expansion … Read More
Oil Reserves “Exaggerated by One Third”
Back to the peak oil debate. We could reach peak oil much faster than predicted, according to Sir David King, the British Government’s former chief scientist, who has warned of shortages and price spikes within years. King argues that the world’s oil reserves have been exaggerated by up to a third. Â
Is an “Oil-Less Recovery” On its Way?
We are getting really mixed messages over what will come first: peak oil or peak supply. First of this week was BP saying global peak oil demand will happen sometime between 2020 and 2030. Then we had the UK Industry Task-Force on Peak Oil and Energy Security which published a report entitled “The Oil Crunch … Read More
Peak Oil More an “Immediate Threat” Than Climate Change
BP may think that a demand crunch will happen before a supply crunch. But others disagree. Today, six UK leading companies have launched the second report of the UK Industry Task-Force on Peak Oil and Energy Security. The report, entitled “The Oil Crunch – a wake-up call for the UK economy”, argues that oil shortages, … Read More
BP: Peak Demand Will Happen Before Peak Supply
Various blogs on the site over the last few months have warned about what peaking global demand will do for the oil industry. Last August in the blog “What About the Demand-Side Warning?” we quoted Lorne Stockman, the author of report on how reducing oil demand might affect the tar sands.
Is Iraq a “Game-Changer” for Peak Oil?
The Oil Drum is one of those great blogs that discusses energy and peak oil. It has consistently and coherently been ahead of the curve, shall we say, when it comes to exploring the issue of peak oil and what we, as a society, should be doing about it. But the New Year has brought … Read More