In a chilling preview of what life may be like if Rick Perry were to become president, a commission appointed by the Texan Governor is proposing handing Valero and other Texan refiners a tax refund worth $135 million. That would be bad enough but where will they find the money in these hard times? Around … Read More
Author: Lorne Stockman
Myth or Miracle? Are Keystone XL jobs and energy security claims exaggerated?
To hear some people talk about it, Keystone XL is the answer to many of America’s current woes. It will free America of the scourge of foreign oil dependence, create hundreds of thousands of jobs, weaken the enemies that threaten the union, and bring on the good times once again. While the good times may … Read More
Oil markets and pipelines: the big picture
Oil Change International released a report yesterday asserting that much of the oil to be delivered by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline will be refined into diesel and exported. We seem to have touched a raw nerve with some people as we have been accused of all sorts, from untruths to being unfamiliar with the … Read More
Could Keystone XL turn out to be the oil major’s Achilles Heel?
That the international oil majors face unprecedented challenges in growing their resource base is well known. Shut out of the richest pickings in OPEC countries and increasingly out performed by national oil companies, they have been forced to invest in the world’s most extreme oil resources. The tar sands is one such example. Ultra-deepwater and … Read More
Jilted by another smooth-talking oilman
Ever get tired of those cheezy ads from oil companies or really fired up over ‘independent’ research that asserts that everything you thought was great about alternative enery sources turns out to be a myth? Well Erik Curren over at Transition Voice sums it up nicely on this cross-post. Thanks Erik… Every time I’m tempted … Read More
Empty threats should not be made at ‘friends’
Alberta’s minister of energy Ron Liepert was in New York this week and took the opportunity to threaten the State Department over the slow pace (as he sees it) of the approval process for the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline is designed to carry up to 900,000 barrels per day of mostly tar sands derived … Read More
Oil and Investor Risk
Private international oil companies have limited opportunities for growing their oil production. They have been forced to go to the extremes to pursue oil wherever they can get it.
Top 5 myths about subsidies to oil companies
This is a cross-post from Transition Voice. Written by Erik Curren Can the president who killed Osama bin Laden now stand up to Big Oil? Encouraged by comments made by House Speaker John Boehner that subsidies for oil and gas companies should be on the table, Democrats led by Montana Sen. Max Baucus last week … Read More
Independent oil & gas producers don’t need subsidies any more than big oil does
The Independent Petroleum Producers Association is currently in overdrive parading a commissioned study that makes a number of claims about its member’s value to the economy. According to the study, independent oil and gas producers drill most of the wells in the country, create millions of jobs and pay billions in taxes and royalties. Furthermore, … Read More
Obama and energy security: another missed opportunity
The president presented some encouraging words at Georgetown University today when he spoke about the urgent need to address America’s energy security. As he so often does, he correctly identified the problem the nation faces in continuing to rely on dirty forms of energy that pollute and cause climate change and particularly on oil, the … Read More