On March 5, the New York Times published a front-page story called “Oil Innovations Pump New Life Into Old Wells.” Getting new oil from “played out” wells was the thrust of the piece; as the price of oil rises, it becomes worthwhile investing new money into old wells. The article also indirectly took on the … Read More
Peak Oil
Non-OPEC Production Slows
The oil industry is finding it harder to expand upstream capacity, a new report by the Centre for Global Energy Studies has warned. “Development costs are up sharply, essential equipment and skilled labor are in short supply and host governments want a bigger share of the proceeds,” it concludes.
Are the Peak Oil Pundits Wrong?
Interesting article in today’s New York Times about the industry’s latest techniques to get more oil out of the ground and how this might mean that the peak oil pundits are wrong, as more and more oil is being recovered from existing fields. “Within the last decade, technology advances have made it possible to unlock … Read More
Big Oil Tackles Energy Questions
Some of big oil’s top executives will gather in Houston this week to discuss dwindling oil supplies, pollution concerns and finding new and more effective ways to produce oil and gas — as well as alternatives to fossil fuels. At the Cambridge Energy Research Associates annual weeklong conference that begins today, dozens of the industry’s … Read More
OECD Consumption Drops For First Time in Decades
Here’s one that few saw coming: According the International Energy Agency as reported by the Wall St. Journal (subscription), developed country consumption of oil dropped .6% in 2006. According to the Journal: “Though the decline appears small, it marks the first annual drop in more than 20 years among the OECD countries, which drain close … Read More
Oil Outlook “Frightening”
Happy New Year 2. The Seattle Times reports gloomily: “Food shortages, cars abandoned, another depression. It’s the stuff of nightmares — and the type of future an eclectic group of engineers, computer experts and others in Seattle believe could await us”. “Members of Seattle Peak Oil Awareness expect world production of oil and gasoline to … Read More
Whither Peak Oil?
Originally posted at http://www.markfloegel.org If you’re a long time reader of these commentaries, you may have noticed the recurrence of a limited repertoire of subjects – the Iraq war, global warming, the evisceration of civil liberties in the U.S. and peak oil. As detrimental as I believe the administration of George W. Bush has been … Read More
Peak Oil Analysis is Flawed Says CERA
Here’s something that will get the peak oil pundits up in arms. Oil industry analysts Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA) argue that the peak oil theory is based on “faulty analysis.” It could, if accepted they argue, “distort critical policy and investment decisions and cloud the debate over the energy future”. They are arguing that … Read More
Can We Transition Away From Oil?
Slowly but surely people are beginning to talk about a taboo- what happens when the oil runs out. What are we going to do? How are we going to live? How will we feed, power and house ourselves? How can we transition our society away from oil to a secure energy future? These kind of … Read More
Listen to the BBC’s Great New Programme “Driven By Oil”
Anyone interested in oil politics should listen to the BBC’s great new series on oil, by Tom Mangold, called Driven By Oil. Today’s first programme was on Peak Oil. Asked when we should have started to worry about peak oil, Matt Simmons, author of Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the … Read More