Peak Oil Review – Apr 20 | Energy Bulletin
OPS_admin | Apr 21, 2009 | Comments 0
Peak Oil Review – Apr 20 by Tom Whipple
1. Production and Prices
Oil prices started last Monday at $52 a barrel, quickly fell to circa $50, and remained there for the rest of the week. Bad economic news and forecasts of lower demand for oil dominated the energy story, punctuated with occasional bursts of optimism from Wall Street which continues to maintain there are early signs of an economic rebound.
As the world’s economy continues to slip, more investors are seeing oil and other commodities as a safe haven to store wealth. China is making a major effort to convert some of its $2 trillion in reserves into oil and other minerals as a hedge against what might happen to the value of dollar-based securities. This safety-in-oil may prove to be a major factor in supporting oil prices if consumer demand continues to drop.
Recent reports about OPEC efforts to cut production appear to show that the enterprise has stalled after achieving about 3.8 million b/d of the 4.2 million that was mandated. So long as prices remain around $50 a barrel, OPEC seems content to let matters stand. The next OPEC meeting is about 5 weeks away.
2. Off-Shore Drilling
US Interior Secretary Salazar has been traveling around the country conducting hearings on whether to permit off-shore drilling in areas that were off-limits until October 1, 2008. The Secretary visited Atlantic City, New Orleans, Alaska, and San Francisco. Public testimony was mixed as environmentalists and pro-drillers continue their decades-old argument. In Anchorage, Governor Sarah Palin warned that the trans-Alaska pipeline was in danger of shutting down unless new sources of oil were opened up. Fishermen raised the specter of another Exxon-Valdez.
At the San Francisco hearing, California officials unanimously opposed opening the coast to offshore drilling saying the country should concentrate on renewable energy sources and higher energy efficiency standards.
On Friday a federal appeals court ruled that the Bush Administration did not properly study the environment impact of drilling off the Alaska coast and ordered the Interior Department to assess the areas before moving forward. The decision stops work on drilling projects already underway in Alaska and applies to other coastal projects under consideration. The Interior Department has already announced that it will delay further leasing by five years to complete the necessary studies. The offshore drilling issue appears to be out of the energy debates for a while.
via Peak Oil Review – Apr 20 | Energy Bulletin.
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If we don't change our ways soon...
A new report by the Royal Society, chaired by Nobel prize-winning biologist Sir John Sulston warns that world population must be stabilized and consumption in wealthy nations must be reduced or the entire planet is in big trouble. As the report reads: "The number of people living on the planet has never been higher, their levels of consumption are unprecedented and vast changes are taking place in the environment. We can choose to rebalance the use of resources to a more egalitarian pattern of consumption... or we can choose to do nothing and to drift into a downward spiral of economic and environmental ills leading to a more unequal and inhospitable future."This is the same warning that President Jimmy Carter gave Americans back in the 1970's - but it was ignored when Ronald Reagan came to power with a "more positive" message basically telling Americans we can do whatever we want. And then after 9/11 - Bush told us all we should go shopping and consume ever more.And now with corporations calling the shots in Washington - long-term sustainability of the planet takes a back seat to short-term profits. If we don't change our ways soon - and embrace clean, alternative energy and educate women around the plant - then we all could be headed for a rough century.-Thom(Is there any chance we will learn in time? Tell us here.) -
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