The Oil Drum

Altered Picture for Big Oil Reserves Three Years After Shell

As a crystal ball into the energy industry's prospects, proved crude-oil and natural-gas reserves aren't as clear as they used to be, at least not for the biggest oil companies.

U.K.: Petrol to hit £1-a-litre

PETROL prices are set to smash through the £1-a-litre barrier for the first time this summer, motorists were warned today.

Soaring demand for fuel, a shortage of crude oil and continuing unease in the Middle East are combining to threaten record prices for millions of drivers on the forecourt.

Lula's Petrobras Comments Cause Concern

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has caused some concern among the private sector by saying federal energy company Petrobras (NYSE: PBR) must follow the government's development strategy.

Peak Soil: Why cellulosic ethanol, biofuels are unsustainable and a threat to America

There are many serious problems with biofuels, especially on a massive scale, and it appears from this report that they cannot be surmounted. So let the truth of Alice Friedemann’s meticulous and incisive diligence wash over you and rid you of any confusion or false hopes. The absurdity and destructiveness of large scale biofuels are a chance for people to eventually even reject the internal combustion engine and energy waste in general. One can also hazard from this report that bioplastics, as well, cannot make it in a big way.

Solving the corn supply problem

What's left behind from the ethanol-making process could be what saves the livestock industry from the high price of corn.

Biotech to Ease Ethanol-Related Corn Shortage

Biotechnology will play a key role in boosting corn production to meet the growing demand for ethanol fuel stock, two former presidents of the National Corn Growers Association told Hawaii state legislators and various farmers' groups during a week-long tour of the state in mid-March.

Organics: A poor harvest for Wal-Mart

Consider the case of Organic Valley Family of Farms in La Farge, Wis., one of the country's largest cooperatives of organic farmers. When demand for organic milk soared two years ago, rival Horizon Organic Dairy offered to sell to Wal-Mart for 15% below Organic Valley's price. Wal-Mart expected a similar reduction from Organic Valley, but instead the cooperative pulled out. "Looking for ever-lower costs comes at a real cost to sustainability," says George Siemon, Organic Valley's chief executive. "To have consistent supply, you have to change the paradigm of thinking and think about long-term partnerships."

Somalian PM Hopes to Tempt Oil Majors Back with Oil Law

Somalian Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi hopes big oil companies will return to the country and said parliament is set to vote on a petroleum law to encourage this by providing a legal framework.

What GAO Peak Oil report?

An important piece of internationally significant news drops down through the crack

Uganda: Fuel Dealers Want Regulatory Body

FUEL dealers in Jinja have asked the Government to set up a national regulatory body to oversee fuel importation to avert future shortages.

Norway's Halvorsen: Oil Fund to Grow with Ethical Footprint

Norwegian Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said she expects the value of Norway's offshore state pension fund to soar to around 5 trillion NKR within 10 years, during which time the fund's emphasis on ethical investments will be expanded.

Baltic Gas Pipeline Could Go Through Estonian Waters

The initial plan was to route the pipeline through the territorial waters and economic zone of Russia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

However, Stroebaek said, Finland asked for the route to be shifted in order to protect the environment.

Fighting Terror with Hypercars

Lately I've been fascinated by the way so many former CIA and State Department officials, once freed from their jobs, have gone to work lobbying for energy security.

Stephen Colbert vs. No Impact Man

GAO Calls Interior's Estimate of Lost Royalties Too High

Federal royalties in jeopardy because of industry litigation are substantial but may be well below the $60 billion figure estimated by the Interior Department, according to a new Government Accountability Office report.

California drivers are pumping less gas

The price of gas really does matter after all.

There were more cars than ever in California in 2006, but for the first time in 14 years, the state's motorists bought less gasoline than the year before.

Report: Army Corps needs major overhaul

The Army Corps of Engineers needs to acknowledge that the world is heating up and seas are rising to better protect the nation from flooding and hurricanes, according to a report by two environmental groups.

When the lights go out

David Strahan and Duncan Clarke take opposing sides on the peak oil debate in The Last Oil Shock and The Battle for Barrels. Larry Elliott weighs up the evidence.

Formation of CTL Coalition Marks Start of America's Energy Independence for National Security

Congressman Nick J. Rahall, D-WV, and other Members of Congress in support of coal-to-liquid technology joined representatives from the U.S. Air Force, industry and labor on Capitol Hill recently to unveil the National Coal to Liquids (CTL) Coalition, formed to help increase America's national security by decreasing its dependence on foreign oil, while also spurring development of coal-derived transportation fuels.

Price pressures push buttons

Costs for food and energy are up, and consumers have taken notice.

Renewable energy boom drives up share prices

A boom in renewable energy shows no sign of petering out, with investors greedy for shares in wind-generator companies which are booking huge new sales.

EU's energy commissioner warns against Gazprom dominance in Europe's energy supply

Russian energy giant OAO Gazprom should not be allowed to dictate Europe's energy supply, a senior EU official said Friday, adding that the coming, EU-mandated switch to less-polluting renewables will entail additional costs for many.

G7 mulls better use of oil money, China reserves

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, China, and Russia discussed with G7 nations how surpluses derived from oil sales should be invested and Beijing's plans to more actively manage its foreign reserves, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said late on Friday.

China: Trillion Dollar Investment Blues

As China's foreign exchange reserves continue their explosive growth, questions about the ways the country's financial mandarins manage its pool of wealth are growing both inside and outside China.

Namibia: Invader Bush Could Be Put to Good Use (Jatropha, not the U.S. president. We still haven't found a good use for him. ;-)

Promises and rhetoric not to solve Pakistan’s energy problems: report

By 2030, Pakistan’s energy demand will be almost 64 percent greater than projected supply.

Energy's secrets may lie in garden

Berkeley scientists have found that light-loving bacteria — and probably plants — rely on quantum physics to turn sunlight into usable energy rapidly and efficiently, overturning the standard explanation for how green living things get their energy.

ConocoPhillips sees global energy costs rising 10% annually

ConocoPhillips, the third-largest US oil company, said it sees global costs for energy developments continuing to spiral up, rising at an annual rate of 8% to 10% and squeezing profit margins.

Labour scarcity and soaring prices for steel, concrete and other materials are inflating costs of building everything from refining units to offshore production platforms and show no signs of abating, ConocoPhillips chief executive officer Jim Mulva said on Thursday in an interview in Houston.

Peak Oil Passnotes: Crude Oil Sets Its Sights High

Only one thing has really changed, the way Brent crude and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) have swapped places in terms of price, but this could be very important. For many years the WTI price was around three to four dollars more than that of Brent. Now that situation has been reversed in what could be one of the first signs of a peak in oil production exacerbating prices.

The Alchemist in the Oil Patch

Since the advent of the oil business, scientists and engineers have developed a series of very remarkable technologies. Oilfield technology tends to compound at a steady rate, extending the boundary of what was long considered the absolute limit of exploration and production. Oil and gas resources once thought completely out of reach have now arrived in the fuel tanks and furnaces of consumers around the world.

US Insulated from OPEC-Style Natural Gas Cartel - For Now

A natural gas cartel modeled on OPEC would have little near-term impact on the U.S. but its reverberations eventually could be felt as the country increases its reliance on imports.

A flare for tracking the Gulf's energy

Taking advantage of their energy riches, Gulf states have unleashed a raft of energy projects that suppliers and contractors are eyeing with relish.

Companies, not governments, control energy future

The American addiction to oil is fuelling the sizzling oilsands development in Fort McMurray, said a policy analyst from the United States slated to come here Monday.

"The only reason that the oilsands is being rapidly developed is because of the unabated demands from the United States," Tyson Slocum said.

Passenger rail lobby optimistic after Helena

The southern Montana rail line carried passengers until 1979, and Ackley's association has long advocated restoring service. Now that gas prices are high and the country faces an energy crisis, government officials are thinking that way, too.

Families given choice of 'heat or eat'

The Department of Human Services today announced that it is out of funds for energy crisis assistance for fiscal year 2007.

Is extinction in our future?

I think our human egos like to think that we caused global warming because it also helps us believe we can fix it.

Breaking the addiction to cheap oil

Weaning ourselves off oil in an orderly manner will take decades. Ironically, Hubbert had little faith in our capacity to manage this risk. He is quoted as having said, "Our ignorance is not so vast as our failure to use what we know."

Venezuela’s Oil Gambit

Years of threats and bluster over the operations of U.S. and European oil companies in Venezuela turned more serious this month as President Hugo Chavez set a May 1 deadline (NYT) for nationalizing several major foreign petroleum projects. Chavez’s announcement prompted fear from oil executives, but many analysts say the move could be even more disastrous for Venezuela itself.

In U.S. Earth Day prelude, calls for greenhouse gas cuts

Earth Day seems to have morphed into Earth Week or possibly Earth Season, with more than 1,300 U.S. events that focus on sharp cuts in the greenhouse gas emissions that spur global warming.

Hippies Ruin The World Part 1,048,495: Sports Pollute Too Much, Man

Anyway, this dude's saying future caps on pollution emissions and peak oil will kill most sports as travel costs become prohibitive. Oh and do away with night games while we're at it.

Peak oil: Get ready for it, says GAO

Previously the worry of obscure engineers in technical reports, now the prospect of declining global production of oil is front and centre on the desks of all policy makers.

The New Oil

Climate change will require Canada to sell water to the U.S., says the author of American study