HOUSTON - While the US Army Corps of Engineers scrambles to defend the Gulf Coast against hurricanes on land, oil companies are preparing to avoid the havoc that last year's big storms wreaked offshore.
They are fortifying mobile platforms and drilling rigs, putting backup communications systems in place, and working out advance contracts with tug and helicopter services.
But a manpower shortage is hampering these efforts. The shortage is so acute that many companies are still working on last year's equipment failures. Nine months after hurricanes Katrina and Rita moved through, 21 percent of the Gulf's oil production and 13 percent of its natural-gas production remain offline.
Even more disconcerting to consumers is that oil and natural gas prices could rise even higher if another strong storm hits the Gulf.
. . . for contacting me about the high price of gasoline and diesel fuel. I share your concerns and I am fighting in the Senate to give immediate relief to Michigan families, and to find long-term solutions to our energy problems.
In Michigan, the average family will end up paying $500 more this year for gas than they did in 2005. That's a house payment, a car payment, or a month of groceries. And while Michigan families are struggling to make ends meet, the oil companies are making record profits, and giving their CEOs outrageous salaries and lush retirement packages. The CEO of ExxonMobil (which reported profits of $36 billion last year) is bringing home $70 million - $110,000 every day of the week, including weekends. That's more money than the average Michigan family makes in a whole year. That's what is so insulting about these soaring prices.
Currently, we're giving these oil companies about $5 billion a year in special tax breaks. This is money coming out of our pockets, and what have we gotten in return? In the Senate, I've proposed the Oil Company Accountability Act, which would repeal these special tax breaks and return it to Michigan taxpayers with a $500 rebate check to individuals and families earning up to $119,950 per year. Qualifying taxpayers could get this rebate in less than 30 days so they can afford to fill up the tank to go to work, or to school, or so they can get work done on their farm or small business.
In the long term, we need to find ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. As a member of the Agriculture Committee, I am excited about some new technologies that can help do exactly that. Michigan farmers can supply us with soybeans and corn that can be converted into biodiesel and ethanol. In fact, by the end of this year, we'll have five ethanol plants up and running in Michigan. These alternative fuels will introduce some much-needed competition to the oil industry, while helping Michigan farmers and creating much-needed jobs in our state. We can no longer tolerate bad corporate behavior that sacrifices the livelihoods of working families for outrageous profits. Please know that I will keep fighting to bring energy prices down for Michigan businesses and families.
Again, thank you for contacting me. Please do not hesitate to do so again if I can be of assistance to you or your family.
Sincerely,
Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator
I have over the past couple of day begun to feel a deep despair about our response to PO. I'm beginning to move from mild doom / technofreak to off-the-cliff-doomer. :-(
Nothing like a living in a disaster zone to get your mood up !
Once the worst happens and you and your neighbors rise to the occasion and commit to jointly solving the problems; "the other side" is not so bleak.
I do wonder if much of suburbia will band togetehr though. Time will tell.
A new statistic in this mornings news. 53% of the people in the Metro New Orleans area are living in "temporary housing". And that does not count the 200,000 living elsewhere.
Temporary as in a tent inside your gutted home, FEMA trailer, on the floor of a friend's home, renting an apartment with others, living in an RV (4 close to me) etc,
Once the worst happens and you and your neighbors rise to the occasion and commit to jointly solving the problems; "the other side" is not so bleak.
This is the KEY to surviving any disaster and will most assuredly be true if we are indeed close to PO.
There is nothing more important, IMO, than cultivating the future plans for your local situation. Start small...get to know your neighbors before a dilemma requires it. If you find some friendly neighbors, so if you can start doing some things jointly in your neighborhood.
I do wonder if much of suburbia will band togetehr though. Time will tell.
I'm not sure of ALL of suburbia will band together, but I know that in my area, there has been much more outreach going on with neighbors to other neighbors. I have hope in my neighborhood that we can work together on surviving intact rather than tearing each other apart for the last twinkie on our cupboards.
That's an interesting point. Not to dip too much into the doomer scenario here, but your comment encouraged me to think about each of our neighbours.
1 is a rental household, 3 adult males, all work for some haulage co. (but all drive their huge pickups to work separately). Aggressive and selfish. Definitely a worry.
Next door is a middle aged hippie couple, friendly and definitely a good ally.
The rest are all couples + 2 or 3 kids age 11 or less. All minivans and SUVs, no vegetables growing in their gardens, lots of water usage etc etc. All of them bar one have hired gardeners to landscape their front yards, so very little in the way of nature-savvy.
The two houses to our left are empty...
Typical suburbia, in other words.
My wife and I? lazy liberal slackers, 4 cats, 4 ferrets - soon to be 3 :-(. No veggies yet, but we bought the seeds! Our excuse is that we can't afford the drip watering system, and that we haven't yet gotten off our lazy asses to submit our plans to the Almighty Association.
Don't dismiss people based on first impressions or stereotypes, i.e. the aggressive males in the rental and the couple with SUV and kids.
People have the ability to change and change quickly when necessary. Think about what they may have to offer in a crisis.
SUV - might be handy for making once a month shopping trip for the group many miles away when food supplies grow thin close by (don't drive frequently, but when needed useful).
Strong dudes - Assist in building new structures in your group or tilling soil in "community" garden.
also consider eventually replacing ferrets with guinea fowl.
higher PROI (protein return on investment), more daily dopamine from watching them do funny crap with neighbors shiny SUV tires, eat ticks, lay lots of eggs, etc.
Guinea fowl are also one of the best alarm systems you could ever have. They will raise a ruckus at anything, a stranger, a snake, deer, almost anything. Of course, they will also sometimes be startled by the occaissional blowing leaf. . .
After a while you learn to interpret their "language" and to know when 'backle backle backle' means "OMFG a rain drop hit my bump!" or "OMFG something's swooping down to eat me!" However, they make noise all-of-the-time and it's really annoying. Sometimes so much so that you might be driven to the insanity of chasing them and throwing stuff to get them to stop. Anyone who hasn't experienced them just doesn't have a clue. It's also very difficult to find their nests, you generally have to keep an eye on them and know when they're being suspicious, then search the area. If you go over to the nest while the hen is on it the males will try to lure you away. The eggs are also really small. You need about 50 of them to make a decent meal. They also tend to give up hatching when their nest is disturbed. Unlike a chicken which you can generally "transplant" to a safer location. Their males do fight, but it's more of a running around chasing each other thing than a bloody killing thing like chickens do...perhaps the only silver lining. Despite what anyone might tell you, they too are hell on a garden.
For a new fowl owner I recommend Barred Rock chickens. Good egg layers and generally a good personality. Steer WELL CLEAR of rhode island reds and leghorns - they're evil.
Organic gardening is not as easy as you would expect, the bugs... and I just had a large number of rows of Blue Lake Bush Beans wiped out by deer. The only thing I seem to be able to grow huge quantities of year after year is potatoes, I need to find a Russian recipe to turn those tubers into vodka. You never know when an Oil CEO is going to turn up for dinner post crash.
I'm not sure the kind of territory you're trying to protect, but I saw the funniest thing that might help. They're motion sensor sprinklers. Something moves around them, they come on and start hissing and shooting water. If anything is a good use of water and electricity I'd say that is.
We can no longer tolerate bad corporate behavior that sacrifices the livelihoods of working families for outrageous profits. Please know that I will keep fighting to bring energy prices down for Michigan businesses and families.
--Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator
You mean we have been tolerting it all this time?
Cool.
Being that today is 6/6/06, I propose that the US Senate adopt a new Constitutional amendment regarding the signature with the beast:
Defining "crude" as the marriage between a dinosaur and an oil company.
We need to stop activist bloggers from trying to corrupt our long standing belief in the fundamental right of all Americans to trade freely with any oil company that has married itself to the dinosaur. Let freedom ring.
You must be young.
There actually was a Sinclair Oil company.
And bronto actually was their signature beast. The photo is a memorobilia from some site I found using Google image search.
i have friends (who are stockbrokers) who make 500-600k a year and are in the red - their monthly nuts are higher than that - 8000 sf lake houses, private schools, time shares, 3 cars, golf club memeberships, private rooms for eating sushi off of naked women with clients, heli-skiing.
Its insane. But all about keeping up with the joneses. If society told these same friends that they would be cool and have people in awe of them if they grew high EROI root vegetables and they saw examples of men doing this getting political office, womens attention and social status, theyd give up the other path in about 3 months.
*Note. I did not realize this was insane until a) I left this track and b) read books like Overshoot by William Catton, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, The Moral Animal, by Robert Wright, etc. My friends wouldnt have time to read those books. I guess I was always more motivated by learning than by money. Perhaps my genes will die out....(but not my ideas!!)
If I had such an income I would use some for travel etc and a lot for buing or building nice capital assets such as small hydro powerplants, running them seems to be an exellent hobby combined with a good investment. But I realy do not like having a personal economy that goes backwards, managing that with a large personal money flow would feel devastating. Not as getting food stains on your tie but as dipping it in the soup and realy demonstrate that I am a failed person.
well, I assure you, each time I bring up Peak Oil to these particular friends (who have huge hearts and are great people in general) they laugh in my face and change subjects. They really dont even want to learn about it.
Peak Oil is not important. What is important is why they do not accumulate any wealth or usefull assets and instead pretend to own things that their bank owns. Peak Oil is only one of of manny things that could break down such an existance and leave them with nothing when they could have had a lot for the rest of their lives.
This kind of grandiose behaviour sounds like my own when I was about 28, rich, and confused good luck with my being intelligent. Three divorces later I found myself broke, praying"God, if you will just give me another oil boom I promise I won't piss it off this time. " After 20 years the Lord came through, there's another oil boom! Just thought I'd witness for you all if you haven't been saved.
How many people think that the approximately 1% decline in total world liquids production since December and the approximately 5% decline in Saudi oil production year over year means that we are past the peak of world oil production?
Probably about 90% of the crowd who reads this site, I would imagine.
Waaay too early to tell IMHO- it would take 5-10 years of decline to convince me, given that the main reason for the plateauing of recent years has been entirely geopolitical rather than geological.
If Nigeria and Iraq became stable, and the US and Iran / Venezuala / Russia made up, then oil production would be 1.5 mbd higher, and the price would probably be in the $50 range, IMHO.
It remains to be seen whether reserves in the ground translates into production in the long run, of course.
SHiFTY
Well. yes, it's geopolitical. And yes, more data points are necessary to know, rather than have a hunch.
But remember that as supplies get tight geopolitical tension increases. If we were philosopher kings we would still be looking at an increase in reasons to squabble.
None of the geopolitical events you mention as possibly increasing supplies seem at all likely.
Exactly, geopolitical problems are going to get worse, not improve! These "what if" scenarios are ridiculous imo. What if Iraq hadn't been invaded, what if Aliens descended from the heavens and kindly refilled all our peaked oil fields and aquifiers! Then peak would be real far away huh?
Hate to beat a dying horse, but the 'numbers' that we are comparing are gross, not net. I think we are past light sweet peak, past net liquids peak, but well before gross liquids peak.
Gross liquids peak (including ethanol, CTL, etc) only matters for marketing and cornucopian purposes.
One of the most frustrating things about following the PO story is the lack of information on different grades of oil. I'd love to be able to know for sure if we're past peak on light sweet crude--the PO websites generally assume that we are--but as far as I can tell there are no good sources of information to confirm this.
The lastsasquach is correct, the numbers are hard to figure because of the old apples/oranges problem, plus the average newspaper reporter is young and unable to discern B.S.
The peak does seem to have occured in light, sweet crude, but I believe it will take a couple of years of data to discern truth from wishful thinking and outright smoke
We are all paying a huge premium for oil having become a speculation commodity under Ronald Reagun under the guise of decontrol, although it is debatable what the majors in collusion with OPEC would be charging. The traditional measure of oil being 6 times the price of Natural Gas would make the price about $40.00 a barrel currently, but gas prices are in the hands of the same speculators. Trying to make money on futures is like guessing the location of the pea in a Monte game. If you think the game is straight and superior skills win you are delusional, and the same is true for any other comodity. You can pay your money and take your chances, but the house will always win.
Can oil companies handle more storms?
I have over the past couple of day begun to feel a deep despair about our response to PO. I'm beginning to move from mild doom / technofreak to off-the-cliff-doomer. :-(
Once the worst happens and you and your neighbors rise to the occasion and commit to jointly solving the problems; "the other side" is not so bleak.
I do wonder if much of suburbia will band togetehr though. Time will tell.
A new statistic in this mornings news. 53% of the people in the Metro New Orleans area are living in "temporary housing". And that does not count the 200,000 living elsewhere.
Temporary as in a tent inside your gutted home, FEMA trailer, on the floor of a friend's home, renting an apartment with others, living in an RV (4 close to me) etc,
This is the KEY to surviving any disaster and will most assuredly be true if we are indeed close to PO.
There is nothing more important, IMO, than cultivating the future plans for your local situation. Start small...get to know your neighbors before a dilemma requires it. If you find some friendly neighbors, so if you can start doing some things jointly in your neighborhood.
I do wonder if much of suburbia will band togetehr though. Time will tell.
I'm not sure of ALL of suburbia will band together, but I know that in my area, there has been much more outreach going on with neighbors to other neighbors. I have hope in my neighborhood that we can work together on surviving intact rather than tearing each other apart for the last twinkie on our cupboards.
(social capital more important than built or financial capital)
1 is a rental household, 3 adult males, all work for some haulage co. (but all drive their huge pickups to work separately). Aggressive and selfish. Definitely a worry.
Next door is a middle aged hippie couple, friendly and definitely a good ally.
The rest are all couples + 2 or 3 kids age 11 or less. All minivans and SUVs, no vegetables growing in their gardens, lots of water usage etc etc. All of them bar one have hired gardeners to landscape their front yards, so very little in the way of nature-savvy.
The two houses to our left are empty...
Typical suburbia, in other words.
My wife and I? lazy liberal slackers, 4 cats, 4 ferrets - soon to be 3 :-(. No veggies yet, but we bought the seeds! Our excuse is that we can't afford the drip watering system, and that we haven't yet gotten off our lazy asses to submit our plans to the Almighty Association.
ah let's face it, we're screwed ;-)
People have the ability to change and change quickly when necessary. Think about what they may have to offer in a crisis.
SUV - might be handy for making once a month shopping trip for the group many miles away when food supplies grow thin close by (don't drive frequently, but when needed useful).
Strong dudes - Assist in building new structures in your group or tilling soil in "community" garden.
:-D
I believe love even resulted...
higher PROI (protein return on investment), more daily dopamine from watching them do funny crap with neighbors shiny SUV tires, eat ticks, lay lots of eggs, etc.
sorry about your ailing ferret though..;(
For a new fowl owner I recommend Barred Rock chickens. Good egg layers and generally a good personality. Steer WELL CLEAR of rhode island reds and leghorns - they're evil.
Beware of foul fowl! (had to, sorry!)
Organic gardening is not as easy as you would expect, the bugs... and I just had a large number of rows of Blue Lake Bush Beans wiped out by deer. The only thing I seem to be able to grow huge quantities of year after year is potatoes, I need to find a Russian recipe to turn those tubers into vodka. You never know when an Oil CEO is going to turn up for dinner post crash.
You mean we have been tolerting it all this time?
Cool.
Being that today is 6/6/06, I propose that the US Senate adopt a new Constitutional amendment regarding the signature with the beast:
Defining "crude" as the marriage between a dinosaur and an oil company.
We need to stop activist bloggers from trying to corrupt our long standing belief in the fundamental right of all Americans to trade freely with any oil company that has married itself to the dinosaur. Let freedom ring.
There's a reason people think oil is made out of dead dinos. The oil companies have promoted the idea in their advertising, etc.
There actually was a Sinclair Oil company.
And bronto actually was their signature beast. The photo is a memorobilia from some site I found using Google image search.
Always thought it was neat when I was a kid, but now it makes me a bit sick...kinda like Charlie Tuna selling canned tuna.
You think he really wanted to get eaten?
Its insane. But all about keeping up with the joneses. If society told these same friends that they would be cool and have people in awe of them if they grew high EROI root vegetables and they saw examples of men doing this getting political office, womens attention and social status, theyd give up the other path in about 3 months.
*Note. I did not realize this was insane until a) I left this track and b) read books like Overshoot by William Catton, Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, The Moral Animal, by Robert Wright, etc. My friends wouldnt have time to read those books. I guess I was always more motivated by learning than by money. Perhaps my genes will die out....(but not my ideas!!)
Yeh, if we could just get those oil companies, all would be solved. And as soon as we have converted our entire corn supply to ethanol, then what?
Being that she is from Michigan, I didn't hear much about driving more efficient vehicles or not driving at all.
I guess I need to move to Michigan if $500 is a house payment.
How many people think that the approximately 1% decline in total world liquids production since December and the approximately 5% decline in Saudi oil production year over year means that we are past the peak of world oil production?
Waaay too early to tell IMHO- it would take 5-10 years of decline to convince me, given that the main reason for the plateauing of recent years has been entirely geopolitical rather than geological.
If Nigeria and Iraq became stable, and the US and Iran / Venezuala / Russia made up, then oil production would be 1.5 mbd higher, and the price would probably be in the $50 range, IMHO.
It remains to be seen whether reserves in the ground translates into production in the long run, of course.
Well. yes, it's geopolitical. And yes, more data points are necessary to know, rather than have a hunch.
But remember that as supplies get tight geopolitical tension increases. If we were philosopher kings we would still be looking at an increase in reasons to squabble.
None of the geopolitical events you mention as possibly increasing supplies seem at all likely.
Gross liquids peak (including ethanol, CTL, etc) only matters for marketing and cornucopian purposes.
The peak does seem to have occured in light, sweet crude, but I believe it will take a couple of years of data to discern truth from wishful thinking and outright smoke
We are all paying a huge premium for oil having become a speculation commodity under Ronald Reagun under the guise of decontrol, although it is debatable what the majors in collusion with OPEC would be charging. The traditional measure of oil being 6 times the price of Natural Gas would make the price about $40.00 a barrel currently, but gas prices are in the hands of the same speculators. Trying to make money on futures is like guessing the location of the pea in a Monte game. If you think the game is straight and superior skills win you are delusional, and the same is true for any other comodity. You can pay your money and take your chances, but the house will always win.