The Oil Drum

Wandering, not quite by chance, into a luncheon meeting today, I listened while a VP of Peabody (the largest coal mining company) casually mentioned, in passing, the arrival of Peak Oil.  His talk dealt largely with the need that this will generate for coal, and the market, and the need for engineers that this engenders.  It was, you might say, a pleasant talk, given to an audience "in the trade" and his aim was to talk about the growing opportunities in the business and to re-assure those with long memories, that this time the market would be sustained for a long time.

What I thought notable was that the audience did not seem to grasp the impact that peak oil is going to have on the industries that, while related, do not themselves mine coal.  For them the market price and lesser availability of liquid fuels to give the power to their operations, will mean a significant increase in operational cost, and more pressure to be competitive, at a time when the market might otherwise appear glowing.