Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
As the oil industry cries poverty due to low oil prices in an effort to justify its attempts to lift all restrictions on exporting crude oil produced in the U.S., it is helpful to remember that this is an industry that was demanding tax breaks for oil production even when, in 2013, the top 5 companies made a combined $93 billion in profits.
OK. Which curve on this chart is not like the others? It’s the U.S. and Canada’s oil production curve over the past several years.
Exporting crude oil and natural gas from the United States are among the dumbest energy ideas of all time.
It is fair to say that the crash in oil price was not anticipated by most people who keep an eye on the oil supply situation, and accordingly, its cause is a matter of intense speculation, with the future prognosis even more so.
Prediction is a difficult business at the best of times, but the difficulties seem to change from one era to another. Just now, at least for me, the biggest challenge is staying in front of the headlines.
Don’t worry. It’s not complicated. I offer a simple explanation for the recent fall in oil prices in just two charts.
The price of oil fell below $50/barrel this week, extending the recent rout and causing turmoil in financial markets, worsening economic crisis in Russia and Venezuela, and helping to push the Eurozone towards deflation.
The White House confirmed today that President Obama will veto Congressional legislation designed to greenlight construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, the contentious project first proposed six years ago to carry more than 800,000 barrels per day of Canadian oilsands crude from Alberta to refineries and export facilities along the Gulf of Mexico.
The oil price drop may be seen by some as a Christmas present for motorists, but is it a crisis in the making.
Erin sits down with Richard Heinberg – senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute – to discuss oil.
Eventually, production must go down: there will still be oil that could be, theoretically, extracted, but that we won’t be able to afford to extract. This is the essence of the concept of depletion.
A mid-week update. The great oil crash of 2014 continued this week with New York futures trading below $76 a barrel for a time on Tuesday before rebounding to close Wednesday at $78.67.
