Peak Oil Review – Apr 28
A weekly update including Oil and the Global Economy, The Middle East & North Africa, China, Ukraine, Quote of the Week, The Briefs.
Shale gas
New York state shale gas: Not so much
A drilling foreman once told me, "Don’t believe ANY reserve number unless it’s linked to a price." And, that is just what petroleum geologist and consultant Arthur Berman and his colleague Lyndon Pittinger have done in a new report on the viability of shale gas in New York state.
Fracking – headlines
•Marcellus shale legacy wells showing increasing depletion rates •Is the U.S. Shale Boom Going Bust? •Pollution Fears Crush Home Prices Near Fracking Wells •France’s Total calls time on Polish shale license •EPA drastically underestimates methane released at drilling sites •Fracking Boom •Does fracking cause quakes? California needs to know.
The EIA is seriously exaggerating shale gas production in its drilling productivity report
The EIA is the elephant in the room when it comes to energy statistics. Its data and forecasts are widely used by analysts and the media and influence energy policy. There is no room for the significant scale of errors and distortions reported herein.
Those Fracking Lies
A review of Snake Oil: How Fracking’s False Promise of Plenty Imperils Our Future by Richard Heinberg.
Fracking politics – headlines
•Why US fracking companies are licking their lips over Ukraine •Putin tells Europe Ukraine gas debt ‘critical’, transit threatened •Cheniere cheif plays down US gas claims •The Absurdity of US Natural Gas Exports •Everyone’s getting excited about US oil independence. Not so fast. •Russia’s South Stream pipeline in deep freeze as EU tightens sanctions noose
Fracking – headlines
•Will the Monterey Shale be an energy and economic boon for California? •Recognition in US of impact and cost of climate change •EIA: Tight-oil production pushes up US supply •After shale gas, now for tight oil •Financial questions seen for US shale gas, tight-oil plays •Gas industry rejects US expert warning on fugitive emissions
Export Stupidity
If the US could supply Europe with large amounts of fuel, that would reduce the Continent’s dependency on Russia while depriving Putin of needed revenues.
Fracking headlines
•Is shale running short on ‘PowerBars’? •Here’s where all the US shale oil and gas wells are – map •Oil and gas majors now cutting back in U.S. shale gas fields •Are we fit to frack? •Fracking: the surprising new proving ground for water technologies •Why Your Next Plastic Bottle Will Be Made From Shale Gas •US energy boom demands $641B in infrastructure, study finds •Checkmate for cheap unconventional gas •Oil well safety warning for fracking
Review: Snake Oil: how fracking’s false promise of plenty imperils our future
For those who thought the ‘fracking’ issue was just about water pollution and earthquakes, Richard Heinberg’s Snake Oilmight be a little perplexing.
Energy Crunch: Budgeting for Resilience?
East-West tensions spiralled to levels not seen since the end of the cold war as Russia annexed Crimea this week.
The Oil ‘Revolution’ Story Is Dead Wrong
You are about to hear one of the most important and most lucid deconstructions of the false promise of American energy independence.