Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
•The Myth of “Saudi America”•Colorado Communities Take On Fight Against Energy Land Leases•Romania reverses course on shale gas•German environment minister: ‘we want to limit fracking’•Shale oil is no threat to oil producers•Shale gas distracts EU “action heroes” from saving the climate•Tech Talk – Future Bakken Production and Hydrofracking
•Bakken Oil Output Fell in November for First Time in 18 Months •Arctic nations’ oil spill plans too vague, say environmentalists •Vast Oil Reserve May Now Be Within Reach, and Battle Heats Up
A person might think from looking at news reports that our oil problems are gone, but oil prices are still high. In fact, the new “tight oil” sources of oil which are supposed to grow in supply are still expensive to extract. If we expect to have more tight oil and more oil from other unconventional sources, we need to expect to continue to have high oil prices. The new oil may help supply somewhat, but the high cost of extraction is not likely to go away.
A weekly update, including:
-Oil and the global economy
-Iraq
-Drilling rigs and tight oil
-China
-Quote of the week
-The Briefs
Radiation Fears Over Fracking? •’Frackademia’: how Big Gas bought research on hydraulic fracturing •EPA Changed Course After Oil Company Protested •Poll: Europeans overwhelmingly favour renewables over shale gas •Shale playground in W. Texas
While industry touts shipping by rail as their latest great idea, there is, of course, another possibility as to why shipping by rail rather than pipeline makes sense. And it has more to do with unprofitability than great opportunity.
•Interior Dept. Expedites Review of Arctic Drilling After Accidents •U.S. oil production to jump 25 percent by 2014 – EIA •Why the world is headed toward more oil scarcity •Peak oil group presses EIA to temper optimistic crude outlook •Why a potential role for the US as oil production king needs an asterisk •Is ‘peak oil theory’ delayed by fracking?
•Methane leaks erode green credentials of natural gas •Fracker Ad Clashes on Screen With Damon’s ‘Promised Land’ •When fracking came to suburban Texas Meet •Anthony Ingraffea—From Industry Insider to Implacable Fracking Opponent
Welcome to the last ODAC Newsletter, the final news roundup from the Oil Depletion Analysis Centre…2012 saw US oil production grow to its highest level in 15 years, largely because of surging tight oil production by fracking, and many pundits such as Ed Morse of Citi are claiming “peak oil is dead”. So has ODAC been worrying its silly little head entirely unnecessarily for the last five years, and could all our energy troubles soon be over? We continue to think not…
I attended the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco two weeks ago at which I heard a very interesting presentation by David Hughes of the Post Carbon Institute. He is more pessimistic about future production potential from U.S. shale gas and tight oil formations than some other analysts. Here I report some of the data on tight oil production that led to his conclusion.
A weekly update, including:
•Oil and the global economy
•The Middle East
•The IEA’s forecast
•Quote of the week
•Briefs
