Production and Prices
Oil prices started the week at $52 a barrel, climbed to a recent high of nearly $55 on better economic news, and then fell to close back at $52 as Continue Reading
Natural Gas Prices Continue to Fall
Natural gas prices fell by more than 16 percent last week, settling on Friday at $3.63 per 1000 cubic feet, the lowest close since September 2002. As the US economy Continue Reading
Briefs week of March 30, 2009
Last week, the Russian government predicted 2009 oil output of 9.68 million b/d, a 1.1 percent annual drop. But a survey of 12 analysts puts the decline at more than Continue Reading
Quote of the Week
“The state of the airline industry today is grim. Demand has deteriorated much more rapidly with the economic slowdown than could have been anticipated even a few months ago. The Continue Reading
Week of March 30, 2009
1. Last Week 2. Natural Gas Prices Continue to Fall 3. Quote of the Week 4. Briefs March 30, 2009 Commentary: Top Stories from 2008 Read Online Library and PDF Continue Reading
The Next Oil Price Spike
There is widespread agreement that a combination of falling investment in oil production and the ongoing OPEC production cut will eventually cause another damaging spike in oil prices. Last week Continue Reading
Commentary: After the Bird Strike
Last summer the global economy suffered the financial equivalent of a devastating bird strike. Lehman Brothers went into one engine, AIG into the other. The open question now is whether Continue Reading
The Secretary of Synthetic Biology
In preparing for the future, it is very important to have a wide range of options and to think in advance about how we are going to react to the Continue Reading
Reality of Peak Oil & Gas
Presentation by David Hughes Tattered Cover Bookstore Denver, Colorado March 9, 2009 Presentation in PDF
Week of March 23, 2009
1. Last Week 2. The Next Five Years–Peak Lite and the Current Oil Picture 3. Quote of the Week 4. Briefs March 23, 2009 Commentary: Top Stories from 2008 Read Continue Reading
Production and Prices
Last week started with oil falling to below $44 a barrel on Monday as OPEC voted to hold production steady. As the week progressed, prices climbed to a three-month high Continue Reading
Mexico’s Cantarell
Mexico received the bad news last week that production from the giant Cantarell oil field continues to decline faster than expected. Although the state oil company PEMEX continues to talk Continue Reading
Investment in Venezuela
As exports slide, oil prices remain stagnant, and its economy falters, Caracas is searching for new investment to replace the US and European oil companies that were largely driven out Continue Reading
The Natural Gas Glut
With US manufacturing slumping and cars produced for sale in the US currently down to an annual rate of about 4 million vehicles, the demand for natural gas has dropped Continue Reading
Briefs week of March 23, 2009
OPEC’s decision to resist new supply cuts laid the ground not just for cheaper oil to help heal the economy, but for warmer relations with the world’s biggest energy consumer. Continue Reading
Quote of the Week
“We don’t have a crystal ball on oil prices, so we are planning on the basis that the downturn could last more than a year,” — Jeroen Van der Veer, Continue Reading
The Next Five Years–Peak Lite and the Current Oil Picture
A few years ago, after spending a lot of time thinking about peak oil, and then watching the price of oil break out of its historical trading range and head Continue Reading
Week of March 16, 2009
1. Last Week 2. Laying Down Tools 3. Quote of the Week 4. Briefs March 16, 2009 Commentary: Top Stories from 2008 Read Online Library and PDF Subscribe
Steven Chu's Energy Miscalculations
Lt. Kara ‘Starbuck’ Thrace: [reacts to a joke] That was weak! So very, very weak! Samuel T. Anders: [playfully] Lighten up a little bit. It’s only the end of the Continue Reading
Production and Prices
Last week oil prices were dominated by a rebound in the equity markets and the prospects for another production cut at yesterday’s OPEC meeting. All week a stream of mixed Continue Reading
OPEC’s Dilemma
The cartel could have either left production unchanged and prices relatively low, thereby contributing to helping the global economic situation from getting worse or perhaps even rebounding; or it could Continue Reading
And OPEC's Decision
The cartel will keep production quotas unchanged, will meet again on May 28th and September 29th, and will make concerted efforts to implement the remainder of the current 4.2 b/d Continue Reading
Forecasts
Last week saw a spate of new forecasts for the global economy and the demand for oil during 2009. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank issued forecasts that Continue Reading
Briefs week of March 16, 2009
CERA: The direction oil prices take will depend more on a meeting of world leaders in London next month than on what OPEC decided Sunday, said Daniel Yergin, CERA chairman. Continue Reading
Quote of the Week
“Oil is not only the world’s most important commodity, it’s a barometer of the global economy. It’s telling us the global economy is sick.” — Daniel Yergin, Chairman of Cambridge Continue Reading