No one would like to consider their job to be an oxymoron, essentially a contradiction in terms. But that is what you could describe the job title for the editor of a new online magazine called “Greening of oil magazine”. The new mag says it will be dedicated to “tracking energy’s environmental footprint”, but you … Read More
oil industry outlook
Its Business As Usual for Exxon
Don’t you just love it? As some 45,000 people – from governments, to business to NGOs talk about climate change and how to tackle it, the oil boys just get on with business, regardless of any outcome. Exxon has just made the largest play in the energy market for four years, and no – its … Read More
Obama Official Slams “Poison Politics” of Oil Industry
We have always known that the oil industry and the Republican Party make close bedfellows, but now Obama’s Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, has launched a stinging attack on the oil industry saying it was acting “like an arm” of the Republicans. He lambasted the industry for issuing “untruths” about the Obama Administration’s oil and gas … Read More
Debunking the Tar Sands Propaganda
Canada’s tar sands lobby is getting desperate, clutching at straws as to how to revitalise the flagging industry that is being squeezed by a stagnant oil price and looming carbon regulations. They will use any excuse to try and spin their case. Take the report earlier this week by the International Energy Agency, that actually … Read More
US Distorts IEA’s Oil Figures
Ever since the dark days of the Bush Administration we have known that the US Administration, under pressure from its oil buddies, can manipulate data. But that was mainly to do with climate. We also know that the true amount of oil in the world’s depleting oil fields is one of the most hotly guarded … Read More
IEA to Reduce Oil Demand Forecasts Again
The tar sands may be doomed. Two of the key arguments against exploiting it are gaining traction, and both may be enough to scupper investment. Yesterday I blogged about how the idea of a carbon-constrained world, which could fatally undermine tar sands extraction, was beginning to be debated in the mainstream press: the message being … Read More
Oil Demand from Developed Countries Peaked in 2005
For a while now there has been a growing consensus that, whilst many people worry about peak supply of oil, peak demand is also an issue, especially in developed countries. I blogged on this back in August, after an analysis by Oil Change, Greenpeace and Platform, argued we could be seeing a demand peak. Well … Read More
Deeper into the Abyss
As the oil runs out, the fight is on to find more of the black stuff. The problem for the international oil majors, such as BP and Shell, is that most of the remaining oil is controlled by national oil companies such as Saudi Aramco. That is why countries such as Iraq are so important … Read More
What About the Demand-Side Warning?
It’s interesting how peak oil continues to grab the headlines. If you log on to the Independent newspaper this morning the “Exclusive” headline is “Warning: Oil supplies are running out fast.” The paper’s story was based on an interview with Fatih Birol, the lead economist with the International Energy Agency (IEA) who talked how depletion … Read More
The Beginning of the End of Oil?
Is this the beginning of the end of the oil age? Are we finally falling out of love with black gold? The end may not be coming not because we are running out of it, but because demand is alowly decreasing through increased energy efficiency. It will not be sudden, but a death of a … Read More