In the turbulence of modern daily life, a number of factors have emerged as constants. There are of course a great many, but a few in particular have become a staple of the weirdness that is modern life. One of them we can’t help but notice, and the other one we can’t help but ignore. Perhaps there is vast potential in marrying these current cultural oddities. The first factor is, of course, climate change. This past week saw the tension ratcheted up to a near breaking point. The climate [Read more]
Column: Carbon capture ingenuity shows resilience of petroleum sector whether activists acknowledge it or not
Whenever I mention Carbon Engineering, the Murray Edwards/Bill Gates-backed, Squamish-based company that’s developing large scale carbon capture technology, some wise monkey points out to me that the technology is too expensive or too impractical. They come up with some mechanical/cost yardstick, and say that it doesn’t make any sense. I have nothing against monkeys, but these sorts or replies do earn them a scowl. Oh, they may well be right about the cost being suboptimal. But the more [Read more]
Column: Climate crisis solved! A quick, socialist-friendly path to environmental nirvana. Who could complain?
As we enter 1984, metaphorically speaking, I realized I’ve had enough of the climate madness. Not just the mass delusion (the equivalent of Y2K times the dot-com boom times Beatlemania), but the whole topic, a twisted mess of ideology, speculative science, and fear. "The science is settled" vs. "no one will give up lifestyle". Science/lifestyle, back and forth for eternity. Elon Musk’s marketing/engineering genius is now a symbol for those who want to destroy the fossil fuel industry, despite [Read more]
The power of the Permian – would anyone have attacked Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities so brazenly a decade ago?
Eighteen years ago, a bunch of crazed religious activists, most of whom were from Saudi Arabia, hijacked four planes and attacked the US on its home soil. A frightened then enraged US snapped into action, and invaded the country next door. Several of them actually; both Iraq and Afghanistan received a fairly significant pounding from the finest military hardware available on the planet. Saudi Arabia remained a bizarre oasis of calm; there may have been a few unpleasant diplomatic exchanges [Read more]
Column: “I said, you’re SITTING on the BABY!” Apathetic export pipeline companies slash commodity prices/government royalties, compound abandoned well issues, and wipe out otherwise healthy producers
Life in the petroleum sector used to be exhilarating - earning a living in an incredibly dynamic business, providing the fuel that the world needs to maintain its standard of living, and working with energetic, motivated people. Today, producers no longer feel quite so enthused; in fact they feel like 60-year-old former NFL linemen trying to get out of bed. Watching the news is like seeing your face pop up on the nation’s most wanted list for some unspeakable act committed to a dying orphan’s [Read more]
Column: Negative interest rates – not an economic curiosity, an ominous pall of government control about to storm the US and an ill-prepared Canada
An apology is in order for the following subject matter. This is an energy-focused website, and energy alone is a fiendishly hard topic to explain properly to the general public. The energy world is complicated and frankly not that interesting to most, made up of pipes and tanks and tankers, all central to the industry known as “utilities”. Who in history was ever interested in the word “utilities”? Unfortunately, the problem of disinterest is compounded by folding in an interest rate [Read more]
Column: India’s infrastructure requirements are an eye-opening reminder of the world’s staggering demand for all energy sources
I’ve recently succumbed to an infatuation, much like a grade-school crush. Mind you, what is appealing at my current age is markedly different than what was back then; having traversed a generation's worth of the realities of adulthood, and with the prospect of hoping to retire someday, the subject matter of my admiration has shifted. Monumentally. Sadly, and weirdly, my current crush is on a company, or more specifically their stock: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. This is disturbing in [Read more]
Column: Bernie Sanders, prostitution, and fossil fuels – three things that will never go away
“Hello, this is 9-1-1, how may I assist you?” “I’d like to report a major criminal enterprise and see the perpetrators thrown in jail.” “…is someone in imminent danger? Because this is an emergency line and perhaps you want to speak with the police to launch an investigation.” “No, this is indeed an emergency, caused entirely by these criminals. It was just in the news. A front-running US presidential candidate said that the fossil fuel industry is conducting criminal activity that is [Read more]
Sympathy for politicians? Maybe – consider their tool kit, the electoral freak show, and the stupefying demands and realities they face
Multi-election years are trying times for those that don't enjoy the game of politics. If one is immune to the charms of glad-handing and full-frontal bullshitting, exposure to the black art of politics at a minimum leads to dry heaves, and, in high enough concentrations, a stay in a hospital. Some feel otherwise; a university friend and I once debated the merits of choosing the political life. He defended the career path on the grounds that working for the public interest was a noble [Read more]
Please forward everywhere – a succinct, poetic, perfect, iron-fist salute to unknowledgeable petroleum assailants
Sometimes, for people with a propensity to use many words to describe something properly, it is annoying and frustrating to read short and overly-simplistic analyses. It seems impossible to capture complex issues in a few words, and efforts often fall short. As a rule of thumb, I sneer at the paltry word counts, muttering that the feeble authors probably like Haiku to boot. For example, I’ve been trying for a long time to properly articulate the views of the petroleum industry to the world, [Read more]
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