I’ve often wondered what it must have been like to live under Soviet rule. The horrors are well documented - the food shortages, the suffocating bureaucracy, the razor-sharp surveillance, all stewed in a broth of fearful grey. One aspect in particular that I could never imagine was a life governed by reality-defying propaganda. “At the instigation of the masses, the Motherland has proclaimed a Godless Five-Year Plan!” “Exterminate all homosexuals and fascism will vanish!” (this one even [Read more]
Column: Just because the energy industry uses thirty thousand dollar shotguns to blow off its feet doesn’t make it impressive
Sometimes movies are so unrealistic they make you roll your eyes. I’m not talking about obvious cartoonish ones, more like the soft-comedy types that are supposedly relatable to reality. Take, for example, the enduring and endearing reiterations of bands of misfits with scrawny arms and chubby personas, with knock-knees and too-thick glasses that come together and win some sort of championship, while their opponents with the boat shoes and Winkelvoss hair and sweaters with arms tied over [Read more]
Column: Billions of people at risk from heating fuel shortages? BORING. What’s Tesla stock up to?
In today's fascinating new media world, where social media updates us every second on anything relevant, our attention span gets weird. Especially under lockdown, when those streams are our only entertainment that isn't on Netflix. Things I pay attention to in the ‘news’ are bifurcated, or maybe tri-furcated: sensational, bombastic stories like for example anything Trump did; localized things that impact my little world directly; and pictures of gorgeous beaches that it feels like I’ll never see [Read more]
Column: Dear Joe Biden, aside from burning down the Whitehouse in 1814, we have been pretty good neighbours
By: Heidi McKillop and Terry Etam Hi Joe, We can’t call you President Joe, not quite yet, even though it appears the Donald has finally thrown in the towel. Wow, he went out with a bang, didn’t he? But on to bigger things. We wanted to send you greetings from Canada. Since you’re new to the helm, and international relations have never been more important, we’ll start off with an apology, for that burning of the White House thing, a long time ago. Sorry about that. You know what it is [Read more]
Column: Norway’s hydrocarbon consumption shows stark reality of energy transition – even for the filthy rich
For a long time, decades, when the world thought of oil they thought of Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. That made sense. The Middle East that brought ultra-cheap oil to the world, and it's colourful cast of characters enjoyed jerking the economic world around by running out onto their royal balconies and shouting ‘Oil prices must go up’ or ‘Oil prices must go down’ or ‘We’re still thinking but we are going to do something big and we’ll get back to you’. An ever-thirstier world, high on [Read more]
Column: 2021 will be hard. Leave it all out there
“The test is always [the song] ‘Terrible Lie’. It's two chords: C, D...and you'd see these guys and they'd be playing C, D and I'd stop them and say, 'It's not, C, D. It's, '[expletive] you'. I want your hand to bleed. I don't care if you hit the right notes.” Trent Reznor, Nine Inch Nails frontman, on hiring new guitar players I get it, not all of you like Nine Inch Nails. The gaping holes in your entertainment spectrum are not my concern. And you might think, well, I have no idea what [Read more]
Column: All the energy-related holiday cheer that can be mustered: Hats off to Seamus O’Regan
Well, I suppose it would be not a bad idea to close out the year with something that isn’t a cranky rant. It runs counter to everything I stand for, but in the spirit of the season, what the hell. Surely there are a few golden nuggets in the rubble of this year. Summoning forth the principle of goodwill towards people (yes, I’m editing a bible quote, sue me), the high road is to find something positive to focus on. Of course, it’s no fun unless someone is offended. I can’t think of a better way [Read more]
Column: From Bitcoin to Canada’s new Grantcoin – the earth-shaking, energy-sucking impact of The New Money
Cryptocurrency doesn’t seem to have all that much to do with hydrocarbons, so one might wonder why the topic is appearing here in the world’s finest oil and gas journal (they let me rant here, so BOE Report earns the title for bravery alone). Here’s why. Far beyond the headlines about Bitcoin’s ascendancy are strong links to the energy world that are worthy of scrutiny. The “____coin” revolution has hardly begun, and it’s already a bull in the energy china shop. Bitcoin is the poster child [Read more]
Column: The problem isn’t fake news, it’s abandonment of news – here’s how to fix it
Last month, a man named Adolph Hitler Uunona was vigorously elected in a Namibian regional election. The result is not as bad as it might appear at a glance; Namibia was colonized by Germany early last century, the place had a German presence heavier than schnitzel, and his father “probably didn’t understand what Adolph Hitler stood for.” In a poignant bit of statesman oratory, the newly elected official soothed the world: “It doesn’t mean I’m striving for world domination.” Thanks to brave [Read more]
Column: Canada will watch the coming oil boom largely from the sidelines
“…what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville!…I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am. Let’s face it.” On the Waterfront, 1954 Well, that quote fits Canada’s hydrocarbon sector like a glove, despite the fact that it implies we’re all bums. We’re not quite there yet. But we will be soon. Oddly enough, the bums that are left standing may be very rich bums, and I don’t know what that means existentially, but hear me [Read more]
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