I often sit and wonder at how poorly the world understands the energy business. For something so absolutely critical to our daily lives, the level of ignorance is an aberration even in an ocean of poorly understood phenomenon. Some think we can switch energy sources overnight. Some think Saudi Arabia produces all the oil, but that US shale fields will soon displace every other source on the planet. Some think halting a few pipelines will derail 95 million barrels per day of consumption. We all [Read more]
Conservation and efficient energy practices will do infinitely more good than the protest industry
A few short years ago I used to string up Christmas lights in the front yard, running a strand from the house to a small tree. They were the old style incandescent bulbs that became hot to the touch. So hot in fact that by the time Christmas was over there would be melon-sized melted cavities around each bulb where they hit the snow, and a hollow channel in the snow along the electrical cord’s path. The amount of electricity wasted as heat in this frankly lame display was incredible. I also had [Read more]
Future energy solutions should come from hydrogen via natural gas, wind and solar – not batteries
There is a risk when discussing ideas of simply preaching to the converted. It’s easy because it feels good; it’s like drunks agreeing on something in a pub. At the end of the day though this group-nodding doesn’t necessarily cause the mental spiraling out that should occur (at least) now and then. Some topics can only be that way – politics are politics, for example; crossing the line to talk to the other hardcore side is a colossal waste of time – but for things like energy there is room to [Read more]
North Dakota pipeline protestors are creating environmental and economic problems for…the original protesting band. You can’t make this stuff up
While I love irony and comedy in equal measures, I take no pleasure in this little story even though it’s full of both. Well maybe a tiny bit. But certainly a tempered amount, like when reading the Darwin Awards – for example, when you read about some guy accidentally drinking gasoline, spitting it up, then lighting a cigarette to calm down, with some unsurprising results – at some point you feel for the guy’s family. But that comes in due course, after the uncontrolled laughter has [Read more]
Electric vehicle fever – the latest madness of crowds
If you are quite young, or quite old, you won’t remember the dot-com madness that swept the world in the late 1990s. For example, ever heard of a site called theGlobe.com? It was an IPO darling in 1998, setting a record for the largest gain in the first day of trading, rising 600 percent. It had a market capitalization of over $800 million, and went out of business without ever making a nickel. There were dozens just like it that died similar deaths. What does that have to do with anything? [Read more]
Trump’s energy dilemma – what does “America first” actually look like?
The chess match begins. Trump’s inauguration speech of a few days ago lived up to expectations. It shouldn’t have been a big shock; after a year of his jaw-dropping campaign speeches was anyone expecting boring? A general consensus from the speech was: now what? Trump did not wade too far into international relations, other than to reach out to every capital to point out that the old days were over. He made his position clear with respect to foreign trade and how he feels the US has been [Read more]
Another all time low: the shameless deceit of comparing fossil fuels to tobacco and guns
Ask an industrial manufacturer why they put a “do not drink” label on a bottle of bleach, and you’ll probably get a weary sigh and an acknowledgement that a certain segment of the population simply requires it. A similarly sad situation has developed as the professional protest movement has set their sights on fossil fuels; we are now at a point where we must explain certain physical realities with the patience and tactics of a kindergarten teacher. A friend recently listened to an [Read more]
Saudi Arabia’s vision doesn’t include much oil – some thoughts on what’s up
Some smart guy once said that Russia is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. In comparison, Saudi Arabia is almost as puzzling though in a more material way, like a devout sun-baked crank wrapped in a fur coat in a gold Ferrari. Not dumb by any means, but playing poker with the world's industries and a very big war chest. For decades, we’ve watched the country float along on a vast sea of petro-wealth, notable mostly for its hyper-religious society and somewhat incongruous displays of [Read more]
The whole world understands strategic energy supplies and acts accordingly – except for Canada
Have you ever had, say, $100,000 land in your lap? In the oil patch it’s not unheard of, or for lottery winners, and it’s a weird experience. There is an initial feeling of new found wealth (if you weren’t rich beforehand), followed by a desire to reward ones self with perhaps a new vehicle, a holiday, put a bit away for kids education…and then the realization that there would be nothing left. Have you ever been involved a successful exploratory well? There’s a feeling of euphoria, and [Read more]
My wish for 2017: Knowledge of the energy business continues to grow
It’s that time of the year when many people feel the need to forecast what will happen in the coming year. It’s just another dumb habit that permeates the media as we pore through the articles, nodding in agreement or snorting in disgust, and adding not one iota of value to our lives. But it should be safe to say that it will be an interesting year in the energy business. Some aspects will remain boringly and irritatingly similar, like the irrational disrespect the general population shows [Read more]
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