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]
When capital returns to oil and gas development, where will it go?
The energy world is waiting on pins and needles for the good times to return, or if not on pins and needles then waiting in the bar. The human toll of the downturn has been significant, especially for a generation that hasn’t really seen the down side of the commodity price cycle. Well now they've seen it good and hard. The good news is that it is indeed a cycle. There is a weird consensus out there however that the good times might only come back briefly, just to put in a quick appearance [Read more]
Winter strikes hard and nothing will save you but fossil fuels
In a week of brutally cold temperatures, when pedestrians wonder if they’ll make it to the next building alive, the title above might seem like gloating, like an energy industry just dying to say “you’re welcome” in response to a society that would surely be grateful for its services. But it’s not gloating. It is not smug, or righteous, or in-your-face. It is a fact about a simple physical reality that the energy industry would love to see discussed with the frequency it deserves. We hear [Read more]
Reducing fossil fuel consumption starts with cutting demand, not supply but…you first
In 1999, the Ford Motor Company introduced a vehicular whale named the Excursion. The SUV craze was getting into full swing, but even in that context the huge (5.75 meter/ 18.9 foot) barge generated nasty press for its school-bus demeanor. Here is the essence of a typical review of the day, from the first two paragraphs: “…largest sport/utility vehicle on this, or any other, planet… In traffic, you pick one lane and stay there, lest you overlook something small-like a stretched limo-in the next [Read more]
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