The great ideological battle between the US and the USSR that began after the Second World War is slowly fading from memory, or at least the general public’s consciousness. Except in small fiercely protected bunkers at universities, the debate about the merits of state control vs. free markets is pretty much over. The biggest nails in the coffin were the collapse of the Soviet Union and China’s embrace of a market economy; after those events few people on the planet were willing to insist that a [Read more]
EV or SUV? It’s no contest, and the gap is growing even in Europe
For all the individualists out there, some patterns of modern life can be mildly depressing. Not in a major way, just in that it is disheartening to observe mindless conformity when alternatives are so much more interesting. In case you hadn’t noticed, conformity is not part of this column’s DNA, a trait which all are free to mock or applaud to their heart’s content. The auto world provides a plethora of examples for us energy junkies. We now see, for example, a conformity of style that is [Read more]
Artful Wall Street analysts interpret petroleum reserves for the world – what could go wrong?
The fundamental misunderstandings of the energy business run so lamentably deep it is enough to make one bawl. Ignorance by itself isn’t that lamentable - I don’t understand string theory, but string theory doesn’t fuel my car, heat my house, or determine the fate of the world’s economies It’s not that we should expect, say, Kardashian fans to understand the concept of propane; it’s more that people who should know better are fed streams of disinformation by hilariously vested interests, and [Read more]
To the good people at the Conference Board of Canada – thanks for the “outlook”, but you can do better
The Conference Board of Canada (CBoC) recently issued a publication called Canadian Industrial Outlook: Gas Extraction. You can read the whole report at CBoC’s website, if you feel like forking out 900 bucks. I didn’t. The accompanying news release that summarized the report was enough to keep my wallet in my pants. To the army of economists that toiled on it: you can do better. And if you can’t, then at least don’t issue “news” releases full of outdated messages that may be a lot of things but [Read more]
Not all multinationals are fleeing the oil sands, and the ones that are have other monkeys on their backs
In a series of recent transactions, multinational oil companies have sold off their positions in Canada’s oil sands. There has been all sorts of speculation about what this means, because that is what we do – we have to assign meaning. Some were angry at Shell, some were excited that it meant more of Canada’s resources in Canadian hands, and some seized on the transactions as proof that the provincial government is ruining everything. These little viewpoints tend to be over dramatic because [Read more]
Saudi Aramco IPO not garnering the attention it deserves – it’s the beginning of the end of the energy world as we know it
As usual, these days the media’s focus is overwhelmingly on statistical trivia - mesmerized completely by the slightest wiggle in rig count numbers, or a .0001 percent revision in production estimates or global demand, or whatever nugget reinforces the prevalent theme of the day. It’s too bad, because the fixation with near-random minute fluctuations is missing some really important stories. As a significant example, Saudi Arabia recently announced plans to take Saudi Aramco public. That did [Read more]
Earnings season always raises a few eyebrows, this one is no exception
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]
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