It’s hard to comprehend what just happened with the US election, and it is quite likely that Donald Trump is having trouble comprehending what he’s gotten himself into. We all know it’s going to be a bizarre four years, but will they be bizarre in terms of things getting done in government that we’re not used to, or will it be bizarre like what would happen if 5 year olds designed a shopping mall? And, since we are discussing this on the world’s finest energy website, what does it mean for [Read more]
Give them what they want – it’s time for a winter without pipelines
A handful of environmental activists recently clambered over some fences and shut down multiple oil sands pipelines in a concerted attack. The participants even stopped to pose for pictures, raising their arms in celebration and grinning like the world’s stupidest hick posing with a freshly-killed trophy rat, visions of Facebook glory clearly evident on their proud little faces. I stared at the pictures, willing a jet of crude oil to emit from a broken valve and coat them like gravy, to no [Read more]
ExxonMobil and Venezuela navigate the media with guile and shredded bravado, respectively (of course)
Just how wrong can an expert be? That sounds like a fairly stupid hypothetical question; obviously they can be exactly wrong, particularly when it comes to things like forecasts. These are proved right or wrong by time,and of course most of them will be wrong. The purpose here is to look at some statements that are beyond simple forecasts, to look at a few recent prognoses offered by some of the world’s most senior oil executives that, on the face of it, seem inescapably half-witted. In [Read more]
Pipeline companies’ feeble communications efforts: no wonder nothing gets built
A pleasant aspect of writing for the BOE Report is the exposure to some truly interesting and thoughtful people. A necessary condition for getting the most of these interactions is to look past the preconceived notions that always leap to mind when reading a bombastic email. Sometimes stupid comments are just stupid comments, but often they are not at all, and the only way to find out is to pay close attention to what’s being said. Or, more importantly sometimes, what is missing. I recently [Read more]
Stop protesting and be thankful: cheap energy has brought us pretty much everything, including the capacity for green energy
It's Thanksgiving season in Canada, and soon in the US, and it’s time to show some gratitude. It's time to reflect on how we live, all the things we are able to do, and how that all happens. This isn’t just about energy, it’s about effort and building and creating. And it’s about recognizing that we owe respect to those that provide so much of what we take for granted. Examples are not hard to find, both economic and not. Someone somewhere spends his time writing a song that may lift the mood [Read more]
Could a new technology power a green revolution overnight? Be careful what you wish for
There are people who lie awake at night worried about the temperature of the earth and who despise fossil fuels with a touchingly hysterical passion, convinced that continual burning of hydrocarbons will doom the planet. Nothing would thrill them more than to hear news that a new type of battery (or cold fusion, or whatever) has been unveiled that actually works and would instantly revolutionize energy usage. Visions of emission-free power sources dance through their heads like images of Olivia [Read more]
Rewarding management for production growth can be a disaster in waiting
Recently, the BOE Report published an article that flagged a considerable problem for some sections of the oil patch – a misalignment of incentives that rewards the wrong behavior. In this instance, the problem is oil production growth, which is sometimes being rewarded at the exact time it should be discouraged. In an era of low or falling commodity prices, there should be an extreme emphasis on the health of the company rather than accelerating a problem, but sadly that’s not much on display. [Read more]
OPEC’s “production freeze”: it’s hard to imagine a dumber conversation
By now, we are all used to commodity markets lunging randomly whenever news breaks of some real or imaginary event that might possibly add or subtract a barrel of oil from the marketplace. Many market players use the phenomenon to further their self-interests. It’s a tiresome game but like anything in life, if there’s a loophole or sneaky tactic that works, someone will be there to exploit it. And no one is better at manipulating the media than OPEC. The latest chew-toy that’s enthralled the [Read more]
Without pipelines, wood and coal will eventually do the job that renewables cannot
This appears to be an unprecedented time in modern history, where a handful of zealots can wield enough power to derail, well, pretty much whatever they want. Another important pipeline project is in jeopardy, in the US this time, for some vague and not credible historical reasons as well as the grave “concerns about water” that only pipeline foes seem to share. President Obama is blocking a major pipeline out of the Bakken region after pressure from the usual coalition of fossil fuel haters [Read more]
Oil over gold – in a world of endless debt, it’s the only truly functional reserve currency
To warn readers in advance, this post includes concepts that are usually left to the realm of economists. Nothing puts a damper on the day like economic theory, it’s like stepping in dog crap. On the other hand, for energy people it is worth considering the implications for oil’s growing importance in relation to the utterly unsustainable debt trajectories of most governments. By way of background for those who’ve never had to sit through an economics class, gold is viewed as the ultimate [Read more]
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