A good discussion of the current intermediate-term oil price outlook.
Archive for February, 2009
A good discussion of the current intermediate-term oil price outlook.
Saturday, February 28th, 2009EU prepares trade duties for U.S. biofuels
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009Interesting article in today’s International Herald Tribune.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/23/business/biofuel.4-436100.php
It looks like the EU is preparing to impose trade duties on US biofuels.
Somewhere in the neighborhood of 75% of all biodiesel made in the US is exported to Europe for sale. This is because of the double subsidy (for production here, and again for sale there). This allows US producers to effectively have a lower cost of production and undercut thier European counterparts, thanks to our generous subsidy here in the US.
This is very bad news on top of already ugly economics for US biodiesel producers. It also underlines the dangers of a business model that relies on government subsidy for it’s survival.
Oil prices stabilize as cuts offset demand weakness
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009http://www.arabtimesonline.com/kuwaitnews/pagesdetails.asp?nid=28950&ccid=12
A nice overview of the current oil market, indicating significant moves higher probable in 2010, and possible this year.
Mercury pollution treaty proposed
Saturday, February 21st, 2009BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Mercury pollution treaty proposed
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7902092.stm
This would be a good measure for improving the general state of the world environment.
Such emissions cuts are easily achievable with the use of gasification technology, which would have the associated benefit of making new power generating stations both dramatically cleaner in many other categories of pollution (SOX, NOX, ETC), and would make such facilities essentially “carbon capture ready”, so when an agreement on carbon emerges, equipment could be added on, and the carbon from such plants could be sequestered (assuming such facilities are appropriately sited).
Reuters: Mexican oil output at it’s lowest level since 1995
Friday, February 20th, 2009And so continues the utter collapse of production from formerly one of the world’s largest oil fields. Down 38% in a year.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/marketsNewsUS/idUKN2027435320090220?rpc=401&&pageNumber=1
God Help Us if Ghawar (saudi) follows even a remotely similar profile. (There are a number of key geological differences that mean that in percentage terms Ghawar will fall more slowly, but not much more, until it settles at a dramatically lower production rate for tertiary recovery).
IEA warns of 2010 oil supply crunch
Thursday, February 19th, 2009http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/oilprices/4640290/IEA-warns-of-oil-supply-crunch.html
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/16/markets/iea_supply.reut/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7892477.stm