OPEC fiscal breakeven oil price increases 7 % in 2013
Costs to produce OPEC crudes x output, ranges are due to different calculation strategies. (Click on for big, data by APIC corp.)
There is no way back to cheap oil prices. If in the next phase of the financial and debt crisis oil prices should go down again like in 2009, several oil producing countries would not be able to keep their population happy, which will have geo-political consequences. Moreover, the world has not woken up yet to what OPEC’s population growth means for OPEC’s oil exports and oil prices. (Crude Oil Peak)
Elephant in room becoming more apparent
The supposed 100 year supply is a fraud, the cost to drill the majority of these tight wells falls between three and six million dollars, they produce 80 to 100 barrels a day and have a decline rate of 40 to 60 per cent per year with some wells declining up to 90 per cent. (Pentiction Western News – BC)
If You Remember ‘Peak Oil’ And ‘Peak Wireless Spectrum,’ You’re Laughing Now
The U.S. is now expected to halve its reliance on imported oil by the end of this decade and could end it completely by 2035, some analysts say. (Forbes)
Another Nail In The Coffin For Peak Oil
The theory of peak oil suffered another blow with the recent news that global crude oil production increased to a new all-time high in April 2013, the latest set of output numbers from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Production touched 76.348 million barrels per day in April, inching above the previous global peak of 76.036 million bbl/day in December 2012. (iStock Analyst)
Judge: Calif. high-speed rail violates initiative
A Sacramento County judge dealt a major blow to California’s high-speed rail project Friday, ruling that the agency overseeing the bullet train failed to comply with the financial and environmental promises made to voters when they approved initial funding for the project five years ago. (Sacramento Bee)
European forests near ‘carbon saturation point’
He said emissions had risen a lot over the past decade, primarily through the rise of emerging economies in countries such as China, India and Brazil. (BBC)
Ecuador abandons plan to stave off Amazon drilling
Correa had sought US$3.6bn in contributions to maintain a moratorium on drilling in the remote Yasuni national park, which was declared a biosphere reserve by the United Nations in 1989 and is home to two indigenous tribes living in voluntary isolation. (Guardian UK)
Fracking protesters march in Sussex in biggest show of strength so far
Thousands of people marched through the Sussex countryside on Sunday in the biggest show of strength to date for the UK’s anti-fracking movement, the start of a three-day campaign against exploratory drilling near the village of Balcombe in west Sussex. (Guardian UK)
Australia’s One Nation under climate science denial
“It’s the same old Marxist/Communist/Fascist collectivist shtick, dressed up in new clothes. Global warming is all about a power grab by a wealthy elite and their collectivist sycophants — using the (United Nations) as a cover and tool.” (Guardian UK)
Texas Police Hit Organic Farm With Massive SWAT Raid
Local authorities had cited the Garden of Eden in recent weeks for code violations, including “grass that was too tall, bushes growing too close to the street, a couch and piano in the yard, chopped wood that was not properly stacked, a piece of siding that was missing from the side of the house, and generally unclean premises … (Huffington)
… the agents followed him into his house; a local police officer, who knew the Loew family, had already arrived, vouched for Mr. Loew’s identity and assured the federal agents that Mr. Loew posed no threat to the homeland or national security, and the agents left without comment or apology. (NY Times)
Some forty Detroit police officers dressed in commando gear ordered the gallery attendees to line up on their knees, then took their car keys and confiscated their vehicles, largely on the grounds that the gallery lacked the proper permits for dancing and drinking. (New Yorker)
Glenn Greenwald’s partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours
Since 5 June, Greenwald has written a series of stories revealing the NSA’s electronic surveillance programs, detailed in thousands of files passed to him by whistleblower Edward Snowden.(Guardian UK)
Solar power to trump shale, helped by US military
The US Energy Department expects the cost of solar power to fall by 75pc between 2010 and 2020. By then average costs will have dropped to the $1 per watt for big solar farms, $1.25 for offices and $1.50 for homes, achieving the Holy Grail of grid parity with new coal and gas plants without further need for subsidies. (Ambrose Evans-Pritchard)
Now if you just want to go with the “maybe this is just your neurosis” view, we are in the midst of a counterrevolution, and it’s not exactly cheery to be watching its progress on a daily basis. (Susan Webber/Naked Capitalism)
Mexico To Join America’s Oil Boom
The United States stands to be a huge economic winner in the modernization of Mexico’s oil and gas industry. American companies uniquely have the capital and the technology to grow Mexican production and every barrel of oil produced in North America reduces the United States’ reliance on Middle East oil. (Chriss Street/Wolf Richter)
Mexico’s Energy Reform, Likely to Disappoint Everyone
Since 1938 the Mexican government has had a monopoly on the energy sector. Despite a dramatic increase in spending by PEMEX, the nation’s oil company (to $20 billion a year from $4 billion a decade ago), there has been on persistent decline in output from 3.4 million barrels a day to about 2.5 million BPD. The US Department of Energy projects Mexico could become a net importer by 2020. (Oil Price)
It is interesting to note that four of the six countries either is today or could be very soon a net importer of natural gas unless things change quickly. (Jim Hansen/Master Resource Report)
Democrats square off over call for fracking moratorium in Pennsylvania
“The natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence,” (Obama) said before Congress. “We need to encourage that. And that’s why my administration will keep cutting red tape and speeding up new oil and gas permits. That’s got to be part of an all-of-the-above plan.” (Patriot News/Central Pennsylvania)
The violence in Egypt following the military overthrow of former president Mohamed Morsi continues to escalate. Over 800 are dead according to official reports, thousands dead according to other reports.
The stock market, bond market and credit markets have all responded. Credit Default Swaps (CDS) soared to 810, placing Egypt in the top-10 of countries likely to default on sovereign bonds. (Mish)
Egypt unrest pushes up oil prices for fifth day straight
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 48 cents to $107.33 a barrel Thursday, rising for the fifth day in a row. Brent crude was up 91 cents to $111.11. (Christian Science Monitor)
The Real Reason High Oil Prices Lead to Instability
High oil prices have a delayed political effect, particularly in countries that heavily subsidize petroleum. If oil prices spike sharply and governments are unwilling to reduce subsidies for fear of political ramifications, it can lead to an increase in national debt and a crowding out of public services as an increasing percent of public resources are diverted to petroleum costs. (Oil Price)
Wikileaks Releases A Massive “Insurance” File That No One Can Open
“Anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks just released a treasure trove of files, that at least for now, you can’t read. The group, which has been assisting ex-NSA contractor Edward Snowden after he leaked top-secret documents to the media, posted links for about 400 gigabytes of files on their Facebook page Saturday, and asked their fans to download and mirror them elsewhere.” (Slashdot)
5 U.S. cities account for half of electric vehicle sales
The United States is seeing a steady rise in electric vehicle sales so far in 2013. But those sales seem to be concentrated in just a few cities. (Smart Planet)
9 killed in south China floods
Floods triggered by continuous downpours since Friday have left at least nine people dead in south China’s Guangdong Province, local authorities said Sunday. (Xinhua)
Death toll rises to 37 in NE China’s floods
Northeast China has been hit by the worst flooding in decades this summer. (Capital News-Kenya)
Floods and typhoon kill dozens in China
Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands forced to evacuate their homes in China as the country deals with severe flooding in the northeast and a typhoon in the south, according to state news agency Xinhua.
The death toll has risen to 37 in northeast China, Xinhua reported on Sunday, while 140,000 people had been forced to leave their homes (al Jazeera)
Pakistan floods affected more than 300,000
Pakistan has suffered from monsoon floods for the last three years and has been criticised for not doing more to mitigate against the dangers posed by seasonal rains washing away homes and farmland. (South China Morning Post)
The Oregon Department of Forestry has spent more than $70 million fighting major wildfires so far this summer, far more than it generally spends to handle conflagrations on state-protected lands.
The two largest wildfires in Southern Oregon — the Big Windy and Douglas Complex fires — are responsible for almost $60 million of that total. (AP/Desdemona Despair)
Namibia is in the middle of its worst drought in 30 years. This is what it looks like on the ground.
The government warns that there may not be enough water for the country’s people, much less its livestock, which could lengthen the crisis. (WaPo)
GasLog Strikes Deal for Two New LNG Carriers
GasLog now has a fourteen-ship fully owned fleet, including two ships delivered in 2010, four ships delivered in 2013 and eight LNG carriers on order. Two of the vessels to be delivered will go on charter with Shell and four to BG. (gCaptain)
Retail Therapy | Tanker Owners Should Proceed With Caution
When it comes to retail therapy, there is always the risk of the patient coming down with a case of buyer’s remorse. Today’s shipping market will not offer immediate satisfaction, unlike making a purchase on New York’s Fifth Avenue. It is much easier to return a pair of shoes than discard an oil tanker, meaning that market participants should step into orders with caution. (McQuilling/gCaptain)
Deep ocean to resolve human role in global warming
… two recent publications suggest that the deep oceans have warmed particularly quickly in the past decade. (Reuters/gCaptain)
CP Rail refuses to pay for Lac-Mégantic cleanup
That legal notice demands that the companies follow a provincial law that holds businesses accountable for the financial impact of an environmental disaster. (CBC)