Our Investment Sinkhole Problem
We are used to expecting that more investment will yield more output, but in the real world, things don’t always work out that way.
Figure 1. Comparison of 2005 to 2011 percent change in real GDP vs percent change in oil consumption, both on a per ca… More »
Eagle Ford drilling fuels income surge for all, despite recession
Counties in the Eagle Ford shale saw an average increase in per capita income of 13.62 percent between 2008 and 2011, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Texas as a whole saw an increase of 1.34 percent during that time period. More »
IEA Oil Forecast Unrealistically High; Misses Diminishing Returns
The International Energy Agency (IEA) provides unrealistically high oil forecasts in its new 2012 World Energy Outlook (WEO). It claims, among other things, that the United States will become the world’s largest oil producer by around 2020, and North… More »
World Energy Consumption Since 1820 in Charts
Figure 1 shows the huge increase in world energy consumption that has taken place in roughly the last 200 years. This rise in energy consumption is primarily from increased fossil fuel use.
Figure 1. World Energy Consumption by Source, Based on Vaclav Smil estimates from Energy Transitions: History, Requirements and Prospects together with BP Statistical Data for 1965 and subsequent
With energy consumption rising as rapidly as shown in Figure 1, it is hard to see what is happening when viewed at the level of the individual. To get a different view, Figure 2 shows average consumption per person, using ...
More »Why High Oil Prices Are Now Affecting Europe More Than the US
The world is presently sharing a limited supply of oil. When oil prices rise, oil production doesn’t rise very much, if at all.
Figure 1. Brent oil spot price and world oil supply (broadly defined), based on EIA data.
The issues then become: Which buyers get the oil? What uses get priced out of the market? Which countries are disproportionately affected?
It seems to me that this time around, Europe, and in particular the Eurozone, is the area of the world getting hit the hardest by high oil prices. Part of this has to do with the relative level of ...
More »Could shale gas reserves reignite U.S. economy?
In late 1998, Chesapeake Energy Corp., an independent natural-gas producer based in Oklahoma City, exemplified an industry in decline. More »
OPEC cuts oil demand forecast on growth concerns
OPEC has cut its estimate for world oil demand this year and next. More »
Oil rising as recession worries fade for now
Oil prices inched higher today as recession alarm bells quieted following a glimmer of positive U.S. economic news and steps in Europe toward controlling its debt crisis. More »
Oil prices continue downward spiral on recession fears
Oil prices continued to fall sharply today, retreating $2 to below $79 a barrel amid falling equity markets and the prospect of weaker demand for crude as the global economy slows. More »
Oil falls as Bernanke speech awaited
Oil prices fell slightly to below $85 a barrel today in Asia as investors awaited a key policy speech later in the day from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. More »
IEA trims 2011 oil demand forecast as fears over economy continue
The International Energy Agency has trimmed its forecast for global oil demand this year, saying increased evidence of economic slowdown has raised fears of a double-dip recession. More »
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