Section » Current Developments
ASPO-USA seeking Executive Director
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas - USA (ASPO-USA) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 to encourage prudent energy management, equitable community transformation, and cooperative initiatives in an era of depleting petroleum resources. Our tools are qualitative analysis based on facts, a preference for independent action, and the confidence we can make a difference. Our
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Matt Simmons, global energy expert, dies at 67
ROCKLAND, Maine — Matt Simmons, Chairman of ASPO-USA’s Advisory Board, died Sunday night at his home in North Haven Island, near Rockland, Maine. The founder of Houston-based Simmons & Co. International, Matt wrote the 2005 book “Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy,” addressing concerns about Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves and the impending
The NCSL’s Energy Summit – The good, the bad, the missing.
Every year the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) holds an annual conference where legislators from all over the US gather for updates on major public policy issues facing the nation. This year the organization found that issues surrounding our country’s future energy supply were becoming of such paramount importance to state governments that it set up a task force to study the issues;
America’s Delusions of Energy Independence
If rhetoric could move mountains I’d like to see the Rocky Mountains moved to northern Michigan so I could view the magnificence of Lake Superior from the top of Long’s Peak. Unfortunately I’m not expecting to see that day. Such is the case with the rhetoric concerning “energy independence”.
Review July 26, 2010
Download Full PDF 1. Oil and the Global Economy Oil prices moved up slowly last week from $76 a barrel to a close of just below $79 on Friday. A combination of a weaker dollar, stronger equity markets and a Gulf storm was behind the move. After the Gulf storm weakened on Friday, prices fell from last week’s
Review July 12, 2010
Download Full PDF 1. Oil and the global economy Crude futures jumped 5 percent last week, moving from $72 to close over $76 a barrel on Friday. Oil prices continue to be linked with the equity markets which in turn are linked to news about the prospects for economic recovery. Although news on the global economic
Lloyd’s adds its voice to dire ‘peak oil’ warnings
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jul/11/peak-oil-energy-disruption Business underestimating catastrophic consequences of declining oil, says Lloyd’s of London/ISS report One of the City’s most respected institutions has warned of “catastrophic consequences” for businesses
EIA’s first Peak Oil statement—how was their vision a decade ago?
Back in 2000, the EIA developed their first power-point presentation covering the topic of peak oil (http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/FTPROOT/presentations/long_term_supply/index.htm). A version of it was presented by EIA Administrator Jay Hakes to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. The two images below are excerpted from that presentation. What was the EIA’s rationale at the time? How
The Oil Spill in Perspective
The oil spill resulting from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico is more than an environmental disaster–it’s a clear signal that our dependency on oil has reached a critical breaking point. The spectacle of the disaster, and the wrangling over who’s to blame for it, are distracting us from the serious discussion we should be having about the future of our energy
Review April 19, 2010
Download Full PDF 1. Prices and Production Oil prices had a volatile week, falling below $83 a barrel on Tuesday, climbing above $86 on Wednesday and Thursday and then sinking to settle at $83.24 on Friday after the SEC charged Goldman-Sachs with securities fraud. Most analysts are interpreting the plunge as
