Comments on: Considering the future of oil http://www.sindark.com/2008/04/29/considering-the-future-of-oil/ dispatches from Canada's capital Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:23:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: . http://www.sindark.com/2008/04/29/considering-the-future-of-oil/#comment-43972 . Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:19:48 +0000 http://www.sindark.com/?p=2707#comment-43972 <a href="http://www.everything2.com/title/the%2520price%2520of%2520oil" rel="nofollow">The short answer, then, is that we have reasons to believe that the real price of oil does not need to increase as the commodity itself becomes scarcer</a>, provided the above assumptions about the capacity for factor substitution and technological change are accurate. Even if not, the same considerations indicate that price rises will at least be moderated in the medium and long-term. It should also be remembered that the overall phenomenon of economic growth increases the buying power of individuals and firms. That is to say, they can each afford more goods and services than they could before. As such, the total proportion of an individual or firms spending power devoted to oil need not grow at the same rate as the price of oil. This has also been posted on my blog, at: http://www.sindark.com/2006/04/on-price-of-oil.html The short answer, then, is that we have reasons to believe that the real price of oil does not need to increase as the commodity itself becomes scarcer, provided the above assumptions about the capacity for factor substitution and technological change are accurate. Even if not, the same considerations indicate that price rises will at least be moderated in the medium and long-term. It should also be remembered that the overall phenomenon of economic growth increases the buying power of individuals and firms. That is to say, they can each afford more goods and services than they could before. As such, the total proportion of an individual or firms spending power devoted to oil need not grow at the same rate as the price of oil.

This has also been posted on my blog, at: http://www.sindark.com/2006/04/on-price-of-oil.html

]]> By: . http://www.sindark.com/2008/04/29/considering-the-future-of-oil/#comment-42690 . Wed, 28 May 2008 14:57:24 +0000 http://www.sindark.com/?p=2707#comment-42690 The Iranians themselves are facing problems. Despite being the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, Iran also is the world’s second-largest gasoline importer, taking in roughly 40 percent of its annual demand. Because of the type of oil they have, and because they have neglected their oil industry over the last 30 years, their ability to participate in the bonanza is severely limited. It is obvious that there is now internal political tension between the president and the religious leadership over the status of the economy. Put differently, Iranians are asking how they got into this situation. Suddenly, the regional dynamics have changed. The Saudi royal family is secure against any threats. They can buy peace on the Peninsula. The high price of oil makes even Iraqis think that it might be time to pump more oil rather than fight. Certainly the Iranians, Saudis and Kuwaitis are thinking of ways of getting into the action, and all have the means and geography to benefit from an Iraqi oil renaissance. The war in Iraq did not begin over oil — a point we have made many times — but it might well be brought under control because of oil. The Iranians themselves are facing problems. Despite being the world’s fifth-largest oil exporter, Iran also is the world’s second-largest gasoline importer, taking in roughly 40 percent of its annual demand. Because of the type of oil they have, and because they have neglected their oil industry over the last 30 years, their ability to participate in the bonanza is severely limited. It is obvious that there is now internal political tension between the president and the religious leadership over the status of the economy. Put differently, Iranians are asking how they got into this situation.

Suddenly, the regional dynamics have changed. The Saudi royal family is secure against any threats. They can buy peace on the Peninsula. The high price of oil makes even Iraqis think that it might be time to pump more oil rather than fight. Certainly the Iranians, Saudis and Kuwaitis are thinking of ways of getting into the action, and all have the means and geography to benefit from an Iraqi oil renaissance. The war in Iraq did not begin over oil — a point we have made many times — but it might well be brought under control because of oil.

]]> By: . http://www.sindark.com/2008/04/29/considering-the-future-of-oil/#comment-38527 . Thu, 01 May 2008 17:57:03 +0000 http://www.sindark.com/?p=2707#comment-38527 Most expensive places to buy gas Rank Country Price/gal 1. Sierra Leone $18.42 2. Aruba $12.03 3. Bosnia-Herzegovina $10.86 4. Eritrea $9.58 5. Norway $8.73 6. United Kingdom $8.38 7. Netherlands $8.37 8. Monaco $8.31 9. Iceland $8.28 10. Belgium $8.22 111. United States $3.45 Where gasoline is cheapest Rank Country Price/gal 1. Venezuela 12 cents 2. Iran 40 cents 3. Saudi Arabia 45 cents 4. Libya 50 cents 5. Swaziland 54 cents 6. Qatar 73 cents 7. Bahrain 81 cents 8. Russia 88 cents 9. Egypt 89 cents 10. Kuwait 90 cents Most expensive places to buy gas

Rank Country Price/gal

1. Sierra Leone $18.42
2. Aruba $12.03
3. Bosnia-Herzegovina $10.86
4. Eritrea $9.58
5. Norway $8.73
6. United Kingdom $8.38
7. Netherlands $8.37
8. Monaco $8.31
9. Iceland $8.28
10. Belgium $8.22
111. United States $3.45

Where gasoline is cheapest

Rank Country Price/gal

1. Venezuela 12 cents
2. Iran 40 cents
3. Saudi Arabia 45 cents
4. Libya 50 cents
5. Swaziland 54 cents
6. Qatar 73 cents
7. Bahrain 81 cents
8. Russia 88 cents
9. Egypt 89 cents
10. Kuwait 90 cents

]]> By: . http://www.sindark.com/2008/04/29/considering-the-future-of-oil/#comment-38266 . Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:42:07 +0000 http://www.sindark.com/?p=2707#comment-38266 <a href="http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/4/28/10522/7886" rel="nofollow">Earth Day preachin'</a> By caring for God's creatures, we avert a second flood Posted by Ken Ward (Guest Contributor) at 7:18 AM on 29 Apr 2008 Hansen sketches a solution of appropriate scale: immediate halt to burning coal; crash Marshall program to replace it with renewables; limit oil and gas use to known, economically viable reserves; full-scale reforestation and adoption of carbon-storing agricultural practices. Nothing that we are doing, nor even seriously contemplating, comes anywhere near such massive a transformation, yet every actor on the political stage -- including major environmental organizations, "green" corporations, and presidential candidates of both major parties -- downplay the terrible realities and trumpet small-scale solutions wrapped in upbeat rhetoric. Earth Day preachin’
By caring for God’s creatures, we avert a second flood
Posted by Ken Ward (Guest Contributor) at 7:18 AM on 29 Apr 2008

Hansen sketches a solution of appropriate scale: immediate halt to burning coal; crash Marshall program to replace it with renewables; limit oil and gas use to known, economically viable reserves; full-scale reforestation and adoption of carbon-storing agricultural practices.

Nothing that we are doing, nor even seriously contemplating, comes anywhere near such massive a transformation, yet every actor on the political stage — including major environmental organizations, “green” corporations, and presidential candidates of both major parties — downplay the terrible realities and trumpet small-scale solutions wrapped in upbeat rhetoric.

]]> By: . http://www.sindark.com/2008/04/29/considering-the-future-of-oil/#comment-38251 . Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:54:47 +0000 http://www.sindark.com/?p=2707#comment-38251 <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D05E4D6153DE533A25754C0A9619C94629FD7CF" rel="nofollow">THE MASSACHUSETTS LOBSTER LAW</a>. July 7, 1883, Wednesday Page 2, 137 words THE MASSACHUSETTS LOBSTER LAW.

July 7, 1883, Wednesday

Page 2, 137 words

]]> By: Milan http://www.sindark.com/2008/04/29/considering-the-future-of-oil/#comment-38170 Milan Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:46:35 +0000 http://www.sindark.com/?p=2707#comment-38170 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/28/business/worldbusiness/28oil-WEB.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin" rel="nofollow">Even Amid High Oil Prices, Troubling Signs in Production</a> As oil prices soared to record levels in recent years, basic economics suggested that consumption would fall and supply would rise as producers opened the taps to pump more. But as prices flirt with $120 a barrel, many energy specialists are becoming worried that neither seems to be happening. Higher prices have done little to attract new production or to suppress global demand, and the resulting mismatch has sent oil prices spiraling upward. Even Amid High Oil Prices, Troubling Signs in Production

As oil prices soared to record levels in recent years, basic economics suggested that consumption would fall and supply would rise as producers opened the taps to pump more.

But as prices flirt with $120 a barrel, many energy specialists are becoming worried that neither seems to be happening. Higher prices have done little to attract new production or to suppress global demand, and the resulting mismatch has sent oil prices spiraling upward.

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