Clipmarks | Oil prices Clips

Oil firms' profits keep dropping as recession shrinks demand for energy

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:49:22 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: What will happen if the price falls back to less than $50 a barrel? The key is that the oil price is really based on the most people can afford, not supply. If it doesn't pay to maintain supply because costs are higher than income generated, then supply will not be maintained.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

The world's biggest oil companies are reporting sharp declines in quarterly profit as the recession continues to weigh on consumer demand, driving down energy prices.

Exxon's refining business took an especially large hit from July to September, with profits dropping 89 percent, as gasoline and diesel prices fell. Shell, whose refining earnings declined 47 percent, said the plunge in demand will keep profit margins narrow in "the short and medium term" and a quick recovery in energy usage and prices is unlikely.

"If you look at the whole picture for all the big oils, the only thing that's really helped them is that the oil price has come off the floor,

Those rising prices -- which usually fatten profits at companies such as Exxon -- have come with a cost, however. The refining side of the business is getting hit hard because it must pay more for crude to make fuel, but consumer demand for fuel has not rebounded as strongly.

Tags: 1-profits, 1-supply, 2-consequences, 2-decrease, 3-reported, 4-intl

Alternate Forms of Energy - Convert Your Home Today and Save!

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:05:49 GMT

clipped by: brada7x

Clip Source: ezinearticles.com

Alternate Forms of Energy - Convert Your Home Today and Save!

In just the past two years we've experienced an economic downfall and a realization that we, as Americans, need to become very much less dependent on oil. With gas prices soaring in 2008 and in the middle of war brought on by oil itself, it is high time we kick ourselves into high gear to find another source to power our nation.

Not only that, but we need to turn to alternative forms of energy because our present forms are wreaking havoc on our atmosphere.

Tags: alternate forms of energy, home solar energy

Examples Of What Not To Do

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:28:29 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: at The Heartland Institute. "Not only has it failed to cover many people, but all the false promises surrounding it have distracted Maine from doing anything that would actually help improve the situation."

'Costly, Ineffective Failure'

"Maine has one of the highest state and local tax burdens. We should not be adding more taxes for this boondoggle, particularly at a time when Maine families are struggling with record high gas and heating oil prices and an uncertain economy."

Past a 'Train Wreck'

John Garven, president-elect of the Illinois State Association of Health Underwriters, concurs.

[...] "Dirigo is the more 'mature' of the * two programs, and it is already past the train wreck stage." * Massachusetts 'universal health care' schemes

Maine Residents Angered by Expansion of Dirigo Program Subsidy

Clip Source: www.heartland.org

New taxes to support Dirigo Care, the Maine state government's attempt at providing "universal" health care, have so angered Maine residents that a coalition dedicated to repealing the tax increases was able to collect nearly twice as many signatures as required to put a repeal referendum on the state's ballot this November.

Dirigo Care is being funded by newly imposed taxes on health insurance claims, as well as on goods such as beer, soda, wine, and tobacco.

Tax Promises Broken

Dirigo Care has cost the state's taxpayers nearly $164 million in the four years since its inception. Although its intended purpose was to insure 128,000 people who had no health coverage, only 4 percent of that total, or just over 5,000 individuals, have been successfully removed from the rolls of the uninsured and into the state program, according to figures from the Maine Heritage Policy Center.

"Dirigo Care has been worse than useless," said Greg Scandlen, director of Consumers for Health Care Choices

Tags: maine healthcare, higher taxes & more regulations, dirigo care, the massachusetts connector program

Is the world's oil running out fast?

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:08:28 GMT

clipped by: ljsdesign
clipper's remarks: Older article best still relevant.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

If you think oil prices are high

wait till they are four times that much.

How will you pay to run your car? How will you get the children to school? How will you heat your house? How much will transported food go up in price?

How will we pay for plastics, metals, rubber, cheap flights, Simpson's DVDs, 3G phones and everlasting economic growth?

The basic answer is, we won't.

They are united by one idea, that global oil production is about to peak, which in turn will signal the permanent end of cheap oil.

The adherents of the peak oil theory warn the decline of world oil output will force oil prices higher for good, and that the knock on effects could be catastrophic

"The people who will be least affected will be the super poor, who already have no access to energy, and the super rich who do not care if oil is $100 a barrel."

"It is everyone who is in the middle who will be hurt the most," says Mr Bakhtiari. "When the crisis comes there will be enormous changes."

Fossil Fuel Production Up Despite Recession

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:27:18 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

Clip Source: www.worldwatch.org

World production of fossil fuels-oil, coal, and natural gas-increased 2.9 percent in 2008 to reach 27.4 million tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe) per day.¹ (See Figure 1.) In the first half of the year, producers strained to meet global demand, but when the recession took hold later in the year the market was swamped by excess supply. Energy prices reflected this shift: oil peaked at $144 per barrel in July, then fell to $34 per barrel in December^.2 Continuing a decade-long trend, most of the growth was in the Asia-Pacific region, where production grew 6.3 percent

The ratio of proved oil reserves to annual production has held steady at roughly 40:1 for more than 20 years, but the remaining reserves are increasingly concentrated in more politically and technically challenging terrain

The less politically risky deposits present formidable technical challenges. The deep ocean, oil shales, and oil sands are all potentially major sources of future oil production

A perfect storm's brewing to cool petroleum demand

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:12:14 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie
clipper's remarks: There's not so much incentive to invest in exploration, lots of incentive to keep the price of existing supplies as high a possible. The key on price is not really supply, but must be based on what people can afford to pay.

Clip Source: www.marketwatch.com

A perfect storm of influences is having a lasting effect on the world's petroleum markets and there's nothing on the horizon to sway its path.

With high oil and fuel prices, a weak global economy and worldwide government and consumer efforts to increase conservation and efficiency, some analysts doubt a return to the peak energy consumption levels seen just a few years ago.

"Bad economies breed efficiency," said James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economics. Consumers are forced to cut down on costs, including energy consumption, and in doing that, "they may find a more permanent solution for their energy needs."

Petroleum for transportation has been the single driving force behind OECD oil demand

Now we are seeing the tempering of the last significant driver of oil demand in developed countries

Statistics appear to agree. The U.S. is now 52% dependent on imported petroleum instead of 62% dependent because of lower consumption, according to Williams.

Tags: 1-demand, 1-recession, 2-consequences, 2-decrease, 3-forecast, 4-intl

Financial crisis leaving billions malnourished: UN

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:18:58 GMT

clipped by: tabsey

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

A United Nations report says that more than a billion people are going hungry because of rising food prices and the global economic crisis.

The report says that the number of malnourished people has grown rapidly since the global financial downturn.

The annual survey of world hunger describes a food price crisis with prices settling at levels too high for many people in developing countries to afford.

The general increase in population, the number of mouths to feed - is one factor.

But the authors of the Global Hunger Index say today's high food prices are also caused by the global economic downturn, erratic weather patterns and higher oil and fertiliser prices.

The report also identifies one possible solution - the empowerment of women through better education and access to jobs.

The UN report says that the number of malnourished people has grown rapidly. (Getty Images: file photo)

Tags: starvation

Energy crisis is postponed as new gas rescues the world

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:27:07 GMT

clipped by: disenchantedcitizen
clipper's remarks: "The common wisdom was that unconventional gas was too difficult, too expensive and too demanding," he said, according to Petroleum Economist. "This has changed. If we ever doubted that gas was the fuel of the future – in many ways there's the answer."

The breakthrough has been to combine 3-D seismic imaging with new technologies to free "tight gas" by smashing rocks, known as hydro-fracturing or "fracking" in the trade.

The US is leading the charge. Operations in Pennsylvania and Texas have already been sufficient to cut US imports of liquefied natural gas (LGN) from Trinidad and Qatar to almost nil, with knock-on effects for the global gas market – and crude oil. It is one reason why spot prices for some LNG deliveries have dropped to 50pc of pipeline contracts.

We may soon be looking at an era when gas, wind and solar power, combined with a smarter grid and a switch to electric cars returns the country to near energy self-sufficiency.

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Engineers have performed their magic once again. The world is not going to run short of energy as soon as feared.

America is not going to bleed its wealth importing fuel. Russia's grip on Europe's gas will weaken. Improvident Britain may avoid paralysing blackouts by mid-decade after all.

The World Gas Conference in Buenos Aires last week was one of those events that shatter assumptions. Advances in technology for extracting gas from shale and methane beds have quickened dramatically, altering the global balance of energy faster than almost anybody expected.

Tony Hayward, BP's chief executive, said proven natural gas reserves around the world have risen to 1.2 trillion barrels of oil equivalent, enough for 60 years' supply – and rising fast.

This is almost unknown to the public, despite the efforts of Nick Grealy at "No Hot Air" who has been arguing for some time that Britain's shale reserves could replace declining North Sea output.

Tags: gas, technology, energy

The truth about socialized medicine

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:36:44 GMT

clipped by: kareval

Clip Source: www.uscitizensassociation.com

The Truth about Socialized Medicine fron Daniel Hannan, a British Government official who has lived under Socialized Medicine for 38 years...

Are you fed up with out-of-control government spending and taxation?

Are you fed up with the government providing bailouts,not securing the borders and not drilling for oil in our own country which would hold down energy prices?

Many U.S. citizens who embrace the American way have engaged in “tea parties” recently. That’s a good start, but it is not enough.

Click here to watch the interview

Oil-trading to switch from US$

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:12:20 GMT

clipped by: beanz

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Secret Plan to Ditch the U.S. Dollar's Dominance Uncovered

Arab states have launched a secret plan with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading.

In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

The plans

may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years.

Iran announced late last month that its foreign currency reserves would henceforth be held in euros rather than dollars.

months after Saddam Hussein trumpeted his decision, the Americans and British invaded Iraq.

Tags: oil-trading

Oil Chart from 1800's

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:52:43 GMT

clipped by: Zentrader

Clip Source: www.financialsense.com

The decades of low oil prices shown in the chart meant minimal exploration and little investment to develop existing fields. The price surge in 2007-2008 did give an enormous boost to drilling, but the boost was short-lived. This year’s collapse in oil prices to $35 a barrel compelled oil companies to cut the number of rigs in service, consolidate operations, lay off workers, and delay or cancel projects. The atrophy in production capacity and the credit crunch's impact on exploration are setting the stage for a dramatic price rise.

Tags: oil chart, commodities

Palin: Dollar woes show need for energy independence

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:29:42 GMT

clipped by: jatfla
clipper's remarks: THIS should be among the top 2 issues that Washington is addressing! How many of our economic problems could be solved just by going full-force on this desperate need?

Can someone explain to me (other than the environmentalist's drumbeat) why this is so hard to implement?? I hear the talk but see no movement. Crisis indeed!!

Clip Source: hotair.com

Palin: Dollar woes show need for energy independence

A weakened dollar means higher commodity prices. This will make it more difficult to pay our bills – including the bill to import oil.

In his book Architects of Ruin, Peter Schweizer points out that the Obama administration is focusing primarily on “green energy,” while ignoring our need to develop our domestic conventional energy resources.[5] We’re ignoring the looming crisis caused by our dependence on foreign oil. Because we’re dependent on foreign nations for our oil, we’re also at their mercy if they decide to dump the dollar as their trade currency. We can’t allow ourselves to be so vulnerable to the whims of foreign nations. That’s why we must develop our own domestic supplies of oil and gas.

Bottom line: let’s stop digging ourselves into debt and start drilling for energy independence.

u.s. dollor plan

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:29:52 GMT

clipped by: daisey74
clipper's remarks: there is your proof

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

Arab states have launched a secret plan with China, Russia and France to stop using the US currency for oil trading.

Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.

The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years.

The demise of the dollar

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:15:58 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Brazil has shown interest in collaborating in non-dollar oil payments, along with India.

"The Brits are stuck in the middle and will come into the euro. They have no choice because they won't be able to use the US dollar."

The plans, confirmed to The Independent

may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices,

The current deadline for the currency transition is 2018.

Tags: 1-exchange rates, 1-policy, 2-change, 2-risks, 3-forecast, 4-intl

The demise of the dollar

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:47:50 GMT

clipped by: jay8h

Clip Source: www.independent.co.uk

Iran announced late last month that its foreign currency reserves would henceforth be held in euros rather than dollars.

The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years.