Naked Oil
This is a guest post by Chris Cook, former compliance and market supervision director of the International Petroleum Exchange.
All is not as it appears in the global oil markets, which have become entirely dysfunctional and no longer fit for its purpo...
Pipeline changes to fix WTI /Brent spread are likely to add new problems
For many years, Brent oil (a European grade) and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil, a US grade, sold at close to the same price. Starting in January 2011, WTI price dropped below Brent, at times by more than 20%.
When the price of WTI dropped, the pric...
Countdown to $100 Oil – High Energy Prices Suppressing Growth?
This is the fifth post in the series following the oil price, markets and general health of the global economy, examining the simple theory that OECD recession may result from annual average oil price exceeding $100 / bbl.
The annual average price (AAP...
Is It Really Possible to Decouple GDP Growth from Energy Growth?
In recent years, we have heard statements indicating that it is possible to decouple GDP growth from energy growth. I have been looking at the relationship between world GDP and world energy use and am becoming increasingly skeptical that such a decoup...
The Role of Energy in Economic Growth
Ecological economist David Stern recently wrote a paper on the importance of energy for economic growth aptly titled 'The Role of Energy in Economic Growth'. His overview paper follows a long chain of biophysical research on this topic from Schumpeter...
Countdown to $100 Oil – No Normal Recession
David Cameron describes the economic downturn as "no normal recession" UK Prime Minister David Cameron to party conference, 5th October 2011.
This is the fourth post in the series following the oil price, markets and general health of the global econom...
A Brief Economic Explanation of Peak Oil
The following is a guest posting by Chris Skrebowski, the ex Editor of Petroleum Review and longtime ASPO and ODAC member. Chris is the founder and Director of Peak Oil Consulting Ltd. The article was published on the ODAC website on 16th September.
F...
Peak Oil, Peak Debt, and the Concentration of Power
This is a guest post by Charles Eisenstein, an author and faculty member at Goddard College in Vermont.
When theorists approach the peak oil problem from the perspective of finding a substitute that will allow us to maintain our present energy infrastr...
Countdown to $100 Oil – Deja Vu?
The general and simplified theory to be tested in this series of posts is that OECD economies cannot grow with average annual oil price over $100 / barrel. As of 16 August 2011, the annual average for Brent stood at $100.04 per barrel! Are there any si...
Low Carbon and Economic Growth: Are Both Compatible in Developing Economies?
At the intersection of global energy depletion and concerns about human impact on the environment lie some serious and oft overlooked issues. Largely gone from our public discourse is the idea that oil is infinite. It is now accepted, even to previou...
Oil Limits, Recession, and Bumping Against the Growth Ceiling
The issues we are confronted with today seem to be a subset of the issues foretold in the book Limits to Growth back in 1972. At some point, the economy cannot continue to grow as rapidly as it did in the past. It appears to me that the most immediate ...
Galactic Scale Energy, Part 2: Can Economic Growth Last?
This is a guest post by Tom Murphy. Tom is an associate professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego. This article is Part 2 of a two-part assessment of the implications of continued growth. Part 1 appeared here. Both articles first ...
