Politics and Expensive Oil

big_rc · Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 4:57 pm Post subject: Politics and Expensive Oil

Fareed Zakaria makes a couple of very good points that I have been thinking about lately.

Story Here

First of all, although Peak Oil is primarily a physical phenomenon, I'm beginning to realize that the biggest impediment to increasing supply will be political not physical. Big Oil (Exxon, Chevron, BP, et al) has the technical capabilities to get the harder to reach oil but countries like Venezeula are severly restricting access to fields or making the investment climate in the country unprofitiable to Big Oil. Therefore, the necessary investments needed to boost output cannot be made.

Secondly, the US is the 800 pound gorilla on the demand side. As much as we want to talk about Chindia, the US is sucking up sizable portion of the world's supply. The issue here is the US pols lacks the political will to encourage conservation. So as much as we want to talk about geology, politics might be a bigger issue.
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big_rc · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:08 pm Post subject: Re: Politics and Expensive Oil

Sorry to bring back this dormant thread but I just had a very interesting conversation that some of you might be interested in. I am fortunate enough to work for a Fortune 10 fully integrated oil company and I just had lunch with one of the very high level executives.

I had a chance to ask him about Peak Oil and he confirmed that it is undoubtedly true BUT he also said that the primary problem of diminshing oil supply is not technical (or gelogical) but political. Many of the countries that my company deals in are clueless when it comes to creating favorable investment climates that would stimulate the neccessary investments needed to boost oil production.

It's an interesting problem because many of the investments need to be made now in order to boost production seven to ten years from now but can't be made because countries like Venezeula are messing up the investment climate. Therefore, I go back to the original point of reviving this thread that Peak Oil is a geologic phenomenon but caused by political forces.
_________________
Simon's Law: Everything put together falls apart sooner or later.

I don't think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains.--Anne Frank

rogerhb · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:22 pm Post subject: Re: Politics and Expensive Oil

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emersonbiggins · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:37 pm Post subject: Re: Politics and Expensive Oil

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[quote="NTBKtrader"]

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big_rc · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:29 pm Post subject:

XOVERX · Heavy Crude Joined: Apr 18, 2006 Posts: 175

I am not sure I'm following you, big_rc.

I understand you're saying there's still plenty of oil in foreign nations to sustain America's oil consumption.

I understand that you're saying these foreign nations lack the expertise to properly exploit their oil resources.

You have identified some issues, I understand that. But what are you suggesting thereafter?

Are you suggesting a military solution? That is, the US invading, say, Venezuela? Or what exactly?

0mar · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:54 pm Post subject: Re: Politics and Expensive Oil

Many of those oil companies were kicked out because they didn't pay taxes, avoided environmental regulations and were general dickholes to the countries in which they did business.
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big_rc · Posted: Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:15 pm Post subject:

peaker_2005 · Intermediate Crude Joined: Sep 02, 2005 Posts: 742

[quote="Lighthouse"]

XOVERX · Heavy Crude Joined: Apr 18, 2006 Posts: 175

Ah, frustration. Yes, big_rc, frustration -- there's a sentiment I understand. And with which I can completely agree.

If the nation brought it's focus to the problem of peak oil, solutions might well be developed. Both on the demand and on the supply side, as you suggest.

But America is a nation of polarization, of religious influence bordering on fanaticism, of a nation with leadership more interested in non-existent burning flags, pledges of allegiance, forbidding stem cell research and the removal of artificial life support for brain-dead Terri Schiavos, than in admitting real problems exist and finding solutions to those real problems. Real problems that will destroy the nation, and the world, such as peak oil, and its twin brother, global warming.

It is time to accept the obvious: Civilization is doomed. Starting in the United States of America.

Scactha · Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 3:23 am Post subject: Re: Politics and Expensive Oil

We keep hearing this excuse more often than not now. What is happening is that the West is on the retreat from having had a free reign to squander away others resources. The funny part is that suddenly it´s bad business and unfair when we are at the wrong end of the stick.

In fact it´s alot of logic geopolitically to not raise production as the one that is suffering the most is the biggest meddler of the all; the US. Why not earn a Rubel and rewrite the map of influence at the same time?