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  • Billion Dollar Bailout Impact on Greentech
    Srikant Rajan 12:38:25 pm on September 26, 2008 | 2 | # |
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    US economy is in midst of one of the biggest turmoil’s in the financial sector.  The administration is proposing a 700 billion package to ease the banks of their bad loans.  So what does this mean for investment in Greentech ?  Going by the present economic trends , jobless claims are at a high and more importantly the oil price is slowly moving up on the assumption that the bailout may actually boost up the economy.  This bailout may end up benefiting the big banks , who were hit hardest by the housing bubble and that too marginally.  However just as the war on Iraq failed to find any weapons of mass destruction, this bailout is unlikely to do the economy any real good.  It is however probable that increasing oil prices may increase focus on Greentech , but the liquidity crunch may make it difficult for the greenies to pursue their research.

    As Jeff Sparrow editor of Overland remarks “ President Bush and his supporters can find $700 billion to spend on a war of choice.  Almost overnight, they can stump up an equivalent amount to stop Adam Smith’s invisible hand from throttling their cronies in the banking sector. Such extraordinary sums, if devoted to public transport or alternative energies or scores of other socially useful outlays, would go a long way to ending America’s dependence on carbon fuels   “

     
  • OPEC Says Excess Oil In Market
    Srikant Rajan 05:36:44 am on August 19, 2008 | 0 | # |
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    OPEC has managed to shoot itself in its feet with a new string of “  enlightening  ” statements.Just some time back OPEC, president Chakib Khelil had found biofuel use as contributing to rising oil prices in addition to “  geopolitical worries ”( rational behind this is anybody’s guess ! ). Now,with the recent easing in oil prices , the windfall profits being raked in by OPEC have taken a significant hit. Nobody likes less money  , certainly not the rich !  And thus OPEC has  highlighted that the market is seeing an excess of oil supply , an estimated million extra barrels a day, that is actually pushing down the prices. Thus in order to remove this surplus oil , OPEC wants to cut down production. This in turn would effectively mean that the prices may not come down any further .

     
  • US Determined To Get Oil From Arctic !
    Srikant Rajan 06:25:15 pm on July 25, 2008 | 0 | # |
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    Despite numerous objections and countless hurdles,US administration is determined to get oil out of Arctic. In the latest in a series of reports,the US Geological Reserve has found that nearly 20% of the worlds untapped oil is beneath the ice.Translated , the area north of the Arctic Circle has an estimated 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – two-thirds the proved gas reserves of the entire Middle East.Undoubtedly , this is a substantial quantity that would certainly address the worlds growing energy demand.However ,  there are a host of issues that would act as hurdles in getting this oil out and easing the present price of gas. Firstly,  the Arctic is a protected reserve,already on the green watch list in wake of rising global warming concerns. Any massive exploration would undoubtedly impact the already endangered ecosystem.Additionally there is also the question of ownership of these reserves.Russia , US and Denmark have staked claims over the found oil reserves further adding a political dimension to the entire situation.Given these facts , it would be nearly another decade before it is possible to even glimpse at the huge reserves. Meanwhile it would be prudent to increase focus on renewable to satisfy the present demand.

     
  • More Oil Drilling Not To Lower Prices
    Srikant Rajan 03:54:01 am on July 2, 2008 | 1 | # |
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    A study by the US Energy Information and Association(EIA) has revealed that extended offshore drilling would not translate into lower oil and gas prices.The report says that regions in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)has a sizeable quantity of oil and gas resources. The OCS region deposits can be technically extracted but the entire process of building additional facilities for the extraction would need a significant investment of time and effort.Hence the price benefit of additional resources would be offset by the long gestation period.Or in other words the much publicized ANWR project would not lead to lower gas prices despite a substantial investment of tax dollars.

    Bush ,Mc Cain and Republicans have repeatedly favored oil extraction and fossil fuels to address the energy challenge.I have highlighted that increased oil and gas resources can best buy us some more time (and even that time looks too long and costly to attain!) to develop an alternative energy plan and execute it.This report should prompt the Republicans to rethink their energy plans for the future.