Daily Graphic: U.S. Imported Oil Weighs on Economy
Over at the Pickens Plan they continue to release numbers every month regarding how much oil we import into the U.S. Go check out their Oil Imports page.
Daily Graphic: Weekly OPEC Spot Price – 2005 to Present
The Daily Graphic: IEA April Release Oil Stats
(Source: IEA – Oil Market Report)
International Energy Agency Forecasts Demand for Oil Down by 1 Million Barrels Per Day
The highlights from the April Oil Market Report from the IEA:
- Forecast 2009 global oil demand is revised down by 1.0 mb/d after a reassessment of GDP assumptions and much lower-than-expected 1Q09 demand data.
- Benchmark crude prices exceeded $50/bbl for the first time in four months as more bullish sentiment entered financial markets in late March/early April.
- Global oil supply fell by 400 kb/d in March, to 83.4 mb/d.
- OPEC crude supply in March averaged 27.8 mb/d, down 235 kb/d versus February. … Supplies stand at five-year lows.
Text: Summary of Waxman-Markey Bill, American Clean Energy & Security Act
Click the PDF badge for the bill summary:
Click for Summary of 'Global Warming Bill'
Full Text: Waxman-Markey Bill, American Clean Energy & Security Act, Draft Version
This bill is being heralded as the “Global Warming Bill.” This ‘discussion draft’ was released today by U.S. Representatives Henry Waxman and Edward Markey. Some people will likey, some others will go batshit. Enjoy:
Click for Discussion Draft of 'Global Warming Bill'
Legislation That Will End Our Dependence on Foreign Oil?
Without the worldwide recession driving down the price of oil, Americans might still be paying between $4 and $5 for a gallon of gasoline. If you are concerned about Peak Oil, those prices – although painful – hurt so good because for a brief period of time in 2008 the politicians in Washington began to notice that we don’t have a bridge built to the next energy future.
Demand for oil is down. Supplies are plentiful with reports of oil tankers being used for storage rather than delivery. Prices are low once again. Those trying to draw the masses attention to the issues facing industrial societies after the peak feel like we’re wasting more time dithering.
Today, a faint bright spot. In a fairly unremarkable message event at the White House, President Barack Obama said the following:
Finally, building on the Recovery Plan my administration is implementing and the budget I have proposed, we will be pursuing comprehensive legislation to finally end our addiction to foreign oil and prevent the worst consequences of climate change, while creating the incentives to finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America.
So what is this legislation going to be all about? Will the U.S. move away from an energy policy which is merely focused on slaking our thirst for the black stuff? Is someone about to make the full court political press that will have neocons (foreign oil = national insecurity) cavorting with Al Gore?
There are certainly thorny issues in the world other than Peak Oil and the current world financial crisis is making many of them worse. Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel famously said during the transition that we shouldn’t waste a good crisis – in other words, while we have your attention we’d like to fix a few things.
It looks as if just when we thought the president may have moved our dependence on oil – foreign or otherwise – down the priority list, he may in fact have a pleasant surprise in store. I’m waiting for the “legislation.”
While Mexico Battles Drug Cartels, It’s Running Out of Oil
From Energy Bulletin:
Mexico received the bad news last week that production from the giant Cantarell oil field continues to decline faster than expected. Although the state oil company PEMEX continues to talk optimistically of producing 2.75 million b/d of crude during 2009, production in February was 2.66 million b/d, down 8.6 percent from February 2008.
The EIA and IEA have issued pessimistic forecasts concerning Mexican oil production in 2009. The EIA expects production to fall 10 percent this year. The IEA predicts that production from Cantarell will be around 600,000 b/d this year compared to PEMEX’s target of 756,000 b/d despite an investment of $3.6 billion in a effort to maintain production.
Production from Cantarell has been falling in accordance with the worst-case scenario contained in a confidential PEMEX document leaked to the press 4 years ago. If the slide in production continues at current rates, Mexico will not be exporting much oil in about 4 years. Before the economic slump took hold, oil exports amounted to about 15 percent of Mexico’s foreign exchange earnings.
