| |
VK2AAB > FUEL 12.06.08 04:09l 131 Lines 6868 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 3954_VK2AAB
Read: GUEST
Subj: US ASPO Newsletter extracts
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DF0ANN<DB0ZDF<DB0LJ<DB0OVN<DB0GOS<ON0AR<I0TVL<VK2TGB<
VK2IO<VK2WI<VK2AAB
Sent: 080612/0056Z @:VK2AAB.#SYD.NSW.AUS.OC #:3954 [Sydney] $:3954_VK2AAB
From: VK2AAB@VK2AAB.#SYD.NSW.AUS.OC
To : FUEL@WW
The following is from the US Association for Study of Peak Oil & Gas.
newsletter published weekly.
73 Barry VK2AAB
-------------------------
4. Air Travel
Hardly a day goes by without reports of more problems for the airline industry.
Last week the International Air Transport Association warned that its members
will collectively lose $6.1 billion should oil continue to trade at over $135 a
barrel for the rest of the year. During the last six months 24 airlines went
bankrupt and more bankruptcies are expected soon.
Nearly all the major airlines have announced cutbacks in their flying schedules
with many grounding their older less-efficient aircraft and dropping service to
smaller cities. Fare increases, baggage charges and fuel surcharges are
becoming the norm. Cheap fares and frequent flyer seats are becoming more
difficult to obtain.
The problem is compounded by EC emissions regulation rules that the industry
claims will cost $10 billion to comply with. Recent attempts at airline mergers
in the US failed because labor contracts would hamper efficient integration of
separate systems.
The pace at which the industrys problems are compounding suggests that a day of
reckoning is at hand. If oil prices continue to rise at a time of economic
stagnation, mass discretionary air
travel will soon be priced out of the market and the industry will shrink to a
fraction of its current size. Re-regulation of the industry seems likely within
in the next few years in order to insure a minimum of essential flights between
major hubs remain available.
5. Briefs (clips from recent Peak Oil News dailies are indicated by date and
item #)
Saudi Arabia's Shura council (parliament) will hold a series of meetings over
the next two weeks to discuss a controversial proposal by a key member to curb
oil production to save reserves for better prices. (6/5, #4)
An explosion in Western Australia at Apache Energys natural gas processing
facility has cut the states gas supply by a third. It could take months to
repair. The gas shortage is seriously impacting the resource industry, with
companies having to cut back on production and having to buy more diesel for
power generators. (6/7, #8)
GM announced drastic cuts in production of sport utility vehicles and pickups
and stepped up plans for building smaller cars. CEO Wagoner said GM will close
four North American assembly plants by 2010. And in a humbling admission that
the SUV era is all but over, GM said it is considering selling the gas-guzzling
Hummer brand. (6/4, #14)
Some 74 percent of Americans said $4 a gallon would be their threshold for
driving lessfrom a survey of 1,000 adults nationwide conducted by Ipsos Public
Affairs. American demand for gasoline dipped 1.4% over the last four weeks.
(6/7, #10; 6/5, #1))
Demand for diesel in Chile is skyrocketing as the energy-poor country enters
winter amid very large cuts in natural gas imports from its sole supplier
Argentina. (6/5, #10)
Russia produced 0.8 percent less crude in May than in the same month last year,
bringing the country closer to the first annual drop in oil output in a decade.
Exports also fell. (6/2, #4)
Later this year, China will start operating a coal to liquids plant that is
expected to convert 3.5 million tonnes of coal per year into 1 million tonnes
of oil products the equivalent of about 20,000 b/d. By 2020, Beijing hopes to
up production to 286,000 b/d. The Oil & Gas Journal suggests it will cost
around $70 to $80 a barrel to produce oil in this manner. The plants are very
expensive and release prodigious quantities of greenhouse gases. (6/4, #9)
India announced an increase of roughly 11% in retail prices of gasoline, diesel
and cooking gas to bail out its cash-strapped oil marketing companies. (6/6,
#13)
Canadas oil sands production averaged 1.32 million barrels a day during 2007. A
group that includes major oil sands producers urged Alberta's government
Thursday to cool development of the province's vast oil sands to protect the
environment. (6/6, #18)
Tougher environmental rules governing production from Canada's oil-sands region
will contribute to a global crude supply crunch, Total SA Chief Executive
Officer Christophe de Margerie said last Wednesday. (6/5, #18)
Iraq exported an average 2.01 million barrels of oil a day in May, up 100,000
barrels from the previous month and the highest since before the invasion.
Saudi Arabia raised production by 130,000 barrels to an average 9.25 million
barrels a day in May. (6/5, #2)
Iraq expects to conclude negotiations soon for six oilfield service contracts
with international companies that could boost output by 600,000 barrels/day
later this year. (6/5, #5)
Brazil's oil discoveries, including the Western Hemisphere's largest in three
decades, may cost $100 billion more to develop than the industry's most costly
field. The Tupi deposit and nearby offshore prospects probably will cost $240
billion to exploit. (6/5, #11)
Pemex said the state-run company's oil exports were headed for an average of
1.40 million to 1.45 million barrels per day over 2008, around 15% below their
target and a 14% decline compared to their exports in 2007. (6/5, #12)
Ethanol from corn accounts for a 20 million ton increase in the amount of
grains consumed each year, far outpacing growth of about 2 million tonnes a
year on average in demand from China, Lester Brown told reporters in Beijing.
(6/4, #3)
Freight trains in the US face a crisis. The nation's 140,000-mile (225,297-
kilometer) network is already congested with trains forced to wait for hours
because of one-track rail lines. A new Chamber of Commerce report warns demand
for freight trains is expected to double over the next 25 years. (6/4, #12)
US EIA: Oil prices should stay above $100 a barrel through 2009 and potentially
longer as supply struggles to keep up with demand, the energy forecaster said
on Monday. (6/3, #3)
In New England, retail heating oil prices have risen to more than $4.50 a
gallon, nearly double what they were last year at this time. Some oil dealers
have delayed rolling out their payment plans for next winter as the world oil
markets continue their wild ride. (6/3, #18)
Sporadic riots in OPEC member Algeria this year risk triggering wider protests
against a political elite slow to turn major oil wealth into jobs and
homes.(6/2, #10)
Indonesia cannot rule out further hikes in fuel prices ahead of the 2009
presidential elections due to the impact of fuel subsidies on the budget. The
government raised fuel prices by almost 30 percent last month, sparking
protests in a country where millions are already suffering from rising energy
and food costs. (6/2, #14)
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
