Fearing Peak Oil, Saudi Arabia Seeks To Diversify Their Economy
Well, sort of:
Concerns over peak oil — that moment when oil demand exceeds global oil supply — has produced little more than a disdainful eye roll from Saudi Arabia. After all, the largest oil producer in the world has far more pressing problems — like peak demand, for example.
In fact, Saudi leaders are so worried that demand for oil could peak in the next decade they’ve done the unexpected — and slightly ironic — by calling for an economy that includes renewable energy. It’s an interesting reversal coming from a country that has poo-pooed investments in renewable energy in the past.
Let’s not forget Saudi Arabia — along with OPEC, the oil cartel it’s a member of — was a major opponent of greenhouse-gas reduction proposals during the climate summit in Copenhagen last year. At the time, OPEC’s chief said oil-producing countries should be compensated for lost revenues if any agreement coming out of Copenhagen leads to cuts in the use of oil. No, really.
Earlier this month, OPEC producers had the gall to ask the world to give them more clarity and certainty about long-term oil demand in order to justify additional investment in new production capacity, according to the Petroleum Economist. As Robert Rapier over at R-Squared notes, that’s simply not the way the world works. The best any business can do is try and estimate where demand will end up and then make decisions from there.
Now, the renewable energy that so worried Saudi Arabia before has suddenly become a worthy investment. The country is starting its first carbon-capture project and is investing in other industries including aluminum and steel in an effort to diversify its heavily crude-focused economy, according to a Bloomberg report. Mohammad al-Sabban, oil minister adviser and the lead negotiator at the climate talks, said the country is working to become the top exporter of energy, including alternative forms such as solar power.
Saudi Arabia is growing annually at about 4.2%, and needs jobs for the influx of foreign workers (estimated at about 7.5 million currently). They are reaching out to the private sector to provide those jobs, both through alternative energy and tourism.
Oh, the irony that Saudi Arabia is recognizing the need for alternative forms of energy more readily than our Republican Party.
Kinda poetic justice to find the wahabi Saudis to be more progressive than the republicants (read: American Taliban).
Wait until the regular folks read all about it in their morning papers and hear about it 24/7 on the SCLM.
There will be another exodus from the GOP. Next stop GOP self identification at 10% which means the GOP will get more airtime and dominate the Sunday shows . . . (fair AND balanced)
:)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... someone like Saudi Arabia or China to be the ones innovating/leading in alternative energy, and we'll have hind teat again.
I think China already leads the world in the production of wind and solar components or systems.
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
... with things like the Bloom Box, but it's amazing how innovation in this field is such a low priority for American corporations.
Maybe U.S. companies can't get any financing. Local and regional banks are trying to build reserves against the coming commercial real estate bubble. Wall Street banks have no interest in financing any industry but their own.
http://www.blacklightpower.com/
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
and gentle kissing on the cheek.
know anyone?
Arbusto al Saud? (aka Commander Bunnypants?)
"I know that there are people who do not love their fellow
man, and I hate people like that! " ~ Tom Lehrer (1928 - )
I think the "great depression" (that we are entering now)
is gonna put a damper on oil consumption.
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
is not really a carbon capture project.
It is common practice to inject water or air into oilfields to re-pressurize them so the oil flows better.
Injecting carbon dioxide into the ground is for one purpose...to improve oil production. (don't be fooled)
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
... just heard on KCBS-TV out of Los Angeles, where there was a 4.4 quake this morning.
Blonde reporter: "... there wasn't this rolling sensation that you often hear in quakes like this."
Earth to humans...you are on the down slope of peak oil. It's only a matter of time.
http://books.google.ca/books?id=ezyLJrAu1SIC&...
(Haven't finished it yet ...its massive, but worth it so far)
I'm Boycotting NewsCorp! Heres what not to buy: http://www.cjr.org/resources/index.php?c=news...
The alarm has been going off since 6:30, it's now 10:00.
Peak oil is not " that moment when oil demand exceeds global oil supply " but rather that point when production (that is, oil extraction from a well, field, country planet) starts to decline - eventually to zero.
This has already long passed in many areas, including USA, and it is inevitable for Saudis et. al.
Demand for oil affects the date at which a well, field, country reaches Peak, but it does not define it.
Yes, I noticed the poor definition at the beginning of the article too. This affects the logic as well. Demand can exceed supply for any number of reasons and at various times. Remember the "oil crisis" of the seventies? When we hit "world peak oil" there is no turning back. We will either pay more and more forever or find alternatives.
That's right. The US hit peak oil somewhere around 1973. The North Slope of Alaska and the North Sea have already peaked. The Cantrell Field in Mexico peaked a few years ago and is in decline. World peak oil is the cumulative bell-shaped production curves of all the worlds oil fields and it's coming.
Saudi Arabia has the single largest oil field on the planet and nobody knows just where it's at on the bell-shaped curve because they aren't saying. In it's early phases it was also the cheapest oil on earth as not much energy was required to extract it and it was light sweet crude - the best. One indication of the fields maturity is the water cut - the amount of water that must be injected into the wells to push out the remaining oil, and people who have seen the water cut are not optimistic. The Saudis are now looking at other fields but like everywhere else extraction costs are much higher and this will be reflected in the price.
The Saudis want to know future demand so they can keep supply just short of demand and maintain high crude prices. Like most American businesses they want their profit level guaranteed. The world is now in a boom and bust cycle with energy the linchpin. When the economies get better oil demand increases and prices shoot up. High oil prices trigger a recession that lowers demand and oil prices. Repeat.
We are entering a very scary phase of human history. Even if peak oil is a drawn out plateau the price of oil will go up dramatically and this will have a profound affect on the economies of the world. The obvious strategy to avoid a catastophe is to invest in a lot of different approaches to reduce fossil fuel dependence. Some countries see the obvious. And this country?
are invisible to the too far right leaning....
America hit peak oil in the 70's....
and Carter warned about consumption...
and the dreamers want to drill baby drill...
I think they'll corner the market on execution tourism.
reason that gas has gone up almost $.50 a gallon since New Years? They are manipulating the prices again to rip us off some more. There is no shortage. It's not in the news much. We the people are getting all of our disposable income stolen from us. Big oil is another unregulated monopoly.
...or does your dollar just buy less and less every day?
(a little of both perhaps?)
audit-prosecute-incarcerate
A unique factor in the Saudi economy is that their tribe-based culture believes that manual labor is undignified and trashy. All productive work, including clerical, is done by non-citizens. This creates a prime opportunity for men to get temporary, well-paid jobs outside America. No, they don't hire women as a rule. You will not be allowed barbeque, beer, or the Bible, but everything else is generally OK.
How positive the US Media sees Saudi Arabia Nuclear Problem even n been a country with no democracy at all.
But when dealing with IRAN that's another issue.
The FACT is all countries have the right to produce Nuclear Energy with Peacefull porpuses as long as they do it under the NPT treaty which is not signed NEITHER by ISRAEL and US.
lots of people make fun of the peak oil crowd, say it is all a big conspiracy. my take is we have about 17 years supply, at current rates of consumption. oil is a one time shot, there is no "creamy nougat" center, the chemistry does not work out.
technically we are in an inter-glacial period, so though we are warming now (and will warm a hell of a lot more when the deep sea methane starts turning over); the few survivors of the coming die-off may find themselves huddling together for warmth, and cursing the dumbasses who used up all the energy.
For one thing, we already peaked.
http://gregor.us/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/2...
The first peak was in 2005. It declined and peaked again in 2008, then declined again. We're in a plateau, and will be for another few years. Around 2014 it will go into an irreversible decline.
Technical civilisation *as we understand it* will cease to exist around 2050. That's when the die off will really kick in.
I would expect the earth to have about 3 billion people in 2100. About 2 billion by 2120. About a billion by 2150. Around 500 million by 2200. It should stabilise around that number. In the process, the northernmost latitudes will be a good bit warmer but still have nasty winters. As the oil runs out in the early 21st century, coal will be brought on to keep the electricity going, but that will peak around 2060 and at that point, catabolic collapse is inevitable.
Nuclear, wind, and solar power require petroleum. They will disappear as the oil runs out.
don't like it? tough. It's called THHERMODYNAMICS. look it up.
It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it.
-George Carlin
According to the statistics from our own government, the Saudis have the world's largest proven reserves of petroleum. Matthew Simmons (a Harvard MBA who for over twenty years has run his own investment bank specializing in the energy industry) has been saying for years that when the Saudis peak, the world has peaked -- and the possibility cannot be ruled that they've already done so. If they're starting to feel twitchy about the prospects of Peak Oil, then that suggests that the handwriting is quite probably already on the wall in big flashing neon letters. Granted, the Saudis have lots of reasons to be nervous. Reportedly, 80% of their budget revenues and 45% of their gross domestic product come from petroleum -- and a confirmation of peak production would very likely result in a worldwide conservation effort which would deal the Saudi economy a severe blow (which is probably why they've been cagey about just how much they have on reserve, as well as why some people like Simmons suspect that the estimates are inflated). This isn't even the first time I've read a story suggesting that historically petroleum-rich countries are starting to get nervous and exploring alternative solutions to petroleum -- I remember commenting on a very similar story either here or on another progressive political blog well over a year ago.
What's particularly disturbing is the conclusion of the Hirsch Report published by the US Department of Energy in February of 2005 -- yes, over five years ago -- which stated that Peak Oil is not only inevitable, but also estimated that the United States would need to start preparing for the global Hubbert Peak at least twenty years in advance in order to make the transition to alternative fuels with minimal impact. This time frame could be shortened to ten years in advance with moderate impact provided that the consumers, corporations, and government are prepared to make sacrifices -- but if we wait until petroleum production peaks (provided that it hasn't already), the impacts on our society and our economy are likely to be severe. If people like Simmons are right and the Hubbert Peak is either imminent or already passed, then the United States is already frog soup -- the majority of Americans just don't realize it yet.
Never trust anyone who insists that patriotism requires you to blindfold yourself with the flag.
Next thing you know the Saudis will be working on Global Warming.
if anyone's gonna be smashed by it, it'd be people living in an arid region. You'd think they'd be more serious about it.
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