PowerSwitch

So we all think that Exxon are jumping ship a few months ago with their 'come and join us campaign', and telling it like we think it is, that there is an oil crisis, and we spend a bit of time wondering why they are the first to break ranks from Big oil.

Then they tell us in the last few days that there is gadzillions of oil, and join together with the cursed Saudi authorities:

http://www.energybulletin.net/9314.html


What are we to make of all this? Though its interesting to note that they now include amongst their trillions of barrles the unconventional oils ie shales etc.....

andyh wrote:So we all think that Exxon are jumping ship a few months ago with their 'come and join us campaign'

That was Chevron - www.willyoujoinus.com


However, in principle I agree - Man Speak with Forked Tongue

P.S. That consumption counter on the Chevron site is very scary

Whoops, sorry so it was - though Exxon where making some noises along the same lines:

http://www.energybulletin.net/7676.html

They're trying to talk the market down to stave off a US (& world) recession.

Putin is at it too:

Running on fumes? Not in Moscow--and not according to Vladimir Putin.

The Russian president declared Tuesday that that the country's stocks of oil and natural gas were underestimated--and that they would be enough for posterity.

"They are larger than we think and they will be enough for us and coming generations," Putin said, according to news agency Novosti. "Of course, we must treat them carefully, but it is also necessary to change the energy balance in the country." The Kremlin chief acknowledged that Moscow's tax policy had ensnared oil companies and was thus partly to blame for rising gasoline prices.

Forbes.com

Whilst other people talk it up:

I had an interesting conversation this morning with a Haliburton employee just back from Saudi Arabia. His conversation confirmed what we have been hearing. He said: "people think Saudi Arabia has a lot of oil, but they have been injecting water to increase production for years, and now the production from their giant fields is depleting very rapidly. The Saudis are in panic, pulling in rigs from everywhere, punching more holes in the ground to get quick production to stave off rapid old field production decline, and to keep up appearances. Workers are there from many nations to drill the sites, but the new wells are not very prolific."

yahoo bbs

DamianB wrote:They're trying to talk the market down to stave off a US (& world) recession.

I think that that's coming anyway, mainly due to debt and housing bubbles, etc. This time round, fossil fuel depletion is just providing a bit of a nudge with higher prices.


Peter.

Blue Peter wrote: I think that that's coming anyway

Peter.

Coming? I think we are seeing the beginnings of a recession now. Even the company that I work for has toned down its expectations in the last 6 months. & months ago things were booming and there was a shortage of engineers. Now the out look is not all doom and gloom yet but it is a bit more sober with focus on holding on to what has already be gained.

Putin said "They are larger than we think..."

Who is thinking? Think about it.

And then we get pronouncements like this today from other Exxon employees:

Global energy demand to grow 50 pct over next 25 yrs - ExxonMobil official

SINGAPORE (AFX) - Global energy demand is expected to grow 50 pct over the
next 25 years, driven by strong economic growth in India and China, a top
ExxonMobil executive said.
"We expect sustained economic growth, just under three percent a year ...
rising personal income and standards of living especially in Asia," said Kwa
Chong Seng, ExxonMobil Asia Pacific's chairman and managing director.
"China and India are very much part of the equation," Kwa told an energy
forum organised by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS).
"With this kind of three percent economic growth ... this would drive energy
demand from 220 million barrels of oil equivalent (per day) to 335 (million
barrels over the next 25 years)."
With energy needs unlikely to ease, the need for major oil discovery has
taken on greater urgency as existing fields mature, said Peter Cockroft, a
visiting research ISEAS fellow who also spoke at the forum.
"We are consuming at least six times more oil than we are finding and that
to me is a big problem," Cockcroft said.
"Where are we going to find our new oil? It's not obvious ... really we
don't know," he said.
Unless new oil discoveries are made, the world will continue to rely on the
Middle East, home to the largest proven oil reserves of almost 734 bln barrels,
for the bulk of its oil needs.
"The supply is not where we want it ... Unfortunately, the supply of crude
oil is in areas where there is a perception of instability," said Cockcroft, who
has worked for 25 years in Asia for various energy firms including BHP
Petroleum.
To boost hopes of finding new oil fields, the world will have to start
looking at places which has been avoided previously, such as the Arctic region
and in deep waters, Cockcroft said.
"We're going to find it in what I call 'extreme' conditions, places that we
have avoided in the past."


This is the key:"We are consuming at least six times more oil than we are finding and that
to me is a big problem," Cockcroft said.

My take on it is that the giants are taking different paths:

Exxon: "No problems! Trust us!"
Chevron: "There will be severe problems. Will you join us?"
BP: "Mitigate carbon dioxide emissions"

andyh wrote:Unless new oil discoveries are made, the world will continue to rely on the Middle East, home to the largest proven oil reserves of almost 734 bln barrels, for the bulk of its oil needs.

It's amazing the way that they don't say "Unless new oil discoveries are made, we're in trouble. We will just have to use a lot less oil". The assumption is just there always that life as now will continue no matter what and something will come along to ensure that it happens.

As I read once "It is very hard for a man to see what his job depends on him not seeing."

Wait 'til BP come up with their new public relations: BP =BEYOND PETROLEUM

martinezhockley wrote:Wait 'til BP come up with their new public relations: BP =BEYOND PETROLEUM

They've been running that for a couple of years already ...