Pickens’ Busy Week: Predicts New Oil Spike and Promotes Pickens Plan on The View
T. Boone Pickens reiterated on Thursday his belief that oil prices are on the verge of another spike. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal’s ECO:nomics conference, Pickens predicted that U.S. crude oil prices will hit $75 by the end of 2009. Pickens also asserted, “If you don’t think we’ll see $200 to $300 oil in 10 years, you are kidding yourself. You think OPEC is a free market? We have no control over what is going on.”
Pickens had a busy week, also appearing on The View on Monday:
Pickens Discusses Energy Components of the Stimulus Package
T. Boone Pickens appeared on CNBC on Monday and discussed the stimulus plan. Pickens seemed to be generally enthusiastic about the energy policies the plan contains, noting “We got a lot in on wind and renewables. You’re going to have the grid in it, and that’s important to the whole system; that’s the infrastructure that we need.”
[Note: unfortunately CNBC doesn't allow this video to be embedded so you need to click through to view it.]
Gasoline Prices Magically Rise as Oil Stagnates
The entire oil production chain stinks. From the cartel of petro-states that drill it to fund their illegitimate regimes, to the traders that hoard it and play market games, to the allegedly independently operated refineries that mysteriously require unexplained maintenance all at the same time, the path to the pump is to corrupt and too easily manipulated. Practically every step along this chain there is the will and the ability to artificially decrease the supply in order to prop up prices.
Despite the fact that a barrel of crude has been sitting around $40, the average price of a gallon of gas is now $1.92, up from $1.79 a month ago.
Gregg Laskoski, managing director of public relations for AAA Auto Club South said that some of the increase in price can be attributed to lower output by U.S. refineries. Laskoski noted the odd situation where “A recession and rising unemployment translates into fewer motorists on the road and diminishing fuel consumption, and yet, retail prices climb higher.”
The sooner we transition off of this corrupt and polluting commodity, the sooner our economy, planet, and way-of-life, can regain some security.
Bush’s Last Minute Oil and Gas Leases in Utah to be Canceled
Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar, in canceling oil and gas leases in Utah this week, took a big step towards reversing some of the Bush administration’s more controversial eleventh hour environmental decisions. The leases at issue, which were rushed through towards the end of Bush’s term, were criticized for being too close to sensitive national parks and not nearly valuable enough to justify the damage to these areas.
The 77 parcels represent 130,225 acres near Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Dinosaur National Monument and Nine Mile Canyon. The canceled bids are worth around $6 million and those bidders will have their money returned.
Although these leases could be re-granted after a more thorough review, this seems unlikely. Salazar also emphasized that there needs to be a smarter balance between the environment and commercial use. READ MORE
Obama: America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes and a warming planet
President Obama delivered his expected remarks on energy and climate change today at the White House. As expected, he announced that his administration will grant California a waiver to more strictly regulate vehicle emissions, will have federal agencies increase energy efficiency in federal buildings, and will increase federal fuel efficiency rules. But most importantly, Obama articulated the reasons why we must address these issues and why his strategy will work.
Reviewing the transcript of the speech, here are some of the highlights: READ MORE
Delays Continue for Pickens’ Texas Panhandle Wind Farm
Apparently the delays for T. Boone’s massive wind farm project in the Texas panhandle are not going to end anytime soon. Earth2Tech reports that at the Clean Tech Investor Summit on Wednesday, Pickens said that his wind farm would likely be delayed at least to 2011. But that even then, Pickens warned, “We’ll see what happens in 2-3 years.”
Earth2Tech notes that although the credit crisis has put a damper on Pickens’ own wind farm project, he is still pushing hard for the country to adopt the Pickens Plan, reiterating his argument that with a $28 billion investment, the U.S. could convert 350,000 diesel trucks to natural gas, which would reduce oil imports by 5% and create nearly half a million jobs.
PickensPlan.com Utilizes Interactive Oil Imports Map
The Pickens Plan website just uploaded the Rocky Mountain Institute’s interactive oil imports map that we looked at last week (funded by Google.org). Smart move.
Cellulosic Ethanol Test Plant Opens; Future of Ethanol Lies With This Technology
The largest ethanol producer in the world, Poet, has announced the opening of an $8 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Scotland, South Dakota. This biorefinery is a pilot plant that is a precursor to a $200 million commercial-scale plant scheduled to open in 2011 in Iowa.
The Scotland Plant will generate ethanol from plant waste, like corn cobs, that would normally be discarded. Although it currently costs about a $1 more per gallon to make fuel from corn cobs than kernels, Poet aims to eventually make cellulosic ethanol competitive with food-based ethanol.
With heightened criticism being levied upon ethanol lately, it will be important for the industry to produce evidence in the near future that biofuels can actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions, decrease oil consumption, and not materially damage global food supplies. While it remains to be seen if this is possible, cellulosic technologies are likely that industry’s best bet.
Israel Sets Renewable Energy Target of 10% by 2020
The Israeli government on Monday set a target of producing 10% of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2020. The target was set by the socio-economic cabinet, led by Finance Minister Roni Bar-On.
While this is a step in the right direction, it seems like Israel, out of all countries, would have the greatest interest in reducing fossil fuel dependency and consumption. However, a target of only 10% renewables by 2020 is a fraction of California’s goals, which are to have 20% renewables by 2010 and 33% by 2020.
While Israel has shown a progressive approach towards many clean technologies, including the early adoption of the Better Place electric vehicle model, it would seem to be in its interest to do significantly more with renewable electricity generation.
T. Boone is Back!
Our friend Boone Pickens (“the man with the plan”) has released a new commercial and message. His message echoes many of our recently expressed concerns about rising gas prices and the lessons to be taken from the current Russia-Ukraine natural gas dispute. The entirety of his message is printed below:
Supertankers Being Used to Store Crude at Sea for Delivery When High Prices Return
Anyone who thinks the days of high oil prices are in the past should think about this:
Both oil traders and oil producers have recently begun using supertankers to store extra reserves of oil for delivery later this year. Although prices are still relatively low right now (around $48 per barrel) oil futures for delivery later in the year are almost 30% higher. As a result, investors see money to be made by purchasing oil today at a relatively low price, paying to store it at sea, with the plan of reselling it back into the market later in the year when the prices are substantially higher.
Frontline Ltd., which is the world’s biggest owner of supertankers, said oil traders have already chartered 25 vessels and may take as many as 10 more in order to store crude for future sales. Traders are seeking to lease the supertankers for three to nine months. Each barrel stored would cost approximately 90 cents a barrel per month for storage. READ MORE
Venezuela Ends Heating Oil Program to U.S. Poor Due to Budget
For the past three years, Venezuela’s state oil company has provided heating oil to low-income households in the U.S. through it’s subsidiary, Citgo Petroleum. Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez, began this program after meeting with the Reverend Jesse Jackson a few years ago. For Chavez, the program was a chance to tweak the U.S. government, with which he is constantly at odds.
However, with the dramatically lower price of oil, Venezuela is no longer able to afford these subsidies and has announced it will be ending the program. And while Chavez relies heavily on payments to the poor in order to maintain his legitimacy, once oil fell below $90 per barrel, Venezuela’s budget became unsustainable. Naturally, foreign subsidies like this program are the first to be cut. Whether he has the money, or not, Chavez cannot afford to allow his massive domestic subsidies to wither– which is a fundamental reason why he has so strongly supported OPEC’s efforts to increase the price of oil.
Interactive Map Highlights Our Dependency on Foreign Oil
Check out this cool interactive map that was created by the Rocky Mountain Institute, as part of a grant from Google.org. The map shows how much oil the U.S. has imported, from where, and how much we have spent every month since 1973.
Google explains:
“By clicking on the green light to play, you can see the countries supplying oil to the U.S. (either in terms of barrels or dollar value) and how our imports have changed over the last 35 years. The thicker the line in the map, the more oil produced or imported.”
Watching this dynamic map just further drives home the point that we need to get off of oil now. And to answer those who chant “DBD,” we would suggest pressing the “ANWR” and “Offshore Drilling” buttons on the lower left side of the map.
Commission Recommends Raising U.S. Gas Tax
A failing economy may accomplish what environmental and geopolitical necessity could not– which is, cause the government to increase the national gas tax. A congressionally sponsored commission is set to recommend that the national gas tax should be raised by 10 cents per gallon in order to cover the massive shortfall the national Highway Trust Fund is facing.
The current lack of funds, which are used to reduce congestion, improve roads, and expand transit, is a result of two problems. First, the high gas prices in the beginning of 2008 and the failing economy in the end of the year, caused drivers to substantially cut-back on their driving habits. As a result, between October 2007 and September 2008, the Highway Trust Fund took in $3 billion less than it did the prior year. Second, even when Americans were driving a lot, the revenues raised by the gas tax were insufficient to properly maintain and upgrade our transportation infrastructure. READ MORE
Obama Reiterates Call for Energy Efficiency and Decreased Dependency on Foreign Oil
In his weekly video address, Obama covered major issues like health care, education, jobs, and energy. Some highlights:
“To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will double renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient…
“…we need an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that not only creates jobs in the short-term but spurs economic growth and competitiveness in the long-term. And this plan must be designed in a new way – we can’t just fall into the old Washington habit of throwing money at the problem. We must make strategic investments that will serve as a down payment on our long-term economic future. We must demand vigorous oversight and strict accountability for achieving results. And we must restore fiscal responsibility and make the tough choices so that as the economy recovers, the deficit starts to come down. That is how we will achieve the number one goal of my plan – which is to create three million new jobs…”
