From the Wall St. Cheat Sheet, here are some thoughts from T. Boone Pickens on oil.
On whether Sauda Arabia is capable of producing 10 million barrels a day:
“Well, they’re about nine now and I don’t think it’s easy for them to do. They can’t produce 12. They may get it up to 10. I’m not sure they can hold 10 very long.”
On whether the Environmental Protection Agency and the Obama administration in general is at war with fossil fuels:
“I think probably so. But I can tell you what, you’re going to run the cost of gasoline, diesel, electricity, and power. You’re going to run it through the ceiling and I can tell you that people that cause that to happen, and the consumer that has to experience those increases. That consumer is the same guy that votes. And I can tell you when he figures out who ran all these costs up on him, he’s going to vote against him.”
On what country has the best plan for oil:
“China has got the plan. They’ve loaned money and they’re going to be paid back with oil; probably $50 or $60 a barrel. They have a huge advantage. And they have purchased a lot of oil. The Chinese always have a plan.”
Pickens doesn’t rule out $130 oil and he sees gas at $4 a gallon this summer.
I believe that the spike in gas prices had much more to do with the Great Recession than is generally conceded (post here). If Pickens is anywhere near the mark, we could easily see growth substantially curtailed and another recession is not by any means out of the equation.
Author: But Then What
About a year ago, a company asked me to write a daily blog for them. I told them that I’d never read a blog and had absolutely no idea how to write one but, sure if you want to pay me for it, I’ll give it a shot. It was either my good or bad fortune to start at the beginning of the credit crisis. Good because there was a lot to write about, bad because they didn’t really want me to chronicle and opine on the disaster of the day. Guess who won that standoff. But I was hooked on blogging, so I started my own blog, called it But Then What and here we are.
I’m not sure that credentials mean much when it comes to writing about things but people seem to want to see them, so briefly here are mine. I have an undergraduate degree in economics from an undistinguished Midwestern university and masters in international business from an equally undistinguished Southwestern University. I spent a number of years working for large banks lending to lots of different industries. For the past few years, I’ve been engaged in real estate finance – primarily for commercial projects. Like a lot of other finance guys, I’m looking for a job at this point in time.
Given all of that, I suggest that you take what I write with the appropriate grain of salt. I try and figure out what’s behind the news but suspect that I’m often delusional. Nevertheless, I keep throwing things out there and occasionally it sticks. I do read the comments that readers leave and to the extent I can reply to them. I also reply to all emails so feel free to contact me if you want to discuss something at more length. Oh, I also have a very thick skin, so if you disagree feel free to say so.
Enjoy what I write and let me know when I’m off base – I probably won’t agree with you but don’t be shy.
This is very goog information as for me. Author – respect!
Egypt's need for energy has grown,so I propose: Gov.Deval Patrick should contact the Energy Dept. and propose to DOE that Evergreen Solar ,Spire Corp. & XSunX be given a grant to manufacture solar panels that can be installed on Cairo rooftops. Instead of the Defense Dept. giving money to Egypt to buy more tanks and helicopters that might conceivably be used against Israelis, have the US State Dept. contract companies to teach Egyptians how to install these panels to increase employment. A Chinese MIT graduate student has started One Earth Designs; Scot Frank President & CEO that does something similar in China & Mongolia. It could be incorporated into the
American Recovery Act legislation : http://www.oe.energy.gov/american_recovery_reinvestment_act.htm
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“The untold story behind Egypt's revolution is that oil production in Egypt has drastically declined in the past decade. As of 2010 Egypt began consuming all the oil that it extracts. Egypt no longer exports oil. So for the past 15 years or so, Egypt's government has been raising less and less income with which to offer food and fuel subsidies to the teeming masses in the country's expansive slums. Today, Egypt is reportedly the world's largest wheat importer. In the past year or so, as net oil exports shifted down to zero,the food-problem became even worse for Egypt. So the Egyptian government has fewer funds from oil with which to pay higher prices for food imports and subsidies.