Alberta oilsands world's largest source of new crude oil by 2010: CIBC
Alberta's oilsands will become the most important source of new oil in the world by 2010 as conventional crude dries up, CIBC World Markets says in its monthly report.
Alberta will sit on one of the most valuable energy sources in the world by that time, and one of the few still open to private investment, said Jeff Rubin, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, the bank's wholesale banking arm.
And as an aside Rubin adds that world oil peaked in 2004.
Mull that over a little and think about what it really means to you. If we are truly past peak in world oil supplies then I think there are few options left to us. Even if democrats won in overwhelming numbers this fall they would be unable to turn this ship of state around fast enough. Even if they wanted to, and this bunch of clueless DC democrats are still living in the '90s. The age of opinion polls and sound bites. They are utterly unable to react fast enough or strongly enough to bring about a "soft landing" as the saying goes.
No, it's time to start planning how you are going to survive the end of cheap oil. You need to be debt free with access to food and fresh water at the very least.
Rubin found total world oil supplies grew by less than one million barrels a day last year. None of that growth came from outside the OPEC sphere.
That finding was particularly surprising because oil prices have doubled in recent years, making exploration of many new areas economically feasible for the first time.
Rubin looked at 164 upcoming oilfields in his study and found that new oil is, in fact, being discovered and coming on stream. But more than half simply balances declining production from existing fields in the North Sea and Kuwait's Burgan region.
Rubin does expect a net gain in oil production in coming years, but it will be small and getting smaller.
Rubin expects 3.6 million barrels of new oil to come on stream in 2006, but 2.2 million barrels will go to replace declining reserves elsewhere, leaving just 1.4 million barrels of new oil.
He expects 1.5 million barrels of new oil in 2006 and 2007, but less than a million barrels a day in 2008.
Energy companies are finding new oil, but most of it will come from non-conventional sources. Ocean oil rigs are the primary source of new oil today. Alberta's oilsands will rival Saudi oilfields once expansion projects are underway.
None of that new oil will be enough for a world hungry for more and more oil. Power shortages are routine in China as they struggle to feed their growing need for energy. The rolling blackouts in California were just a precursor of things to come. Perhaps they were just a test to see how to manage a situation Cheney and the oil companies knew was inevitable.
That is not going to help you. Just think of all the things petroleum does for you everyday. I heats your home, gets you to your job and feeds your family. There are ten petro calories invested in every single calorie of food we eat. From the tractor that plowed the field, the pesticides and fetilizers that boost yeilds. To the processing plants and refrigerated trucks delivering produce to the store, petroleum is everywhere and when it becomes too scarce or too expensive those supply chains get broken.
There are 13 million people in LA crowded into a little bowl with only a few routes out. What happens when the power goes out and the food stops comming in? You get the picture.