Re: oil price... something wrong?

[djpimley]

E[thanol] still sucks, but it should plug the hole without starving half the world until better alternatives are ready for market.

I don't think ethanol has any place in our future energy plans. People are realising that it is a very bad choice and that it is being championed by certain cartels and others with vested interests who have lobbied hard to have ethanol production promoted and subsidised by the U.S. government.

Slightly more on topic, I found this interesting article about how the oil reserve figures often bandied about are actually based on incredibly conservative estimates by the oil companies.

The figure quoted when oil companies declare their reserves is a “P90” figure, which means an oil reserve has been discovered, the oil in it is recoverable, and the estimate has a 90 per cent chance of being exceeded. This is always on the conservative side. Another figure, the P50 estimate refers to “proven but possible” oil reserves, and is rarely quoted. P50 can exceed P90 by a factor of two or three, and often reflects the output more accurately.

[leoantix]

unfortunately, at the moment batteries are still not ready for the job, give it a few years. as far as the "fuel" debate, all resources on earth are finite. thus, meaning at one point eventually they will end within a reasonable time frame, ie fossil fuels. the whole scope has to change over the medium. the idea of an infinite energy source again is the future. solar, wind, and hydro (perhaps even nuclear) will always continue to produce energy in the form of electricity. thus why i still feel our future will always be in watts, volts, ohms and amps.

[djpimley]

i still feel our future will always be in watts, volts, ohms and amps.

Mid to long term (one hundred years +) I agree absolutely. I think nuclear will sustain the future of humanity until the potential of solar and/or nuclear fusion can be harnessed - and electricity will be the delivery medium for that power.

[Speeddemon]

Mid to long term (one hundred years +) I agree absolutely. I think nuclear will sustain the future of humanity until the potential of solar and/or nuclear fusion can be harnessed - and electricity will be the delivery medium for that power.

Nuclear is good, but for energy future I would want something with no pollution or the danger of radioactive materials. (Yes, I know that is steam coming out of the reactors you see in pictures.) Obviously electricity is going to be around indefinatly, but we should try to use more hydro, solar, geothermal, tide, and wind power. (I hope I did not forget anything.)

SD

[slowDan]

(I hope I did not forget anything.)

I always liked Asimov's orbital solar collectors, sending energy back to earth via microwave lasers. If you are going to dream you may as well go the whole way!

Meanwhile economics will dictate what we do and don't use just as it always has. The most interesting thing at the moment is that the sums are getting closer to not making petrol the automatic best choice. Still a few years yet though, efficiency can be gained in so many other areas first.

[DonaemouS]

ok, a fun update:

today the Brent Crude Oil price is way low from the 100 dollars was in the last days. The price is just the half, but what about the prices of unleaded/diesel?

The analysis:
I compared the price with january 2006, the first time the oil touched the 65 dollars.

Now, look what was the price of unleaded/diesel: about 1,250/1,150. Today Tomte said me the diesel in france is quoted 1,154. A good price. Yesterday I bought my new car, and I did the first refuelling at a price of 1,199 and is one of the lowest near rome...

They still making money thx to monopoly...

[Toad]

ok, a fun update:
They still making money thx to monopoly...

BP posted its biggest-ever quarterly profits of £6.4bn.

Royal Dutch Shell posted the huge profits – a quarterly record and equivalent to nearly £72m a day

Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil made a profit of £8.97bn between July and September, smashing its own record for the highest quarterly profit by a US company.

[Speeddemon]

ok, a fun update:
They still making money thx to monopoly...

BP posted its biggest-ever quarterly profits of £6.4bn.

Royal Dutch Shell posted the huge profits – a quarterly record and equivalent to nearly £72m a day

Meanwhile, Exxon Mobil made a profit of £8.97bn between July and September, smashing its own record for the highest quarterly profit by a US company.

/me whacks CEOs of those companies.

[leoantix]

good ol' business churning its heavy well "oiled" gears

good news is supply and demand still seems to work ... gasoline is $2.799 per gallon here (93 octane)

[See Flat]

3.80 US gallon for the past week. Cheapest it's been in about a year. It was 5.48 about two months ago.

[leoantix]

woohoo only $1.91 a gallon ... now i can actually fill my car up to go xmas shopping

[Tomte]

woohoo only $1.91 a gallon ... now i can actually fill my car up to go xmas shopping

Time to buy a big american V8! Oh, I forgot, they would run out of warranty quite soon, say around Christmas.

[djpimley]

woohoo only $1.91 a gallon ... now i can actually fill my car up to go xmas shopping

Go stock up on canned food and buy some cheap TVs - it's the new economy

[MaxDamage]

YES! Finally prices fall, i love the depression

[DonaemouS]

Time to buy a big american V8! Oh, I forgot, they would run out of warranty quite soon, say around Christmas.

I go to sell my brand new diesel cow, and buy a brand new 4,6 Litres unleaded engine...

today diesel was priced around 1,069 Euros litres (Unleaded 1,086). Well, although we may be happy of this prices, we are still high then real price.

[Sponsored content]