tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post2208216840959740040..comments2024-03-28T10:30:02.679-05:00Comments on Bit Tooth Energy: Power Shortages, then and nowHeading Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-22378672157583278592010-01-08T12:08:25.162-06:002010-01-08T12:08:25.162-06:00Kinuachdrach:
The Saudi's actual...Kinuachdrach:<br /> The Saudi's actually have carried out large scale development of their major fields, and by producing more slowly, and allowing the wells to "rest" periodically (which amazingly can coincide with periods where the price of oil is low) they have been able to achieve higher levels of ultimate oil recovery from the fields than they would with a faster production schedule. So it is not completely altruistic, and by keeping the oil in the ground they get to benefit from the higher prices later.<br /><br />rks:<br /> There has been some significant storage of oil in tankers over the past year, hoping to benefit from the increasing prices, but one of the problems I was trying to get at was of those who rely on gas coming down a pipe for their supply, and the assumption that when needed, that supply is available. As my example from New England and the current experience in the UK show those assumptions are not always warranted. Unfortunately this knowledge is only acquired at the very last minute, when it is usually too late to find an alternative supply.Heading Outhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-64042545572405004322010-01-08T01:06:08.982-06:002010-01-08T01:06:08.982-06:00Keeping spare capacity of various sorts would be m...Keeping spare capacity of various sorts would be more common if people were allowed to charge what the market will bear in an emergency. However keeping stuff off the market in the hope of making a killing in rare circumstances is hoarding and people hate that. And charging a high price in an emergency is gouging and people hate that even more. So government doesn't allow these things. Having made that decision, government becomes responsible for preparing for emergencies and they should take that role very seriously. As is sometimes said: capitalism could be a good system, it's hard to know it's never been tried, even in America.rkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01183856757175002949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-22820482782147148842010-01-06T17:24:17.733-06:002010-01-06T17:24:17.733-06:00Don't worry! Anthropogenic Global Warming is ...Don't worry! Anthropogenic Global Warming is coming to save us all.<br /><br />More seriously, the issue is the need for surplus (i.e. under-used) supply capacity & storage -- and who pays for it?<br /><br />The issue of having enough capacity to meet demand may be most dramatic in an AGW snowstorm. But it also affects regular oil supplies.<br /><br />The price of oil would be much more volatile if much-maligned Saudi Arabia did not have several million barrels per day shut-in capacity. The capital cost of providing that rarely-used shut-in capacity was probably in the Tens of Billions $. Not only does that huge investment yield no return, it is subject to deterioration & corrosion and needs continued maintenance expenditures.<br /><br />Is it reasonable for Saudi Arabia alone to bear the cost of providing western oil importers with some flexibility in the oil supply chain? What is Plan B for those importers if the Saudi's decide to lay down their self-imposed burden?Kinuachdrachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13275320683766290581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-14878924164140173202010-01-06T12:23:42.087-06:002010-01-06T12:23:42.087-06:00The complacency comes, I suspect, because folk don...The complacency comes, I suspect, because folk don't think that it will happen to them. When power fails, there is an assumption that it will be back on again before there is a problem. Having now been in situations (fortunately in the summer) where power was out much longer, and dealing with having to store meat from a freezer (as but a minor example of the problems) I no longer have that state of mind, hence the precautions - which we had to use so far only a couple of times - but relying on "someone else" to take care of the problem is unfortunately way too common. But there is also a good argument for being in Sydney.Heading Outhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-146015378631682222010-01-06T11:55:40.538-06:002010-01-06T11:55:40.538-06:00Nice to be in Sydney where you can survive without...Nice to be in Sydney where you can survive without heating in a pinch. It is hard to believe that people in colder places are so sanguine about the risk of freezing to death. Surely this is going to become a major political issue after the current brutal northern hemisphere winter.rkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01183856757175002949noreply@blogger.com