tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post209745786280307910..comments2024-03-28T10:30:02.679-05:00Comments on Bit Tooth Energy: Natural Gas versus Coal - perhaps the UK experience revisited?Heading Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-20882777486899311022009-09-10T22:27:11.738-05:002009-09-10T22:27:11.738-05:00No agenda that I know of relative to Peak Oil or t...No agenda that I know of relative to Peak Oil or the fuel situation, at sites where there are multiple authors usually each writes based on the opinions that they have, and the underlying knowledge of what is going on - which varies from individual to individual. But where the data base is shared - as it is through the large amount of data that has been posted at TOD over the past few years, then it is not surprising that there is some consensus among those that write.Heading Outhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-49946848907398919362009-09-09T17:52:00.441-05:002009-09-09T17:52:00.441-05:00The price mechanism works wonders. If gasoline goe...The price mechanism works wonders. If gasoline goes to $6 a gallon, there will be no probem convincing people to switch. In fact, we won't convince them...they will switch no matter what we say. <br />Global demand for crude oil looks to hardly rise at all for years and years. <br />I think the Oil Era is ending, and with a whimper, not a bang.<br />I just don't understand the scare-mongering at TOD. It feels like they have a hidden agenda, or conenctions to oil speculators, or oil-exporting countries.Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-79652552018095925432009-09-09T14:53:49.672-05:002009-09-09T14:53:49.672-05:00a) Getting enough people to commit to the investme...a) Getting enough people to commit to the investment in the distribution network at the scale that will be required.<br />b) deciding which part of the process is the chicken and which the egg (i.e. who makes the investment first the network or the folks who buy the modified vehicles)<br /><br />What works on a small scale requires a huge amount more effort and enthusiasm and money, and technology when it is translated into a size that has any significant impact on a national level. A million barrels is a lot of fuel.Heading Outhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-45329662388740880532009-09-09T13:20:17.669-05:002009-09-09T13:20:17.669-05:00The network for CNG pumps is easy. We have more th...The network for CNG pumps is easy. We have more than 200,000 gasoline stations in USA, already in the best locations.<br />CleanEnergyFules just put in a CNG pump in West Los Angeles for $750k. That means we couuld put in 13,000 pumps nationwide for $10 billion.<br />About the cost of 10 days of our ill-advised Iraqistan war. So, cost is not the issue.<br />Gas is not the issue, we have plenty. Converting cars is not the issue--the Oklahoma guy does it, and sells the cars for under $10k.<br />So, what is the issue?Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-62418540638638016952009-09-08T20:35:08.003-05:002009-09-08T20:35:08.003-05:00TOD really tries firstly to get information out, a...TOD really tries firstly to get information out, and then to interpret what this might portend. There is a considerable concern over the availability of financing to help re-expand supply to meet perceived demand, and this is sometimes carried over in the tenor of the posts.<br /><br />I think that we will see some growth in overall demand, but with so much of the world currently tied to an oil economy you can't switch away much of it to supplies such as CNG in the short term - there isn't the support network in place to sustain it, though it would be nice if you were right.Heading Outhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-87626619100716897042009-09-08T19:59:15.230-05:002009-09-08T19:59:15.230-05:00Thanks for your reply. BTW, I meant to write www.c...Thanks for your reply. BTW, I meant to write www.cngvehicles.net. If you get a chance, it is a hoot. A used car dealer selling CNG vehicles off the lot for under $10k (though some cost more). <br />Obviously, even middle-class people can switch to CNG.<br />My guess is that Oklahoma and Utah start switching early to CNG, if and when oil stays up. Then, fleets nationwide. <br />I have to say, I have never been so optimistic about the future of the planet as now. I expect we are on the cusp of another 20-year boom in global GNP. The only Achilles heel I see is our flimsy-flakey financial system. Obviously, our banks, and investment banks, must be rock-solid, beyond doubt. <br />If people know that financial collapse is not possible, then they can invest more aggressively.<br />We are again accumulating huge pools of capital, and R&D globally is greater in every field than ever before. Venture capitalism has gone from cottage industry to major force. <br />I wonder about the intent of The Oil Drum. Today, it seems to spread fear more than light. The Center that financed it--from where does their money come from? Oil speculators? <br />OPEC? <br />I have to say, TOD seems less like a forum, and more like a doomsday club.Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-25825868253928800522009-09-08T10:27:19.487-05:002009-09-08T10:27:19.487-05:00You get this sort of excitement at the beginning o...You get this sort of excitement at the beginning of a boom period, and with the advent of the gas shales that is what we have at the moment. <br /><br />However you need to note the difference in price between what the market is currently paying and what they need to get a profit.<br /><br />Because there is also extra LNG available from Qatar it will keep the price down for a little while, but as demand then goes up so the reserves start to run down. The UK had about 30-40 years and now are importing - the US though it has larger deposits also has the potential for higher demand, and not all the gas wells are productive - for the Barnett the number was about 28%. <br /><br />It's not therefore an immediate issue but rather one that will evolve over time. As market share increases reserve life reduces.<br /><br />When we started TOD Kyle and I paid for our own expenses and he covered the incidentals, as it grew for a while we had ads that contributed to the cost of the operation (largely paying for the server). There was a time when one or two folk provided a donation but I think that Kyle has this Center now that supports it, but to be honest I don't know. All the contributors write for nothing.Heading Outhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-52577525970803136242009-09-07T23:06:20.472-05:002009-09-07T23:06:20.472-05:00We seem to have gas coming out of our rear ends. A...We seem to have gas coming out of our rear ends. A glut to the moon. If you go the the website cngvehicle.net, you will find a used car dealer in Oklahoma selling CNG vehicles for under $10k. Lots of 'em.<br />I just don't see any doom scenario that makes sense.<br />Add to that, lithium batteries seem to be improving at an 8 percent annual clip. Give it 10 years, and they start to get pretty persuasive.<br />Who pays for The Oil Drum?Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.com