A Battle for Oil Production Is Brewing

With big oil’s bank accounts full to the brim with cash, the stage is set for some significant acquisition activity… or, to put it another way, for a battle to buy producing assets. There are quite a number of contestants in the battle – big oil companies are not only competing against each other to sweep up good assets but also against the national oil companies of developing, energy-hungry nations like China, South Korea, and India. Oil demands are rising in these nations so quickly that just to cover expected annual demand increases those three countries would have to jointly spend $30 billion on acquisitions each year

Saudi Arabia: When surging oil demand meets limited supply

The following note from Gulf News reinforces the concept that high population growth in the Middle East will slow the amount of oil available for export. I believe the consequences are higher prices

Peak Coal and Jeremy Grantham’s Clarion Call on Natural Resources

Coal is one of many natural resources which are in short supply. This article provides one example from India. Jeremy Grantham believes that peak resources is a phenomenon which will pose problems for the global economy in the future. He has written a second consecutive quarterly note on peak resources that this time concentrates on the human suffering

Five Misconceptions Squashed

Niels Jensen clears up a number of common misconceptions about the macroo environment which whave great importance for investing

What does Jim Rogers think about the silver crash?

“I hope that silver goes down for a while because it was turning into a parabolic move, every parabolic move ends badly, I hope that silver and all commodities continue to go up with normal corrections along the way and in 5 or 10 years, they’re going to be unbelievably high prices and then I hope I’m smart enough to sell if the bull market is coming to an end.”

-Jim Rogers, on CNBC this morning before the rout

Grantham: ‘Days of Abundant Resources and Falling Prices Are Over Forever’

Grantham: “The world is using up its natural resources at an alarming rate, and this has caused a permanent shift in their value. We all need to adjust our behavior to this new environment. It would help if we did it quickly.”

The Fracking Controversy

The news that Blackstone Group LP (BX), the world’s largest private equity firm, is set to invest $1 billion in unconventional oil and gas projects in North America through a joint venture with Alta Resources has cemented a spotlight on fracking.

A U.S. Senate committee is currently conducting a hearing on the safety of hydraulic fracturing, as it is formally known. The province of Quebec, the state of New York, and the entirety of France have recently banned the technique. And two new studies claim that fracking-derived shale gas is actually worse for the environment than mining and burning coal. With so many claims flying around about this unconventional practice, let’s get a closer look at the facts.

Fracking and China’s quest for natural gas

You have probably seen the headlines on the natural gas accident in Pennsylvania. Chesapeake Energy, the largest natgas driller reported on Tuesday that one of its wells in Bradford County, Pennsylvania was uncontrollably spilling thousands of gallons of chemical-laced salt water into freshwater streams that ultimately feed into the Chesapeake Bay. Chesapeake Energy was using

On Food Riots, Peak Oil and Military Force

Here’s a fabulous look into the political economy of oil by Andy Lees. His view is that the era of cheap oil is over. But, more than that, natural resources as a whole are increasingly dear. And a world of dwindling natural resources has geopolitical implications when supply and demand are finely balanced. Andy writes

Oil: Where is the spare capacity?

This morning’s note from UBS’ Andy Lees addresses something about which I am sceptical regarding the escalating Libyan conflict: global spare oil capacity. I am in the same camp with Jeremy Grantham. Call it peak resources, peak oil, the end of cheap oil, whatever – the fact is there is a finite amount of natural

Will Oil Prices Derail The Economy?

Oil prices are on the march higher again today. Brent is trading above $115 a barrel. While WTI is now above $100. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke does not believe the recent rise in oil prices will cause the U.S. recovery to buckle and fold. While the rise in prices has contributed to the rise

More Food for Thought

Bill Fleckenstein was back talking to Dylan Ratigan about the source of rising oil prices. (See the last Fleckenstein video here). Clearly, supply constraints and increased demand in emerging markets play the central role in creating a supply demand imbalance for a commodity where demand is price inelastic. I am not just talking about natural