This is slightly worrying, because if we want to reduce CO2 emissions, we need to leave the oil in the ground.
High prices may not be ideal economically, but they do reduce demand for oil, and increase demand for alternative energy.
Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
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Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#12I remember ten years ago when worrying about Peak Oil was all the rage. You don't hear too much about that nowadays…
It's obviously a matter of when, not if. It's difficult to put an exact estimate on when oil scarcity will become a true crisis, but we can all agree that it's a non-renewable resource which will not be around forever.
Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#13And yet gas is still over $3 a gallon. Funny that...
Well, gasoline production consumes oil, which means that the price should theoretically lag behind oil's price for a period of time at least equal to the time it takes to go from crude to a final product. In addition, most gas stations will buy gasoline futures a few months out to stabilize their costs, and when oil price falls, the cost of the underlying gas purchased is still at the negotiated futures contract pric…
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Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#14This is slightly worrying, because if we want to reduce CO2 emissions, we need to leave the oil in the ground. High prices may not be ideal economically, but they do reduce demand for oil, and increase demand for alternative energy.
Whether this is bad from the environmental standpoint depends on why the price is low. The price may be low because demand is off.
Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#15And yet gas is still over $3 a gallon. Funny that...
Thing is, most people in the States still have day jobs that they commute to. Demand for gas hasn't really gone anywhere.
Meanwhile, for the first time in... Forever, diesel is cheaper then gasoline. [1]
Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#16And yet gas is still over $3 a gallon. Funny that...
At least in the U.S. - there have been some refinery outages as well most of the country is still on summer mix, so the supply of gas is more constrained.
Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#17Hopefully this trend will continue as we move away from oil for many types of energy generation. And for those that low oil prices should reinforce car use - in many American cities, it's not the price of oil that is the limit, it's the amount of space for the cars that is the limit. And where space isn't a limit, out in farm country, low oil prices help tremendously, since transport is much less elastic than it is in cities.
Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#18Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#19And yet gas is still over $3 a gallon. Funny that...
The BP refinery outage here in Indiana is causing a major crimp in gasoline supplies.
Re: Oil Falls Below $40 for First Time Since 2009 as Glut Grows
#20I remember ten years ago when worrying about Peak Oil was all the rage. You don't hear too much about that nowadays…
Here's what I found out about the use of the term "Peak Oil". https://planiverse.wordpress.com/2015/08/14/peak-oil-peak/