ECONOMICS - LOOKING GLASS NEWS | |
A revolutionary report on the future of oil |
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by Michael Lardelli On Line Opinion Entered into the database on Sunday, August 05th, 2007 @ 10:33:54 MST |
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Despite four years of high oil prices, this report sees increasing
market tightness beyond 2010, with OPEC spare capacity declining to minimal
levels by 2012 … It is possible that the supply crunch could be deferred
[by decreased demand growth] - but not by much. The chart above also shows a number of other interesting points. While considerable
new supply should come on stream in 2008 (and lead to a temporary drop in fuel
prices) there is less optimism for later years. Also, the growth of biofuels,
while significant, is relatively limited. (When examining the chart, remember
the world is currently using about 85 million barrels of oil per day [mb/d].) It has been the habit of previous Medium Term Reports to assume that the OPEC
nations will raise production to meet any shortfall in growth from non-OPEC
suppliers. However, now this report declares: Recent history would suggest that a conservative approach to OPEC capacity
is justified. Despite the declaration of caution, the IEA then makes assumptions of Saudi
Arabian capacity that are not justified by its production performance over the
past few years, including recent times when oil prices have been high and would
reward maximal production. As illustrated by an insightful comment on the website, www.theoildrum.com,
the IEA assumes current Saudi capacity that is probably over 1mb/d greater than
reality. Saudi Arabia’s declared ability to increase production is very
important in the IEA’s growth projections for the next five years but
in the contrarian peak-oil community there is considerable debate over the truth
behind Saudi Arabia’s claims. The IEA report is also quite upbeat about new refinery capacity coming online,
especially in the Middle East and China, and the effects this will have on fuel
availability - at least for everything other than shipping (see below). As the
world’s easily extracted oil comes to an end, the "heavier"
(more viscous), more "sour" (higher sulfur) grades remain. This oil
requires greater processing by refineries before it can be used but world refinery
capacity has recently be struggling to cope with demand due to decades of underinvestment.
However, that is now changing: The refining industry … has responded to market incentives. Investment
in sophisticated refinery capacity is continuing apace … a significant
improvement in refinery flexibility is foreseen. Interestingly however, this increased refinery capacity shows that every silver-lined
cloud has a black interior. At the moment, shipping uses heavy grade fuel oil
that is cheaper than the lighter grades of oil more suited to gasoline and diesel
fuel production. However, if the capacity exists to refine heavier oil grades
into gasoline then: The large discounts needed to clear surplus fuel oil production will
become a thing of the past. ... we expect fuel oil markets to tighten significantly in the next
five years. …the new, largely complex refineries will have low fuel
oil yields, and upgrading capacity additions at existing refineries will
further cut fuel oil production. If this leads shipping to burn lighter fuel grades then the: … potential for distillate markets to ease over the next five
years would be dwarfed by the impact of [shipping] switching from fuel oil
to distillate. So increased capacity to refine heavier grades of oil into diesel and gasoline
may ease supply for road transport for a while but may create its own problem
by reducing the oil available to shipping and forcing them to compete for lighter
grade fuels. In fact, it is hard to see how this will not occur if ship transport
is to continue - which it must to support our globalised economy. The IEA report is also especially notable for the damper it has put on expectations
for growth in natural gas production. The Economist magazine and others have
been optimistic that natural gas might substitute for a large fraction of oil
production. But: Not only does oil look extremely tight in five years time, but this
coincides with the prospects of even tighter natural gas markets at the
turn of the decade. … it is abundantly clear that if the path of demand
does not change on its own, it may well be driven to change by higher prices. In other words, prices of oil and gas will rise until sufficient demand is
destroyed to keep them in balance with supply. The IEA report is refreshingly explicit on the dwindling production from older
fields and the peak oil idea: Net oilfield decline rates average 4.6 per cent annually for non-OPEC
and 3.2 per cent per year for OPEC crude. … All told, the forecast
suggests the industry needs to generate 3.0mb/d of new supply each year
just to offset decline. But, unlike those who support the “peak oil” theory, the IEA is
unwilling to give primacy to oilfield decline as the major factor determining
the volume of oil produced over the next five years: … Hydrocarbon resources are finite, nonetheless issues of access
to reserves, prevailing investment regime and availability of upstream infrastructure
and capital seem greater barriers to medium-term growth than limits to the
resource base itself. So the IEA sees geopolitical problems (for example, resource nationalism),
escalating project costs and, especially, “slippage” (delays) in
project completions as being more important in restricting oil production than
decreasing oil production from maturing fields. When talking about oil production in non-OPEC nations, the report admits that
conventional crude oil production from these nations is declining and is only
maintained at current levels by new, non-conventional sources of oil. However,
the IEA then attempts (rather unconvincingly) to avoid declaring that non-OPEC
oil production has peaked by saying that the definition of what is “conventional”
crude oil changes with time: Certainly our forecast suggests that the non-OPEC, conventional crude
component of global production appears, for now, to have reached an effective
plateau, rather than a peak. ... While there might be a temptation to extrapolate
this trend, citing a peak in conventional oil output, a degree of caution
is in order. Firstly, the concept of “conventional” oil changes
with time, technology and economics. OPEC is expected to provide an additional 4mb/d of crude oil by 2012, an increase
of over 11 per cent from this year (and almost half of this increase is expected
to come from Saudi Arabia which has recently shown falls in production - see
also the preceding comment on Saudi Arabia). Growing demand from China and other developing nations will be the central
cause of “market tightness”: The main driver of demand growth in Asia will be China ... Given the
country’s booming economy, oil product demand is projected to increase
by 5.6 per cent per year on average … roughly a quarter of the world’s
annual demand increase. But India’s role in the oil market is overestimated: It is worth emphasising that, despite the similar size of their populations,
India and China are not in the same league with regards to oil demand. The
frequently quoted concept of “Chindia” is misleading: India’s
demand will barely represent a third of China’s by 2012. The report speaks surprisingly frequently of delays in both oilfield development
and refinery construction due to a number of factors. For example, when forecasting
production from new projects in non-OPEC nations, the report states: Slippage varies between two and 36 months, but is typically around
six months … shortages of labour, raw materials, fabrication and drilling
capacity and transport infrastructure may continue to undermine output growth
for some time. The report is also notable for its pessimism (i.e. realism) about the potential
of biofuels. The report’s authors sound very similar to peak oil advocates
when warning of the potential for biofuel production to raise food prices and
the effects this will have on poorer nations: Such a lifting of agricultural prices could have far-reaching global
economic effects - even excluding the moral issues related to food supply
… … The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned in a recent report
that global food prices had risen by 10 per cent in 2006, in part due to
higher US demand for corn (for ethanol production). Demonstrations against
higher corn prices were reported in Mexico, where it is a staple of the
national diet. … There are similar worries about the environmental impact of
biofuels. Hailed by some as an easy way to limit carbon emissions, others
have pointed at the scope for environmental damage. … forests are
being razed for feedstock plantations, offsetting potential gains through
carbon capture. … In many countries there is concern that increased
corn production will put a significant strain on available water. The IEA Medium Term Market Report is 82 pages long and contains much more
of interest than I have summarised here. The most pessimistic supporters of peak oil believe that decline of
total world oil production is imminent. Indeed, I previously described how major
figures in the industry such as energy investment banker Matt Simmons, oil entrepreneur
T. Boone Pickens and retired National Iranian Oil Company Vice-President Ali
Samsam Bakhtiari believe we are now at peak. Nevertheless, the IEA Medium Term Report is refreshingly open and balanced
in its approach to this most vital of topics. It is a further nail in the coffin
for the irresponsibly optimistic future oil production scenarios painted by
industry cheerleader Cambridge Energy Research Associates and the biggest of
Big Oil - ExxonMobil. The publication of the IEA report means that the writing
is now on the wall for all governments and industry to see. Much higher oil prices can be expected within five years at best. Before
this, a short, but deceptive, fall in oil prices may occur in 2008-9. It remains
to be seen whether the political courage exists to openly discuss this issue
and begin the painful process of weaning ourselves off oil. I am not optimistic. _______________________________ Read from Looking Glass News Threats
of Peak Oil to the Global Food Supply Peak Oil
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