Pipe dreams

First published in the Guardian, 3 December 2008. An old friend was once memorably described as a sixties liberal with Catholic guilt – you can just imagine the internal contortions. I got the same impression of grinding gears while reading the International Energy Agency’s latest long term forecast, the World Energy Outlook 2008, published last month. (more…)...
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Why the oil price slump is bad news

First published in The Independent on Sunday, 26 October 2008 Once again Gordon Brown has energy policy all wrong. Even before OPEC announced an output cut of 1.5 million barrels per day, the prime minister had denounced the move as "absolutely scandalous", fearing it would force the oil price higher just as the world slides into recession. (more…)...
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BP’s Russian roulette belies stance on peak oil

First published in the Independent on Sunday, 22 June 2008 It must be increasingly lonely being Tony Hayward. As the oil price continues to soar there is a gathering consensus that global oil production is nearing some fundamental geological limits, yet BP's chief executive continues to argue valiantly that the causes of the current oil shock are "not so much below ground as above it, and not geological but political"...
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