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The Giant Sucking Sound, Revisited
Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin
Remember the metaphorical “giant sucking sound” that Ross Perot invoked in the 1992 presidential debates? Perot employed that image to characterize the rapid exodus of jobs to Mexico that would surely result from ratifying the North American Free Trade Agreement. Fifteen years later, that vivid phrase could appropriately describe the increasingly desperate circumstances befalling Cantarell, Mexico’s largest oilfield, situated about 50 miles off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The giant sucking sound you might hear at Cantarell is what happens when hundreds of oil wells begin drawing gas and water from the very reservoirs that used to yield copious quantities of petroleum. It’s the sound of an oilfield rolling over its peak. ..

Make no mistake, a production crash at the world’s second-largest oilfield will have an effect on import volumes and the price of crude. In fact, oil markets have already taken notice. In mid-January the per barrel price of crude briefly sagged below the $50 mark. Since PEMEX’s admission two weeks ago, the markets have rebounded somewhat. PEMEX is working to expand output from other fields to offset continued losses at Cantarell, which are expected to average 15% a year.

To meet that objective, PEMEX will inject nitrogen into the largest of the remaining oilfields, increasing reservoir pressure and flow rates. No doubt that will help, as Mexican crude is on the heavy side of the spectrum. But as demonstrated at Cantarell, where nitrogen injections since 2000 produced substaintial gains in flow rates, once the practice is discontinued, output drops sharply. ..
(12 Feb 2007)

Let Us Be Human: Peak Oil
Rev Sam Norton, Elizaphanian
I would like to talk this morning about the imminent energy crisis which is often referred to as peak oil. I want to talk about what peak oil is, what it actually means and talk a little bit about the challenge for the church. Now you have actually got some written material on the challenge for the church linking it to what’s called the prophetic ministry.

I don’t propose to spend too long on that this morning, simply because it is the foundation for the whole sequence, in a sense the whole sequence of these talks is spelling out the implications for the church and how we should live, so today is going to be more what peak oil is and what it means. Those who came to my talk in January will have heard at least half of this before but it is something that is worth covering more than once.

Let’s begin with a biblical image. Joseph and his amazing technicolour dreamcoat interpreted dreams for the pharaoh. You will remember the dream that pharaoh had of seven fat cows who were then eaten by seven thin cows, and seven fat ears of corn eaten by seven thin ears of corn. Well we are facing a situation of seven fat barrels of oil being consumed by seven thin barrels of oil and the thin barrels consume the fat.

But the trouble is there aren’t many Josephs around to be wise stewards of the resources and we are actually at the end of year seven of the fat barrels. We are not beginning the seven years of the fat barrels, we are in the year seven, that in some way is what peak oil means.

Let’s talk a bit about energy.
(10 Feb 2007)
Transcript of a sermon delivered by Rev Sam Norton, Rector of the Church of St Peter & St Paul, West Mersea, Essex, England. His blog, Elizaphanian has many posts on peak oil and related issues.

Rev. Norton also has posted Prophecy, Peak Oil and the Path For the Faithful (audio and slides for a series of talks. I had to use Internet Explorer rather than Firefox to access the audio). -BA

CERA Report outlines energy scenarios for the future
Economic gains, degree of pollution go into predictions
Tom Fowler, Houston Chronicle
The derailment of the North Korean president's train paves the way for reunification with South Korea.

Politicians and business leaders rally in Aspen, Colo., to declare Energy Independence Day.

A terrorist plot to set off a "dirty bomb" in an American city is foiled, but world trade grinds to a halt.

Scenes from a new political novel or Hollywood thriller? Try a 400-plus-page study from Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the firm better known for its number-crunching analyses on world energy issues.

In Dawn of a New Age, a detailed report compiled by dozens of researchers from nearly 70 companies and organizations, CERA presents three scenarios depicting paths the global economy and energy markets could follow over the next 25 year
(12 Feb 2007)
Related: CERA conference: Meeting the energy challenge. Probably the best place to learn what industry is thinking. -BA

Activist: Oil crisis requires drastic changes in Madison
Samara Kalk Derby, Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)
Local activist Jan Sweet envisions a city without cars, or at least a compromise - a hybrid city, which would function like a hybrid car and conserve oil.

"We want people to slow down and spend more time walking, biking and relaxing," Sweet said.

Sweet, who has a degree in architecture and urban planning from the UW-Milwaukee and lives in Madison, has submitted detailed plans to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and Gov. Jim Doyle proposing drastic conservation measures. He is also urging the mayor and the governor to form respective peak oil task forces.
(12 Feb 2007)