Naomi Klein Debates Milton Friedman

Part I



Part II



These are must watch.

Outlook for crude oil

Energy Briefs : From Peak Oil Review

• The Yemeni government's share of the country’s oil output declined by 42% in the first half of this year. Total oil production fell to 20 million barrels in the six months to June 30 from 34.5 million barrels in the year-earlier period
• Lebanon is on the verge of a blackout within three to four days due to the lack of fuel in most of the power stations. Rationing of electricity consumption began in Beirut and areas in the north and south regions of the country, with suspension periods reaching over 14 hours a day,
• The median price of American homes is expected to fall this year for the first time since federal housing agencies began keeping statistics in 1950.
• Cultists killed 20 people in Rivers state, Nigeria leading to imposition of a curfew. Since January, 2006, armed gangs have abducted more than 200 local and foreign oil workers in the Niger Delta. Total SA fired a geologist earlier this month after he refused a job in Nigeria.
• Saudi Arabia's domestic oil consumption last year grew by 6.2 per cent to 2 million b/d up from 1.89 million b/d in 2005. Analysts attributed the growth to the surge in economic development, especially the decision to set up economic cities, industrial estates and IT parks in different parts of the Kingdom.
• Chevron's largest U.S. refinery continued production at reduced levels while teams assessed damage caused by a fire last week. There are already reports that crude shipments to the refinery have been diverted elsewhere.
• Refinery maintenance in Europe next month is expected to shut in about 630,000 barrels of oil a day, double the amount of production that was idle in August. Globally, the number of refineries undergoing scheduled maintenance is expected to increase in September, with around 1.85 million barrels a day off line.
• Kazakhstan's environment ministry has ordered a halt to all work at the giant Kashagan oil field in the Caspian Sea, which is being developed by an Eni-led consortium, over violations of the country's environmental laws. ENI’s CEO said "friendly negotiations" with the Kazakh government over the Kashagan oil field will begin today.
• OPEC's newest member Angola is likely to stay free of the group's output constraints so long as oil prices remain strong, giving the country scope to start up several new oilfields in coming months. Under the most optimistic estimates, Angola could reach 3 million bpd by the end of 2010.
• Japan is forming a program that will allow countries in East Asia to share oil reserves in the event of a disaster. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry believes that an emergency-oil-sharing program in East Asia, where demand for oil continues to soar, will help stabilize oil prices and the region's economies when shortages hit.
• Venezuela exported to the US an average of 1.31 million b/d of crude oil and byproducts in June, a drop of 202,000 bpd, or 13.2 percent, compared with May.
• Venezuela’s parliament has given initial approval to reforms proposed by President Chavez, including an end to presidential term limits. The proposals still require a final endorsement by parliament, and must then be put to a referendum.
• GM may build as many as 60,000 of its Volt electric cars for their inaugural year on the market. Production at that level may allow GM to sell the plug-in Volt for less than $30,000.
• Myanmar authorities moved swiftly to crush the latest in a series of weeklong protests against fuel price hikes.
• Global warming will cut China's annual grain harvest by up to 10 percent by 2030, state press reported. China will likely need an extra 10 million hectares (247 million acres) of farmland by 2030, the year that China’s population is expected to peak at 1.5 billion people.
• U.S. natural gas storage grew last week and is about 13 percent above the five-year average for this time of year. Forecasts for warmer-than-normal early winter temperatures may chill the prospects for a rally in U.S. heating oil and natural gas futures prices.
• BP said it may be forced to cancel plans to increase the use of Canadian crude at its giant Whiting refinery if it can't appease environmentalists in a way that maintains the project's "viability." The company was recently granted a permit from Indiana to allow for higher wastewater discharge limits as it prepares for the $3.8 billion upgrade project.
• Alberta's revenues from selling exploration rights have slumped more than 60% so far this year. The drop was caused by low natural gas prices, rising oil sands development costs and weak equity markets.
• Landowners in north-central Alberta will be voting on a proposal to build Alberta’s first nuclear power plant. Energy Alberta was established in 2005 to bring nuclear technology to the province. The company says it has lined up financing and clients. Environmental groups have expressed concern about the proposed facility saying the nuclear reactors require huge amounts of fresh water and have a serious problem disposing of nuclear waste.
• A climate-change bill from the House Energy Committee will be a hybrid of ``cap-and-trade'' and new carbon taxes, said Rep. John Dingell, the measure's main sponsor. According to Dingell, the bill, expected next month, would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent to 80 percent by 2050. The Committee is also proposing a cutoff of mortgage-interest tax deductions for all houses with more than 3,000 square feet.
• Nicaragua’s U.S. ambassador insisted that the government immediately return a storage terminal seized from Esso, saying the takeover threatens foreign investment and is a ploy to promote Venezuelan petroleum products. A judge embargoed the assets owned by Exxon-Mobil, on Aug. 18, saying the company owed $3 million in taxes, which the company denies.
• Militant groups have formed a coalition in preparation for another round of kidnapping of foreign workers and bombing of oil installations in the Niger-Delta beginning the first week of September. Their complaint remains that the government and oil companies have failed to meet their demands for development of their areas.
• A nuclear cooperation pact Iran struck with the International Atomic Energy Agency has "real limitations" a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday. Washington was not impressed by the promise of Iranian transparency -- hailed as a "milestone" by the IAEA .

Peak Oil Linkfest - 06/25/07

Hugo Chavez Has an Oil Strategy...But Can This Lead to Liberation?

The nature of Hugo Chavez’s “Bolivarian revolution” is a highly important and widely discussed issue among progressive and radical-minded people. Chavez has carried out a host of social and economic measures whose stated aim is to empower and improve the lives of the poor and politically disenfranchised in Venezuelan society; he has condemned the U.S. as an imperialist and bullying power; and in 2005 he announced that Venezuela was embarking on a project of ”21st Century Socialism.” At a time when the U.S. is waging its “war on the world” and at a time when the U.S. has been spearheading a pounding and brutalizing neoliberal economic agenda for the countries of the Third World—developments in Venezuela have attracted great interest. But what is the actual program and outlook of Hugo Chavez, what is the character of the process unfolding in Venezuela, and where is it heading? Does Chavez’s program represent a real alternative to imperialist-led exploitation, a viable road to liberation in today’s world? And what is the meaning of socialism in today’s globalized world?

Iran Invites Nuclear Watchdog to Tehran

Acting on a request from Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Monday it will send a team to Tehran to work jointly on a plan meant to clear up suspicions about the Islamic republic's nuclear activities.

The invitation, conveyed Sunday by a senior Iranian envoy and made public Monday by the agency, was portrayed by some diplomats as a positive step in IAEA attempts to learn more about past activities that could point toward a weapons program.

Opec oil production edges up in June – Petrologistics

Opec, excluding Iraq and Angola, is set to pump slightly more oil in June because of higher shipments from some members including Iran and Algeria, a consultant said yesterday.
Opec’s 10 members subject to output limits are expected to pump 26.8mn bpd in June, up from a revised 26.7mn bpd in May, said Conrad Gerber, head of Geneva-based Petrologistics, which tracks tanker shipments.

World: Clock Ticking On Global Oil Supply

The debate over how much readily accessible oil remains on Earth has been revived with the release of a new report that suggests there is enough to last about 40 years.

But critics say British Petroleum's 2007 "Statistical Review Of World Energy," released this month, is far too optimistic.

The Fight For The World's Food

Most people in Britain won't have noticed. On the supermarket shelves the signs are still subtle. But the onset of a major change will be sitting in front of many people this morning in their breakfast bowl. The price of cereals in this country has jumped by 12 per cent in the past year. And the cost of milk on the global market has leapt by nearly 60 per cent. In short we may be reaching the end of cheap food.

For those of us who have grown up in post-war Britain food prices have gone only one way, and that is down. Sixty years ago an average British family spent more than one-third of its income on food. Today, that figure has dropped to one-tenth. But for the first time in generations agricultural commodity prices are surging with what analysts warn will be unpredictable consequences.

Will startup build world's biggest biodiesel plant?

Calling itself a biodiesel company "not out trying to go public and whore itself out for investors," a small, aggressive California startup is planning to build a 320 million gallon per year biodiesel refinery in Chesapeake, Virginia.

That's more than ten times the size of typical biodiesel plants, and three times the size of the 90 million gallon per year plants being built in Malaysia.

Norway to boost natural gas exports to European Union by next decade

Norway plans to increase its natural gas supplies to the European Union by up to 55 per cent by the middle of the next decade, the EU‘s energy commissioner said Monday.

“This is important taking into account the expected growth of gas consumption and the need for additional gas supplies in the EU in the years to come,‘‘ Andris Piebalgs said in a statement released during his visit to the Nordic country.

Peak Oil is Snake Oil!

Friday of last week I had occasion to do brief battle on CNBC Morning Call with Steve Andrews, co-founder of what is considered the most influential organization supporting "peak oil", the Hubbert curve theory which predicts future oil availability. Surprisingly there is more than one such organization. And why should that be? The Wall Street Journal summed it up succinctly in an article appearing in the Sept. 14, 2006 issue, stating:

"That argument known as 'peak oil theory' has provided intellectual backing for the boom in crude prices."

A strategic perspective on 21st century energy challenges

Notes from a presentation by Tom Petrie to the Institute of International Education in Denver on June 18, 2007. Reported by Steve Andrews.

Energy will be one of the two or three defining issues we’ll face over the next decade. Since post-1999, we’ve essentially been in a crisis mode. That’s the result of an accumulation of factors.

Driving home theory of peak oil

Cheryl Nechamen knows that when a discussion turns to the theory of "peak oil," listeners' eyes tend to glaze over. So she's been pleasantly surprised at how well talking about the 100-mile diet helps to break the ice.

The peak oil theory is extremely controversial. It stipulates that the world has reached -- or is about to reach -- its peak oil production, and society's demand for oil will soon start outstripping supply, wreaking havoc on the world economy.

In Defense of the Hubbert Linearization Method

The Hubbert Linearization (HL) method (the Hubbert Linearization term was coined by Stuart Staniford, with The Oil Drum) is essentially based on the mathematical observation that a parabolic (bell shaped) curve can be plotted as a line, when we plot P/Q versus Q, where P = annual production and Q = cumulative production to date. The parabolic curve assumption is based on the premise that we tend to find the big fields first. In essence, "Peak Oil" is the story of the rise and fall of the big fields. The parabolic HL model suggests that the world and Saudi Arabia are both probably now in terminal decline. While the overall world decline may be quite gradual, the impact on world oil exports will probably be very severe. See the following article for more information on the HL method: Texas and US Lower 48 Oil Production as a Model for Saudi Arabia and the World.

Russia top offender in gas-flare emissions

A little-known but major contributor to global warming -- gas flaring at oil wells -- has been measured for the first time using satellite imagery and shows that Russia is burning three times more gas than previous estimates, making it the world's worst offender, according to a new US study.

At many oil drilling sites around the world, producers ignite excess gas, sending huge balls of fire into the sky. Environmentalists and World Bank analysts say the practice -- called gas flaring -- needlessly harms the environment and wastes a lucrative energy source.

Energy Briefs - Peak Oil Review

• Venezuelan President Chavez said last week that an unnamed US oil company has abandoned its oil wells in Venezuela and left.
• Increasing numbers of diesel vehicles has forced oil-exporting Qatar to begin importing diesel fuel. There are now about 500,000 vehicles in the country. Some 84,000 vehicles were imported last year as compared to 26,000 in 2005 and 18,000 in 2004.
• Norway announced that its crude-oil production fell 7.4 percent in May from a month earlier, and that gas production is also falling. The Norwegians are developing new gas fields in the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea and eventually will become the world's second-largest gas exporter.
• Natural gas prices surged in New York to a six-month high as the second named tropical storm of the year focused trader concerns on possible supply disruptions this hurricane season, spurring buyers to move gas into storage.
• Changing climate will mean increasing drought in the American Southwest — a region where water already is in tight supply — according to a new study issued by Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. [Ed. note: this could hurt plans to establish viable water-intensive production of oil from oil shale deposits in dry NW Colorado/SW Wyoming and NE Utah.)
• China will put climate change at the heart of its economic and energy policies but without committing itself to "quantified emissions-reduction targets," according to Beijing’s first comprehensive policy document on the issue.
• Azerbaijan is richer in oil and gas than previously reported, according to President Ilham Aliyev. He said studies show reserves at Azerbaijan's oil and gas fields are twice the size estimated when the country signed a series of development contracts with Western companies in the 1990s. Azerbaijan is a partner in projects to deliver Caspian Sea energy reserves to the West via oil and gas pipelines to Turkey.
• Bill Holbrook, spokesman for the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, said the industry has built the equivalent of one large-scale refinery in each of the past 14 years in the form of expansions, and that "basically every major company is contemplating an expansion at a facility somewhere."
• Higher US demand for electricity forecast for this summer will shrink the cushion of surplus power needed to avoid blackouts to 16.5 percent from 17.4 percent a year ago, said the North American Electric Reliability Corp., which oversees the power grid.
• Last week, General Motors announced its selection of battery makers to develop and test battery packs for use in its proposed electric vehicles. Manufacturers say that they've overcome the performance and cost limitations that have been an obstacle to electric vehicles in the past.
• Uranium prices may reach $200 a pound within the next two years. Prices have jumped 12-fold since early 2003, due to shortage, concerns over future production and a lack of investment in new mines.
• Starting last week, Iranian drivers can only buy gasoline using special electronic cards, as part of a plan to ration fuel and cut surging consumption. The government has already increased the price of gasoline 25 percent to 11 US cents a liter.
• High gasoline prices have spurred automakers to make plans to introduce tiny cars into the U.S. market, beginning early next year, when Mercedes plans to begin selling tiny, two-seater Smart models. General Motors unveiled three small Chevrolet concept cars aimed at young car buyers in urban markets. However, research from consulting firm CSM Worldwide shows that American consumers are not very big on very small cars,
• According to the International Energy Agency, by 2015 demand for Opec oil will likely be 38.8 million b/d, up from about 31 million b/d today, while biofuels would provide just 3m b/d.
• A study from the Carnegie Mellon Electricity Industry Center concludes that while enacting policies to subsidize the production of coal-to-liquids transportation fuel would enhance national security by lowering oil imports, encouraging plug-in hybrids powered by coal-generated electricity is a less costly policy that also reduces oil imports and does more to lower greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
• Back in 2004, leaders of Venezuela’s national oil company said they planned to produce over 5 million barrels per day by 2009 and that they would spend $37 billion to achieve that objective. Half way there—at a time when production should have reached over 4 million b/d—Venezuelan production is well below 3 million b/d and dropping, according to Petrolemworld News.

Energy Links Jamboree - 04/27/07

Norwegian authorities fear steep crude decline

This is a direct quotation by Norwegian Oil Director Mr. Gunnar Berge from the Foreword to Facts - The Norwegian Petroleum Sector - 2007 (220-page PDF) published by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on Friday, April w0:

Forecasts show that gas production is rising while oil production is declining. The number of exploration wells increased significantly in 2006 compared with the previous year, but only six new discoveries were made. These were made in four wellbores. This is figures for reflection [stet]. If we are to achieve the development that we want, with only a slow and gradual decline, serious efforts must be made in several areas.

Lower oil prices fail to hold back Exxon as quarter’s profits top $9bn

ExxonMobil shrugged off the impact of lower oil prices and boosted its profits in the first quarter of the year with a strong performance from its refining and chemical businesses.

The American oil group showed a clean pair of heels to BP, its British rival, by declaring profits of $9.28 billion (£4.66 billion) for the first three months of 2007, up by 10 per cent on the previous year.

Al Bartlett’s resources depletion protocol for a sustainable Australia

Professor Al Bartlett of Colorado University is well-known in sustainability circles for his contributions to the population debate and especially for his famous lecture, “Arithmetic, Population and Energy” which he has personally delivered over 1600 times (on average, about once a week for the last 30 years!). His message remains absolutely relevant today.

Address energy issue before oil is gone

With the most driving-heavy season approaching, increasing gas prices are at the forefront of most people's minds. Unfortunately, with our dependence on oil, there's nothing we will be able to do about it in the immediate future.

Why aren't we doing everything in our power to increase production of biodiesel and hydrogen fuel cell technologies? There are few things scarier than national leaders who lack the foresight to prepare for the inevitable.

Dueling rich men: Pickens, Forbes on oil

It was a typical oddball Milken conference matchup: longtime Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens sparring with magazine editor and former presidential candidate Steve Forbes in a lively debate on oil prices and energy policy.

The result in the packed Beverly Hills ballroom Tuesday? Horror — and amusement.

Pickens drew a mix of groans and quiet gasps with his prediction that U.S. oil prices would top last year's record high of $78.40 a barrel by year's end, and that consumers would feel the pain through sharply higher pump prices.

Non-Opec output ‘to peak by 2015’

Oil production outside Opec will keep rising until about 2015, while global output will continue to expand through 2025 at least, a top analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie said yesterday.

Countering doomsday “peak oil” theorists who believe global oil production may be reaching its limits, Wood Mackenzie said research based on its database of field-by-field global data showed supplies should keep expanding for at least 20 years.

Saudi Arabia likely to grow by 4% this year

Saudi Arabia's economy, the largest in the Arab world, may grow as much as four per cent this year, more than previously expected, on a possible rise in oil output, Samba Financial Group said yesterday.

Samba Chief Economist Brad Bourland said that he may revise his expectation for average Saudi Arabian oil production this year to 8.7 million barrels per day (bpd) from 8.6 million bpd. Saudi Arabia holds the world's largest crude oil reserves.

Mexico's state oil company requests massive investment

Mexico's state-run energy giant has requested some 33 billion U.S. dollars in investment to maintain its production after the sharp decline in a main oil field, according to a study published Tuesday.

Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) is targeting a 3.1-million-barrels per day (bpd) production until 2009, something analysts describe as difficult without substantially larger investment than that currently planned.

Peak Oil Crisis: By Order of the Governor

Earlier this month, the Governor of Virginia issued what is sure to be one of many orders, laws and regulations mandating greater efficiency in the use of energy. Although justified in terms of saving taxpayer money, wise use of natural resources and reducing greenhouse gases, the order serves equally well as a preemptory strike against the consequences of peak oil.

Will Ethanol Provide Our Daily Bread Or Are We Toast?

There are many unanswered questions regarding the future of the energy industry and any answers you are likely to receive depend largely on who you ask. Ask a vegetarian or environmental campaigner how much oil is used to raise a beef steer and they will probably quote a figure in excess of 280 gallons while some beef farmers claim the real figure is around 14 gallons.

The Caspian: A zone of special interest

When back in the ‘90s the international community discovered the Caspian region’s enormous hidden wealth, US energy experts were quick to announce the region as the world’s third largest in energy resources.

In no time, the world energy map experienced a shakeup: A largely unknown energy reserve was drawn straight at the borders of Eurasia. It’s called the Caspian region.

Energy security for U.S. = insecurity for Canada

What would Canada do in a supply crunch during an Arctic cold front? We do not have enough pipeline capacity to bring Western oil to meet Eastern Canadian needs.

Pemex Says March Crude Output Falls 5% From Year Ago

Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil monopoly, said crude production fell 5 percent in March from a year earlier, the eighth straight monthly decline as the company depletes its largest oilfield, Cantarell.

Daily output was 3.18 million barrels last month, down from 3.35 million in March 2006 and higher than February's 3.15 million barrels, the Mexico City-based company said today in a report on its Web site.

OPEC Eyeing Oil Invest Review On Talk Of Oil Alternatives

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is eyeing a formal review that could eventually lead to less investment in exploring for future oil supplies because of endless discussion in consuming nations to reduce fossil fuel demand and fight global warming.

OPEC said in its monthly magazine published Thursday that trends in the U.S. and Europe toward the use of more renewable fuels like ethanol in road transport that are less polluting than oil had prompted discussions within the group.

WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN. IT'S A CRUDE AWAKENING

Forget serial slashers, irradiated mutants, locked-room torturers, and psychopaths wielding any sharp, serrated disemboweler. The real pants-crapping, goose-pimpling, breath-stealing horror is the immediate future, coming straight down the road at us in bright daylight.

The Coming of Deindustrial Society: A Practical Response

With the coming of Peak Oil and the beginning of long-term, irreversible declines in the availability of fossil fuels (along with many other resources), modern industrial civilization faces a wrenching series of unwelcome transitions. This comes as a surprise only for those who haven't been paying attention. More than thirty years ago, the Club of Rome's epochal study The Limits to Growth pointed out that unless something was done, a global economy based on fantasies of perpetual growth would collide disastrously with the hard limits of a finite planet sometime in the early twenty-first century.

Chavez slams Bush ethanol `madness'

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has slammed US President George W Bush's plan to substitute fuel ethanol for gasoline, joining a growing debate on the continent over use of the biofuel.

Cuban leader Fidel Castro recently called the Bush ethanol project a "genocidal" plan that would spawn world hunger, though Brazil's left- leaning government has agreed with the Bush administration to help boost the global use of ethanol.

Venezuela's Chavez Plays The Oil Card

With President Hugo Chavez setting a May 1 deadline for an ambitious plan to wrest control of several major oil projects from American and European companies, a showdown is looming here over access to some of the most coveted energy resources outside the Middle East.

Moving beyond empty threats to cut off all oil exports to the United States, officials have recently stepped up the pressure on the oil companies operating here, warning that they might sell American refineries meant to process Venezuelan crude oil even as they seek new outlets in China and elsewhere around the world.

Iran and Venezuela back gas OPEC

Iran and Venezuela have agreed to back an organization for gas exporting, one day before the meeting of Gas Exporting Countries is held in Qatar.

Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez and Iran's Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh described the idea of an OPEC-like gas organization as beneficial to their national interests, AFP reported.

Cuba and Venezuela turn against ethanol

Castro and Chávez attack US backing for biofuels
Leaders say diverting crops for fuel starves poor

Brazil's Silva to meet Bush on trade, ethanol amid reports of Iran friction

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hopes to advance a biofuels alliance and stalled world trade talks when he meets U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington on Saturday — the leaders' second meeting in less than a month.

But a potential source of friction emerged Friday after U.S. officials expressed concerned about investments that Brazil's state-owned oil company reportedly plans to make in Iran.

China, Venezuela to cement ties with oil deals

Venezuela said on Saturday it was working on a raft of oil deals with China, giving impetus to President Hugo Chavez's attempts to break his country's dependence on oil exports to the United States.

The China National Petroleum Corp. will look to develop heavy crude oil production in the Orinoco Belt and cooperate with Venezuela in building three refineries in China and a "super-fleet" of crude tankers, the Information Ministry said.

Brazil's Ethanol Plan Breeds Rural Poverty, Environmental Degradation

On Jan. 22 the Lula administration announced it will increase federal funding for Brazil's sugar-based ethanol industry by almost US$6 billion over the next four years. One day later, U.S. President George W. Bush declared in the State of the Union address his goal to reduce U.S. use of gasoline 20% by the year 2017.

The general response in Brazil to Bush's announcement was overwhelmingly positive. Luis Fernando Furlan, Minister of Industry, Development, and Commerce, was quoted in the Gazeta Mercantil as saying he received Bush's announcement "with applause."

An OPEC for Ethanol?

U.S. President George W. Bush will visit Latin America next week seeking a strategic alliance with Brazil to develop biofuels -- and Venezuela, the region's main oil exporter, is taking this as a warning sign.

Bush will visit Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico between Mar. 8 and Mar. 14, and his talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will be "an enormous opportunity" to create new incentives for the production and sale of ethanol, or fuel alcohol, as a substitute for petrol, according to Gregory Manuel, special adviser and international energy coordinator for the U.S. State Department.

Pemex Expands Technology Agreement With Petrobras

Petroleos Mexicanos expanded a technology agreement with Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro SA to help Mexico's state-owned oil company drill in deep water and manage heavy-crude fields, Mexican President Felipe Calderon said.

Deep-water crude represents the future for Mexico's oil industry, Calderon said today at the inauguration of a $250 million oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Pemex needs technology agreements with experienced companies to tap those deep-water deposits, he said.

Toyota Venezuela to halt March ops on currency woes

Toyota's Venezuela unit will halt production for 15 days beginning March 1 because the government has not sold it enough dollars to import the components it needs, a company executive told Reuters.

The government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has maintained strict currency controls since 2003 as part of his self-styled socialist revolution that has broadened government involvement in all aspects of the OPEC nation's economy.

Venezuela to seize foreign oil projects

President Hugo Chavez ordered by decree on Monday the takeover of oil projects run by foreign oil companies in Venezuela's Orinoco River region.

Chavez had previously announced the government's intention to take a majority stake by May 1 in four heavy oil-upgrading projects run by British Petroleum PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Total SA and Statoil ASA.

Venezuela to Seize Foreign Oil Projects

President Hugo Chavez ordered by decree on Monday the takeover of oil projects run by foreign oil companies in Venezuela's Orinoco River region.

Chavez had previously announced the government's intention to take a majority stake by May 1 in four heavy oil-upgrading projects run by British Petroleum PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Total SA and Statoil ASA.

He said Monday that has decreed a law to proceed with the nationalizations that will see state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, taking at least a 60 percent stake in the projects.

Sovereign Risk: Will Venezuela Default on Its Debt?

Perhaps the biggest threat to Hugo Chávez' continued rule is internal, namely the rapidly deteriorating Venezuelan economy. But this trend holds potentially ominous implications for domestic and foreign investors who currently hold Venezuelan debt instruments.

When oil prices spiked last year to more than $70 per barrel, the political currency of Hugo Chávez soared even as the nation's currency, the Bolivar, sank to all times lows vs. the dollar. Despite the vast increase in Venezuela's export income last year, Chávez has managed to alienate foreign investors and accelerate both inflation and the rapid deterioration in living standards among his country's poor - once his most powerful and reliable base of political support.

Venezuela falls short of OPEC output cut

Confirming the figures the International Energy Agency published last week, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in its monthly market report that Venezuela failed to comply with a 138,000 bpd production cut scheduled for November-January under OPEC overall output cut of 1.2 million bpd.

Ethanol Production Could Be Eco-Disaster, Brazil's Critics Say

In Brazil ethanol has become economically competitive with gasoline, and the country's biofuels program could serve as a world model for producing sustainable energy, officials say.

South America's largest country is the world's reigning ethanol king, producing 4.4 billion gallons (16.5 billion liters) of the biofuel from sugarcane each year, on average.

Peru Gas Output Fell to Nine-Month Low in January

Peru's natural gas output fell to a nine-month low in January as hydro-electric output at electricity generators surged, curbing demand.

Natural gas production fell for a fifth month, dropping 0.4 percent to 183.8 million cubic feet a day, state oil licensing agency Perupetro said in an e-mailed statement. A 42 percent drop in production at fields operated by Dallas-based Maple Resources Corp., the second-biggest natural gas producer in Peru, led the decline.

Gold rush tears up a patch of the Amazon

Brazil - It's a gold rush in the Amazon jungle, driven by the Internet.

Speeding past unbroken walls of foliage, a motorboat packed with gritty prospectors veers toward the shore of the Juma river and spills its passengers into a city of black plastic lean-tos veiled by greasy smoke.

All around them are newly dug pits, felled trees, misery and tales of striking it rich.

Energy Minister attests to compliance with OPEC oil cuts

The Venezuelan Government immediate purpose in the context of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is "strict compliance with the cuts," agreed upon last December, in order to balance the market, AFP reported.

"With the market being balanced against the background of prices we have, we can count on a steady situation based on a price band that needs to be defined after March," during the next OPEC meeting, explained Minister of Energy and CEO of state-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) Rafael Ramírez.

Chavez gains free rein in Venezuela

President Hugo Chavez was granted free rein Wednesday to accelerate changes in broad areas of society by presidential decree, a move critics said propels Venezuela toward dictatorship.

Convening in a downtown plaza in a session that resembled a political rally, lawmakers unanimously gave Chavez sweeping powers to legislate by decree and impose his radical vision of a more egalitarian socialist state.