Mark Miller, chief executive of Cuadrilla, says that enough shale gas has been found beneath Blackpool and Preston to supply all Britain’s gas need for “more than 56 years”. He declined to say how much of that would be recoverable. In the US, ten percent has proved to be a typical recovery rate, meaning that …
Category archives: Energy / Environment
Shell warns of higher prices and volatility
The chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, Mr Peter Voser, has warned that oil and gas suppliers will struggle to keep up with global demand, pushing prices up and increasing volatility.
German Bundeswehr report on peak oil
In November 2010 the German Bundeswehr (‘Federal Defence Force’) was embarrassed to find that a study by its Future Analysis department had leaked to the Internet. Nearly a year on and the report has been published in full, translated into English. With commendable German clarity and efficiency it reports as follows (direct quotations except where [square-bracketed], …
Diverging metals prices
The price of gold is being forecast to pass $2,000 an ounce next year. And yet miners/manufacturers of industrial metals, such as iron and copper, are finding customers asking for shipments to be delayed. This is a “marked shift in industry sentiment from only six weeks ago, when most … groups painted a bullish outlook for commodities …
Difficult to invest way out of gloom
Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister, is expected to tell his party conference today that Britain can invest its way out of the downturn. However, it is proving difficult to identify projects that can be started quickly, and the government is hampered by its need to cut spending on existing activities. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cff32134-e3b7-11e0-bd3d-00144feabdc0.html At the same time …
Shift to the east
At least three stories in today’s FT have this theme: Alan Lewis, the millionaire property and retail entrepreneur, has put the Tommy Nutter brand up for sale. Tommy Nutter made three of the suits worn by The Beatles on the cover of Abbey Road, as well as the suit that Mick Jagger wore to his …
Why are gold mines down?
The price of gold has risen by over 25% this year, yet mining stocks are in the doldrums. Why? “It is something everybody is thinking about at the moment”, says the manager of one of the largest gold funds. Prices of gold and mines have diverged in the past but the mining stocks have always …
How the eurozone crisis affects businesses
Two weeks ago Siemens withdrew over €500m from a ‘large French bank’, and deposited it with the European Central Bank. Partly this may be because the ECB is paying a higher interest rate (which surely means more risk?). But it seems more likely that Siemens fears there is a significant risk that the ‘large French …
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Reimagining the economy
In this talk Tim Jackson examines the current economic crisis and finds that the solution isn’t about “curtailing possibilities”: “It’s about opening up: about allowing ourselves the freedom to become fully human, recognising the breath and the depth of the human psyche, and building institutions to protect [that]. … And at the heart… a more credible, …
A return to gold as money
Central banks in Europe and emerging market countries have been buying more gold. Globally, central banks are “set to buy more gold this year than at any time since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, 40 years ago.” But, apparently, their purchases are “minuscule compared with the size of the global gold market” — …