Remember back to the good ol’ days when we were debating whether we were or weren’t in a recession, we were concerned that McCain might have to face Hillary and gas was $4.00? Well, all three of those things are now ancient history. Or are they?
NewsMax.com published an article Wednesday that claims that the International Energy Agency will publish a report saying that existing oil field production is declining at a rate far faster than previously thought. While they recognize that it’s natural for fields to decline and that increased investment can flatten or reverse that decline, they don’t believe it will be enough.
It seems that there are two ways to look at the IEA’s report.
One would be to continue the “drill here drill now” mantra. Funny how the decreasing price of gas has seen an equal reduction in the discussion of gas prices. I know the election has people’s attention but regardless of that outcome, we need to keep our foot on the pedal, so to speak. This economic slow down isn’t going to last forever. The minute that the markets sense that things will improve, oil prices will start to move up and so will gas prices. If you like gas at a level that is about to go south of $2.00 in the Twin Cities, we need to keep production up.
The second thought is, “Gee, is it just coincidence that the IEA is raising a red flag on production now or is there something else going on?” Likely not.
The IEA was originally organized during the oil crisis of the 70’s. Its purpose was to coordinate activities amongst its member countries (now numbering 28 that are mostly Western and Asian countries) to reduce or eliminate oil supply disruptions, a laudable goal. However, within the last year or so the IEA has hopped on the global warming bandwagon and now also focus on “alternative energy” and “mitigating climate change.” In fact, the IEA has been a leading advisor to the UN on topics like emission trading and member country efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. In a phrase, I’d say the IEA has mixed loyalties!
The IEAs final report is due to come out November 12th. If the final report is as dire in its oil production forecast as what Newsmax is reporting, you can expect the Dems to cranking the sirens on the needs for a new stimulus to generate “green jobs for renewable energy!” Just remember, if you hear those sirens, the report that generated them was created by an agency who no longer has oil production and mitigation of supply disruption as their sole, or some would argue, even their primary purpose.
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