Yes, we can move the rigs further out and we can drill deeper, and new technology will make us able to get more oil out of each "hole". But the cost of the production will increase.

But what does this help if economic of China, India, Pakistan etc. continue to rise like it does these days... ? They will need much more oil than we can provide with any increase of production. There are billions of people in Asia who soon can afford a car. And if they can afford a car, they can also afford a lot of other things too. And for the production of all these things ENERGY is needed.
Seen from Norway: The most likely way to get cheaper oil these days is actually that the American economy is going down and your ask for oil will decrease.
Sorry folks, but this is how it looks for me.
BUT: UNITED WE STAND!!

 

Also remember drilling a well on land is one thing, drilling it in 100 feet of water is another.
The deeper the water is where the well is being drilled, the more expensive it is to drill.

And let's not forget the huge Chinese market that is now competing for oil with the rest of the world.

With my back round in farming, trucking and heavy equipment, we have only seen the tip of the iceberg as far as energy related price increases go.

Look at all the big rigs on the highway that transport everything you buy.
They are sucking down 100 plus gallons every 8 to 10 hours they run down the road.
Those guys are paying 8 times as much for fuel as they were when I was driving.
And I know their pay has not increase 800% in the same amount of time like fuel has.

Now look at the excavation equipment that is the start of everything that is built building wise, every piece of equipment is burning 100 to 200 gallons of fuel every 10 hours it works.

Likewise look at all the equipment involved in farming, as well as fertilizer that is produced using oil by products.

Some of the increased costs have just started trickling down to consumers.

 

Totally agree with you Dave. Whatever we do, buy or use , it takes energy.Of course this will go to he.. when all the people in Asia are able to spend money like we have done the last decades.

 

I agree too. But I also think its sad to see that in this hemesphere we are being left behind by countries in europe and even asia. From powerfull solar, wind, and tidal generating stations, to optional electric cars and even construction equimpment, there are better ways to get the job done than to just set some oil on fire for a one time use of that fuel.

I don't know about the rest of you folks, but if I had the option, I would drive an electric powered vehicle, and I'm NOT a tree hugger. I just like the possibility of making my own power, and using it as I see fit (I'm sick of buying oil).

There is a vast solar farm currently under construction in califoria, so some progress is being made, but electric vehicles are often still seen as some sort of "hippie mobile", even though they can out perform just about anything else on the road.

 

We have a few wind farms popping up in our state.

Every time they try to get permits for another one, everyone is against it.
Ruins the scenery, WV is supposed to be Wild and Wonderful.
We have a lot of dams that have water spilling over them constantly, several times they have tried to put hydro electric units on the dams.
Every time the fishermen complain that the turbines chop up the fish.

There are trade offs to every source of energy that we have so far in my area.
But I have to say if it is generating power and not poluting the air or water, I chose wind and water power so I can stay warm in the winter over beauty and a few fish.

That is a rather harsh statement.

But there is another way to go, that would be reduce the population of the world.
I fear that if we do not do this by our own choice by having less children, that the choice will be made by another way somwhere down the line in the not so distant future.

When the natural resources get low enough that everyone starts using guns to get a bigger share, it will not be a nice thing to deal with.

I am glad I am getting old, hopefully I will not have to deal with it.
But I am not leaving a very nice thing for my son to have to deal with, probably in his lifetime.

 

There was a wind farm proposed where I live too. it was supposed to be in the strait that our town overlooks. The first I heard of it was a picture on the front page of the local newspaper that basically showed how everyone with a condo, or waterfront property would have their ocean view ruined.

And then people started to come up with all the excuses under the sun to put the idea down, from ruining the halibut fishing to the turbine blades chopping up the poor defencless birds. In fact, the pylons were to be driven deep into the mud, and have minimal impact on the ecosystem, as for the visual of birds getting chopped up by the turbines....

Well, the blades usually rotate at, or below 100 RPM (and no, they're not noisy ether) birds have no problem avioding them.

But locals had already made up their minds, and simply didn't want to think about where their electricity comes from. In the end the company that proposed the wind farm backed out because of the public backlash, before they could even take measurements of any potential resaource there may have been. I think about that project often, the wind there was as reliable as the tide itself.

I'm 22, and chances are, I will have to live with many of the choices that were made, just like one I mention. Its nice to know there are older gents like yourself, who do see the other side.

Poeple can be very selfish, ignorant creatures sometimes.....

 

I saw some of the blades out on the Interstate going to one of the farms that they are building now.

Just estimating the length I would say they were close to 200 feet long.
So the total diameter of the assembled unit would be over 400 feet.
Even at 50 RPM, the blade tip would be moving rather fast.
That would put the outside diameter at about 1256 feet.
10 RPM would put the blade tip at 2.3799 miles per minute or 142 miles per hour.
At 50 RPM the tips would be supersonic at 710 miles an hour using a 400 foot diameter.

 

Yep, but the bigger they are, the slower they turn, spinning them faster is actually less efficient. The amount of engineering that goes into modern wind turbines are such that they are quite silent, despite the amount of forces and velocity involved. The blades are usually composite, so arodynamics can be very good.

One thing I like about these machines, is that no one really knows how long they last, since the oldest modern large scale turbines are only 35 years old, and still going strong.

 

i understand OPEC oil prices are 55.00 per barrell. speculators or futures traders are running the price up. i suppose the speculators aim to curb global warming all by them selves. lol

 

Dave: americans are not having big families any more, but the illegals are. the illegal migrant workers all have large families. america has an aging population, its going to be a big problem. my 2 c

 

its 2.96 for off road diesel in virginia beach, and 3.25 for reg diesel.

 

I love living in Nowheresville, tx 87 Octane is 2.65/gal and diesel is 2.85/gal. I guess I shouldn't complain so much.

 

I think you are onto something there. Chances are the canadian dollar is being driven by similar forces. But why would OPEC complain if the price of oil continues to spiral out of control?

I think what Dave was getting at, is that worldwide, poputations are still growing, mainly in the developing world. But in canada, policy makers are planning in the forseeable future that changes in imagration may be needed to compensate for a negative birth rate, and prevent poputation drop, that is being observed in some european countries (which in turn brings economic recession). Not sure what the birth rate in the USA is like.

Has anyone noticed prices in the USA where diesel is lower than gas?????

What about LPG?????

 

ola1234 and Mr. Sponaugle,
I've have been talking about what you voiced for some time now, that is, that the ripple effect of high fuel prices through the rest of the world economies is an unknown. When you combine that with the fact that American consumers are responsible for 75%(!) of the our Gross National Product (GNP), you have to wonder what will happen (in the USA and the world) if these people stop consuming. Although technology will advance and reduce the risk of oil dependency, it will have to happen at a rate that would be hard to accomplish/maintain and still avoid a painful adjustment, in my opinion.

These ideas and those like them point to three very good reasons for us to keep our IDIs, and to keep them running well:
1) We aren't buying new trucks, which conserves huge amounts of natural resources (and reduces consumer debt...which conserves personal resources).
2) They are relatively fuel efficient, especially when combined with their durability.
3) They are simple enough that, come what may, we can keep them running.

 

On topic,

$2.84 a gallon to around $3.10 a gallon all in good ole USD.

Off topic,
I think that there are way too many aspects of the industry to figure what will happen to the price/cost of oil here in the USA. There are tons of internet experts and they mostly disagree.....