Good point jstrong, however it goes further than that. While Prof Bacevich and Juan Cole may be top people on ME relationships (and Juan Cole has been my go-to guy for a decade on that) they have no credibility on US oil production.
Fracking is a failing scam with a depletion rate that is eye-watering. Without massive drilling programmes, there is NO productivity worth having from any of the shale plays. As we will discover as the current low prices drive out the drillers.
Shale oil/tar sands/ tight gas and their relatives are prima facie evidence of the passing of peak oil. Their costs, financial, EROEI and environmental are horrific and the companies doing the work are losing money hand over fist at an accelerating rate, NOT a sign of a developing, growing or sustainable business.
The West, especially the US is trapped in a place where it cannot reduce its consumption without destroying its economy, can't pay the higher costs of tight energy without destroying the economy and can't control what remains of conventional production without destroying the countries from which it produced.
Good point jstrong, however it goes further than that. While Prof Bacevich and Juan Cole may be top people on ME relationships (and Juan Cole has been my go-to guy for a decade on that) they have no credibility on US oil production.
Fracking is a failing scam with a depletion rate that is eye-watering. Without massive drilling programmes, there is NO productivity worth having from any of the shale plays. As we will discover as the current low prices drive out the drillers.
Shale oil/tar sands/ tight gas and their relatives are prima facie evidence of the passing of peak oil. Their costs, financial, EROEI and environmental are horrific and the companies doing the work are losing money hand over fist at an accelerating rate, NOT a sign of a developing, growing or sustainable business.
The West, especially the US is trapped in a place where it cannot reduce its consumption without destroying its economy, can't pay the higher costs of tight energy without destroying the economy and can't control what remains of conventional production without destroying the countries from which it produced.
The future is not merely grim, it s adamantine.