Myths of the Oil Boom

Myths of the Oil Boom PDF Author: Steven A. Yetiv
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190212691
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Get Book

Book Description
"The last decade has seen a far-reaching revolution in the oil industry, both in the US and globally. By some measures, America is on pace to become the world's biggest oil producer in the next decade, an outcome that was inconceivable just a few years ago. But does this shift mean that the US will no longer be beholden to foreign autocrats? That prices will go down for consumers? That the global oil supply is less susceptible to shocks? In The American Oil Boom, Steve A. Yetiv, an award-winning expert on the geopolitics of oil, takes stock of our new era of heightened petroleum production and sets out to demolish both the old myths and misconceptions about oil as well as the new ones that are quickly proliferating. As he explains, increased production in the US will not lead to a reduction in prices, in part because oil is globally traded and OPEC will defend against low prices. America will not intervene less in the Persian Gulf just because it is producing more oil domestically. Saudi Arabia is less willing or able to play global gas pump to the world economy than in the past. Building an electric car industry does not mean that consumers will buy in, but neither is it true that a broad shift toward eco-friendly cars will have very little impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Most importantly, raising the level of domestic production will never solve America's energy and strategic problems, and may even worsen climate change, unless it is accompanied by a serious national and global strategy to decrease oil consumption. These are just some of the myths that Yetiv takes on in this panoramic account. This is not just an exercise in myth-busting, however; it's also a comprehensive overview of the global geopolitics of oil and America's energy future, cross-cutting some of the biggest security and political issues in world affairs. Accessibly written and sharply argued, The American Oil Boom will reframe our understanding of the most politicized commodity in the world"--

Myths of the Oil Boom

Myths of the Oil Boom PDF Author: Steven A. Yetiv
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0190212691
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 273

Get Book

Book Description
"The last decade has seen a far-reaching revolution in the oil industry, both in the US and globally. By some measures, America is on pace to become the world's biggest oil producer in the next decade, an outcome that was inconceivable just a few years ago. But does this shift mean that the US will no longer be beholden to foreign autocrats? That prices will go down for consumers? That the global oil supply is less susceptible to shocks? In The American Oil Boom, Steve A. Yetiv, an award-winning expert on the geopolitics of oil, takes stock of our new era of heightened petroleum production and sets out to demolish both the old myths and misconceptions about oil as well as the new ones that are quickly proliferating. As he explains, increased production in the US will not lead to a reduction in prices, in part because oil is globally traded and OPEC will defend against low prices. America will not intervene less in the Persian Gulf just because it is producing more oil domestically. Saudi Arabia is less willing or able to play global gas pump to the world economy than in the past. Building an electric car industry does not mean that consumers will buy in, but neither is it true that a broad shift toward eco-friendly cars will have very little impact on greenhouse gas emissions. Most importantly, raising the level of domestic production will never solve America's energy and strategic problems, and may even worsen climate change, unless it is accompanied by a serious national and global strategy to decrease oil consumption. These are just some of the myths that Yetiv takes on in this panoramic account. This is not just an exercise in myth-busting, however; it's also a comprehensive overview of the global geopolitics of oil and America's energy future, cross-cutting some of the biggest security and political issues in world affairs. Accessibly written and sharply argued, The American Oil Boom will reframe our understanding of the most politicized commodity in the world"--

The Age of Oil

The Age of Oil PDF Author: Leonardo Maugeri
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313071594
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 362

Get Book

Book Description
Oil is the most vital resource of our time. Because it is so important, misperceptions about the black gold abound. Leonardo Maugeri clears the cobwebs by describing the colorful history of oil, and explaining the fundamentals of oil production. He delivers a unique, fascinating, and controversial perspective on the industry—as only an insider could. The history of the oil market has been marked, since its inception, by a succession of booms and busts, each one leading to a similar psychological climax and flawed political decisions. In a single generation, we've experienced the energy crisis of 1973; the dramatic oil countershock of 1986; the oil collapse of 1998-99 that gave rise to the idea of oil as just another commodity; and the sharp price increases following hurricane Katrina's devastation in the Gulf of Mexico. Today, we are experiencing a global oil boom that, paradoxically, seems to herald a gloomy era of scarcity exacerbated by growing consumption and the threat from Islamic terrorism in the oil-rich Middle East. Maugeri argues that the pessimists are wrong. In the second part of his book, he debunks the main myths surrounding oil in our times, addressing whether we are indeed running out of oil, and the real impact of Islamic radicalism on oil-rich regions. By translating many of the technical concepts of oil productions into terms the average reader can easily grasp, Maugeri answers our questions. Ultimately, he concludes that the wolf is not at the door. We are facing neither a problem of oil scarcity, nor an upcoming oil blackmail by forces hostile to the West. Only bad political decisions driven by a distorted view of current problems (and who is to blame for them) can doom us to a gloomy oil future.

Petrolia

Petrolia PDF Author: Brian Black
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press+ORM
ISBN: 0801874653
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 321

Get Book

Book Description
This award-winning history provides a fascinating look at the Civil War era oil boom in western Pennsylvania and its devastating impact on the region. In Petrolia, Brian Black offers a geographical and social history of a region that was not only the site of America’s first oil boom but was also the world’s largest oil producer between 1859 and 1873. Against the background of the growing demand for petroleum throughout and immediately following the Civil War, Black describes Oil Creek Valley’s descent into environmental hell. Known as “Petrolia,” the region of northwestern Pennsylvania charged the popular imagination with its nearly overnight transition from agriculture to industry. But so unrestrained were these early efforts at oil drilling, Black writes, that “the landscape came to be viewed only as an instrument out of which one could extract crude.” In a very short time, Petrolia was a ruined place—environmentally, economically, and to some extent even culturally. Black gives historical detail and analysis to account for this transformation. Winner of the Paul H. Giddens Prize in Oil History from Oil Heritage Region, Inc.

Crude Volatility

Crude Volatility PDF Author: Robert McNally
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231543689
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Get Book

Book Description
As OPEC has loosened its grip over the past ten years, the oil market has been rocked by wild price swings, the likes of which haven't been seen for eight decades. Crafting an engrossing journey from the gushing Pennsylvania oil fields of the 1860s to today's fraught and fractious Middle East, Crude Volatility explains how past periods of stability and volatility in oil prices help us understand the new boom-bust era. Oil's notorious volatility has always been considered a scourge afflicting not only the oil industry but also the broader economy and geopolitical landscape; Robert McNally makes sense of how oil became so central to our world and why it is subject to such extreme price fluctuations. Tracing a history marked by conflict, intrigue, and extreme uncertainty, McNally shows how—even from the oil industry's first years—wild and harmful price volatility prompted industry leaders and officials to undertake extraordinary efforts to stabilize oil prices by controlling production. Herculean market interventions—first, by Rockefeller's Standard Oil, then, by U.S. state regulators in partnership with major international oil companies, and, finally, by OPEC—succeeded to varying degrees in taming the beast. McNally, a veteran oil market and policy expert, explains the consequences of the ebbing of OPEC's power, debunking myths and offering recommendations—including mistakes to avoid—as we confront the unwelcome return of boom and bust oil prices.

Boom or Bust

Boom or Bust PDF Author: Sheena B. Stief
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806169982
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 221

Get Book

Book Description
A vast number of studies have documented the economic and geological effects of oil production, but the impact of boom-and-bust cycles on individuals and communities has received less attention. Boom or Bust remedies this gap by highlighting the personal experiences of those directly affected in an economy dominated by oil and natural gas production. The Permian Basin is one of the largest oil-producing regions in the United States. People who live there have benefited from explosive growth, only to see opportunities vanish with sudden industry downturns. In 2016, the National Endowment for the Humanities funded a grant for the study and collection of energy narratives in this economically volatile region. Boom or Bust derives from that community initiative and offers a unique contribution to the developing field of energy humanities. The oil-field industry may seem to be all about numbers, but as Boom or Bust demonstrates, residents of oil-and-gas country, whether they work in the oil field or not, are at the mercy of an ever-shifting economy. When the price of oil rises, companies move in and newcomers flood the area, expanding the employment force. And as the population booms, so does the infrastructure of cities. When prices drop, though, families must make difficult choices: whether to stay put or follow the oil to another location. With the ensuing declines in population, small businesses close their doors and unemployment levels rise. Despite the inevitable declines and despite the increase in alternative energy resources, many West Texans feel a sense of pride that borders on patriotism. Boom or Bust reveals the full complexity of boomtown culture.

Crude Reality

Crude Reality PDF Author: Brian C. Black
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 1442216115
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Get Book

Book Description
This concise, accessible introduction to the history of oil tells the story of how petroleum shaped human life since it was first discovered leaking inconspicuously from the soil. Leading environmental history specialist Brian C. Black connects the subsequent exploitation of petroleum to patterns in world history while tracing the intricate links between energy and people after 1850. Today, we see the disastrous results of environmental degradation, political instability, and world economic disparity in the waning years of a petroleum-powered civilization—lessons rooted in the finite nature of oil. This “crude reality” becomes tragic when we measure our overwhelming reliance on this geological ooze. Black brings to this book a global perspective and a wide-ranging technical knowledge presented specifically for general readers, making its scope much broader than any of the other surveys. Written by a major scholar on the history of petroleum, it is an essential contribution to environmental history and the rapidly emerging field of energy history.

Myth, Oil, and Politics

Myth, Oil, and Politics PDF Author: Charles F. Doran
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Get Book

Book Description


Shale Boom, Shale Bust

Shale Boom, Shale Bust PDF Author: Dan Dicker
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780996489706
Category : Commodity futures
Languages : en
Pages : 124

Get Book

Book Description
Just about everyone has heard something about the 'revolution' in shale oil. Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of rock formations unique to the United States offers the promise of cheap and abundant energy, terrific economic growth and jobs - lots of jobs. But in 2014, something went terribly wrong with this rosy scenario of "Saudi America": A unexpected collapse in the price of oil that's bankrupting the oil patch, destroying jobs and threatening any plans of a renewable energy future. What happened? Why has this miracle 'revolution' generated so many losers and so few winners? Why isn't the United States any closer to energy independence than it was before oil from shale was even imagined? What can be done to put the markets and the industry right so that shale can deliver on even some of what's been promised?

The Oil Wars Myth

The Oil Wars Myth PDF Author: Emily Meierding
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501748955
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book

Book Description
Do countries fight wars for oil? Given the resource's exceptional military and economic importance, most people assume that states will do anything to obtain it. Challenging this conventional wisdom, The Oil Wars Myth reveals that countries do not launch major conflicts to acquire petroleum resources. Emily Meierding argues that the costs of foreign invasion, territorial occupation, international retaliation, and damage to oil company relations deter even the most powerful countries from initiating "classic oil wars." Examining a century of interstate violence, she demonstrates that, at most, countries have engaged in mild sparring to advance their petroleum ambitions. The Oil Wars Myth elaborates on these findings by reassessing the presumed oil motives for many of the twentieth century's most prominent international conflicts: World War II, the two American Gulf wars, the Iran–Iraq War, the Falklands/Malvinas War, and the Chaco War. These case studies show that countries have consistently refrained from fighting for oil. Meierding also explains why oil war assumptions are so common, despite the lack of supporting evidence. Since classic oil wars exist at the intersection of need and greed—two popular explanations for resource grabs—they are unusually easy to believe in. The Oil Wars Myth will engage and inform anyone interested in oil, war, and the narratives that connect them.

Black Gold Stranglehold

Black Gold Stranglehold PDF Author: Jerome R. Corsi
Publisher: Post Hill Press
ISBN: 1637580517
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Get Book

Book Description
It is estimated that Americans consume more than 25 percent of the world's oil but have control over less than 3 percent of its proven supply. This extremely unbalanced pattern of consumption makes it possible for foreign governments, corrupt political leaders, terrorist organizations, and oil conglomerates to place the citizens of the United States in a stranglehold of supply and demand. There is no greater proof of this than the direct relationship between skyrocketing gas prices and the exploding wealth of those who control the supply of oil. In Black Gold Stranglehold, Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith expose the fraudulent science that has been sold to the American people in order to enslave them: the belief that oil is a fossil fuel and a finite resource. On the contrary, this book presents authoritative research, currently known mostly in the scientific community, that oil is not a product of decaying dinosaurs and prehistoric forests. Rather, it is a natural product of the earth. The scientific evidence cited by Corsi and Smith suggests that oil is constantly being produced by the earth, far below the planet's surface, and that it is brought to attainable depths by the centrifugal forces of the earth's rotation. In great detail Corsi and Smith explore the international and domestic politics of oil production and consumption. This includes the wealth and power of major oil conglomerates, the manipulation of world economies by oil-producing states and rogue terrorist regimes, and the political agenda of radical environmentalists and conservationists who obstruct the use of oil reserves currently controlled by the U.S. government. The authors offer an understanding of the dangerous situation America faces because its currency is no longer tied to any precious and truly scarce metals such as gold, as it was until 1973. This situation could easily lead to the devastation of the U.S. economy if Middle Eastern countries are able to enact current plans to accept only the Euro or gold-backed currencies such as the Gold Dinar instead of the U.S. dollar as the standard currency for oil. Black Gold Stranglehold will dramatically change the debate about oil. The significance of its message is sure to cause thoughtful people to reconsider the current dependence of the U.S. economy on imported oil.