Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Chevron's response to peak oil

Chevron has published an interactive website to address the issues of peak oil: demand, population, supply, geopolitics and environment. It provides a brief overview of each issue, complete with footnotes, and then invites the public to join the discussion--the URL is "willyoujoinus.com."

They are straightforward about the realities of demand outstripping supply. In their "population" section, they write:


At 6.4 billion and climbing, the world’s population is expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050. Yet our known fossil fuel reserves are in decline, and alternative energy sources are not expanding rapidly enough to meet future demand.

Under "demand," they explain:

By 2020, some experts predict the world’s energy consumption will be 40% higher than it is today. Efficiency, improvements, and conservation are part of the solution, but will not, in themselves, meet the need for more energy.

...It is in the interests of all stakeholders—energy producers, industrial users, governments and consumers—to make the energy sources we have go as far as they can go.
I have to admit the cynic in me is wondering "what's the catch? Is there another agenda?" It may be the inference we can make from the "geopolitics" section. They write:

Meeting the energy demands of the world continues to be a tremendous ongoing challenge. Oil and gas are located in complex geopolitical environments.

...Maintaining a stable and open business environment will be a key factor in attracting the kinds of long-term investments that are necessary.

...A stable social, political and business environment is essential for attracting long-term investments. That means a reliable legal framework that recognizes the rule of law and respects contracts—which in turn leads to predictability and security. Revenue transparency is necessary to reduce the occurrence of corruption and abuse. And the basic needs of the local people must be met to provide a reliable work force, supply chain and market for products.

So my question is how do they expect this to be maintained? Is this the justification for military invasion and occupation--to allegedly provide stability?

Nevertheless, my hat is off to Chevron for its commitment to raising awareness about the issues and inviting open discussion about them. As of this writing they had eight replies, and at least one of them was directly critical of their policies. I encourage you to join the discussion.

Thanks, Derek, for the link!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

exxon knows they are in trouble and this new website is the ole "bait and switch" tactic... you know, "if you can't beat 'em, join "em.


"Oil and gas are located in complex geopolitical environments."

that'a a flowery way for saying 65% of the known reserves are located in lands where people hate us... and that's not counting venesuela.

"...A stable social, political and business environment is essential for attracting long-term investments."

this morning london got hammered. tony blair called it a "brutal attack". tony blair singlehandedly put his country in the gun sites when he committed his country to the attack on iraq.

from the point of view of the land of oil that was a "brutal attack"!!

from my point of view tony blair is responsible for what happened to his people this morning! when you go to overpower another you take whatever retaliation comes your way.

"That means a reliable legal framework that recognizes the rule of law and respects contracts—which in turn leads to predictability and security."

good ole exxon don't really expect us to believe this statement do they??

sadly, there are far too many of us who would agree with it in the face of an "opposition" operating from their interpretation of the very same thing.

logan

Liz Logan said...

points well taken... both of y'all...

Liz Logan said...

Since I posted this link to Energy Bulletin yesterday there's been some attention in the sustainable blogosphere. Matt Savinar did a bit of digging and discovered who is doing the Chevron campaign. Does "Be...all that you can be" ring a bell? Creepy...

http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net//BreakingNews.html