Stacy Summary: Dang, where else can you find such consistently amazing information and thought-provoking ideas!? My primary question to you the viewer regarding this interview with Chris Cook is – do you agree with his analysis regarding oil prices and his prediction that they will collapse in the second half of the year?
More Stacy: On top of the issues raised by Chris Cook, we have the matter of peak oil and the resource wars it inspires. Everywhere you look around the world, you see the evidence – from double digit output declines from the UK, Norway, Mexico and others. Despite the record high prices, none seem able to increase production. Then you have this:
To recap the problem, two of the nine East Coast refineries with a capacity of 363,000 barrels a day (b/d) have recently been closed down. Sunoco which owns a large Philadelphia area refinery (with a capacity of 335,000 b/d) is seeking a buyer and says it will close the refinery in July unless one can be found. These three refineries comprised 50 percent of the East Coast refining capacity as of last summer. Interestingly, the Sunoco’s Philadelphia is the oldest continuously operating refinery in the world having been established in the 1860s. The company says the price of imported crude which costs refiners roughly the going rate in London, plus about $2 a barrel for shipping, simply makes refining along the East Coast unprofitable. Continue reading