The new golden age of oil?

[alib]

In FP Can we survive the new golden age of oil? By Steve LeVine

Just months after an enormous discovery of natural gas off the coast of Israel, a local company has reported another potentially big strike -- an estimated 1.4 billion barrels of oil, in addition to more natural gas. The company, Israel Opportunity Energy Resources, says it will start drilling by the end of the year. All of a sudden, Israel has found itself a focus of the world's hydrocarbon interest.

Energy experts are tittering about a prodigious new golden age of oil and gas in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Israel and Cyprus could become substantial oil and natural gas exporters, in addition to some other surprising places including French Guiana, Kenya, North Dakota, and Somalia. All in all, say increasingly mainstream projections, the world is moving into a period of petroleum abundance, and not the scarcity that most industry hands embraced just months ago. Plus, the United States, or at least North America, may be on the cusp of energy independence while OPEC's days of über-influence are numbered.

What these experts have not said, however, is that while this new golden age may indeed shake up the currently rich and powerful and create new regional forces, it could also accelerate the swamping of the planet in melted Arctic ice. So much new oil may flood the market that crude and gasoline prices might moderate and lessen consumer incentives to economize. "In the absence of U.S. leadership, I tend to agree with NASA's James Hansen that it is 'game over for the planet,'" Peter Rutland, a professor at Wesleyan University, told me in an email exchange.
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Which is nice.

[sunami]

No doubt Argentina will sue.

[jarrod248]

I'm sure Kirkz has shares in that company.

[Steven]

So end of civilisation due to running out of oil put off for another 15-20 years then?

Good Oh as I will be well dead before we run out it seems. Time to buy that 4x4 after all.

[2/51]

Another Israel/Arab war on the horizon?

[theoriginalphantom]

So end of civilisation due to running out of oil put off for another 15-20 years then?

.

So back to zombie apocalypse being the biggest threat to the world then, that's good cos I don't want to be suffering from a mad max style existence.

[BONNACON]

Price of petrol will come down. Obviously.....

[scribes]

Price of petrol will come down. Obviously.....

Just in time for them to put it back up again because the Middle East Crisis will move to the Eastern Med

[brettarider]

So back to zombie apocalypse being the biggest threat to the world then, that's good cos I don't want to be suffering from a mad max style existence.

You live in England so you already do.

[alib]

It's going to get very embarrassing if the Greeks strike a big one and we all have to be nice to them.