May 24, 2004

Global proven reserves?

The Politburo Diktat comments on the recent National Geographic article on the "End of Cheap Oiiiilll" bq. National Geographic warns plutocrat, SUV-driving, oil-swilling swine Capitalists that "the vital fuel will become scarce and expensive." Lengthy article on demise of oil, written in NatGeo's standard in medias res style. bq. Article has very interesting map of proven oil reserves, on NatGeo website, but better presented in paper magazine. (When will Commissar's house collapse from weight of accumulated NatGeos?). Overlaid on black outline map of world, are squares representing proven reserves, in billions of barrels, totalling just over 1 trillion barrels, or 1,000,000,000,000, or 1,000 billion, however you express it. Unsurprisingly, Saudi "Riyadh Delenda Est" Arabia leads with 261 billion barrels, then Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and UAE, with 100+ billion each. Outside of the Middle East, Venezuela with 78 billion and Russia with 60 billion loom large. Overall, global proven reserves, as of 2004, amount to 1,000 billion barrels. bq. Praise to Comrade Stalin, the Commissar has a 1968 copy of Oxford Economic Atlas of the World. One of Commissar's favorite books. It provides unchanging historical facts, not subject to Memory Hole, MiniTruth spin, or other problems of transitory digital age. bq. How many barrels of proven reserves of oil in 1968? Any comrade care to guess? We have been using lots of oil in past 36 years since 1968. Israeli tanks alone, in their "brutal, illegal, immoral, occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people" must have used at least 100 billion barrels. How much oil did world have in 1968? bq. Heh. Indeed. 453 billion barrels. Der Commissar goes on: bq. Nyet, is not mis-print, nor confusion by Commissar. Is correct. 453 billion barrels in 1968. World has used much since, And NOW we have 1,000 billion barrels. Nyet, oil has not been created. bq. Key phrase is "proven reserves," which precisely means oil "recoverable by existing technologies at today's prices." At today's prices? What Capitalist propaganda is that? Oil is oil. When pumped out, like emptying bathtub, is gone, all gone. Da? bq. Nyet. When price goes up, oil companies dig a little deeper, can afford to invest a little more, use better equipment. DA! When price goes up, like black magic, proven reserves increase. Like squeezing sponge; you squeeze harder, more liquid comes out. As one of the commenters said -- sounds suspiciously like "Supply and Demand" Posted by DaveH at May 24, 2004 11:10 PM