Links tagged “oil”

Climate Depot founder Marc Morano called the North Face incident "a prime example of a company pandering to the corporate woke trend." "If North Face wants to prove their stance is more than virtue signaling, they should refuse to sell their clothing to any customers who are employed in any fossil fuel company," Morano told the Times. "Or how about refusing to sell to any customers who used fossil fuels to travel to and from their stores? If not, why not?"

Morano asked some great questions, but don't wait for answers from North Face. The fact is, the company depends upon the very fossil fuels it purports to abhor, not only to make its products but also in connection with the industries and activities it depends on to propel its growth.

Americans should realize that oil and gas account for 70% of our energy supply. The reality is that blocking pipelines and development does nothing to lower demand, it just makes getting access to these irreplaceable products more difficult - and more costly. Oil in particular has no material substitute, with still niche market electric cars being far more expensive and much less convenient. In addition, oil and gas revenues offer states billions of dollars to pay for schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and other critical infrastructure - explaining why "blue state" New Mexico might already be fraught with buyer's remorse.  

Not just easily the world's largest oil and gas producer, the U.S. is quickly becoming a major exporter of these essentials, rivaling Russia and Saudi Arabia for oil and Russia, Qatar, and Australia for natural gas. Even though global oil demand fell 8% in 2020 through the pandemic to ~92 million b/d, U.S. oil exports stayed the course and remained much stronger than one might suspect (Figure). Demand this year should increase to 97 million b/d as travel normalizes, with still the potential to rise to 109 million b/d by 2040. There is simply no evidence that global oil demand is in structural decline: "Goldman Expects Oil Demand To Rebound To 100 Million Bpd By August."