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Strategies & Market Trends : 2026 TeoTwawKi ... 2032 Darkest Interregnum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maurice Winn who wrote (9169)	9/11/2006 11:20:01 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 219500

Big oil says reserves are plentiful. Rubbished claims the planet is running out of oil, saying barely one-quarter of reserves have been used up in the past century. As ethanol start to bite: "ExxonMobil is not opposed to the use of ethanol in petrol where this is commercially viable and is acceptable to consumers. "However, we are strongly of the view that, with the assistance that it has already been given, the ethanol industry should now be prepared to compete with other fuels on a level playing field." Big oil says reserves are plentiful Verity Edwards September 12, 2006 THE world's biggest oil company has rubbished claims the planet is running out of oil, saying barely one-quarter of reserves have been used up in the past century. ExxonMobil Australia chief executive Mark Nolan said the theory that oil supplies had peaked and would dwindle over the next 20 years was of "no value", having surfaced regularly since the 1920s during times of high oil prices. "The fact is that the world has an abundance of oil and there is little question scientifically that abundant energy resources exist," Mr Nolan said yesterday. "According to the US Geological Survey, the earth currently has more than three trillion barrels of conventional recoverable oil resources. So far, we have produced one trillion of that." Mr Nolan said conservative estimates of alternative oil sources, such as so-called heavy oil and shale oil, would probably push the total recoverable resource to more than four trillion barrels. The oil industry and society had "underestimated" the global resource base and the ability of technology to extend the life of oil and gas fields. "We should not forget that we can recover almost twice as much oil today as when we first discovered it over 100 years ago," he said. "And when you consider that a further 10 per cent increase in recoverability will deliver an extra 800 billion barrels of oil to our recoverable total, we have reason to be sure that the end of oil is nowhere in sight." In Australia, petrol prices are tipped to fall below $1.20 in most capital cities in coming weeks, and as low as $1 early next year, as crude oil prices slide to a five-month low of less than $US66 a barrel. Analysts believe the commodities boom is beginning to lose momentum. They cite easing political tensions in the Middle East, concerns about the health of the US economy and strong supplies as reasons for the fall in key commodity prices. "The mega-run for commodities has run its course," said Morgan Stanley chief economist Stephen Roach. However, there were signs yesterday that some service stations might defy falling wholesale prices, with Coles hiking petrol prices by 11.4c a litre to 129.9c at its Coles Express outlets in Western Australia. Coles and Woolworths control 60-65 per cent of petrol sales in most states. West Australian Motor Traders Association executive director Peter Fitzpatrick said the Coles Express move was an example of the increasing power of the supermarket chains. "With the supermarket chains having such a big proportion of the petrol market, there's no doubt they are using this to maintain profit levels," he said. Mr Nolan said despite an increase in emerging and alternative energies, the world would continue to rely on fossil fuels. "In our estimation, if you go out to 2030, fossil fuels - that is, coal, oil and gas - will be supplying about 80 per cent of the world's energy," he said. "Even though those smaller providers of energy, such as solar and wind, will have rapid increases, our view is that they'll be less than 1 per cent of the mix out in 2030." Mr Nolan also questioned the benefits of using ethanol in fuel, given the energy needed to "plough the field, sow the sugar cane, wheat or corn crop, harvest the produce, transport it to the ethanol plant and run the ethanol plant". "ExxonMobil is not opposed to the use of ethanol in petrol where this is commercially viable and is acceptable to consumers. "However, we are strongly of the view that, with the assistance that it has already been given, the ethanol industry should now be prepared to compete with other fuels on a level playing field." Additional reporting: Nigel Wilson