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There are other sources of crude oil that could be developed preferentially over heavy crude. These include shale oil, which is rapidly increasing production in North America, the low-cost resources in Iraq and Brazilian pre-salt discoveries. Because costs are so important, this outlook presents cost data in detail for Canadian oil Sands and for the Orinoco Belt in Venezuela, the two most important sources of incremental non-conventional heavy crude production. Costs were also compiled for shale oil, Brazilian pre-salt developments, and Middle Eastern heavy and mediumheavy oil developments which are representative of the costs in the region.

Country     Projects     Initial Investment (US$ Million)     Initial Reserves (Million Barrels) $ per barrel

Canada     Oil Sands Average     3,731     578     8.10
Venezuela     Orinoco Belt Average     14,932     1,207     14.94
Congo     Tchikatanga-Makolas     4,290     150     28.60
United States     Nikaitchuq Offshore Alaska     2,000     220     9.09
U.K. North Sea     Mariner and Bressay     10,700     600     17.83
Iran     South Azadegan     2,000     1,640     1.22
Saudi Arabia     Manifa     11,000     10,000     1.10
Brazil     Papa Terra     5,200     380     13.68
Brazil     Pre-Salt     250,000     14,300     17.48
United States     Shale Oil Wells Average     7.61     0.525     14.49

Source: Hart Energy complied from operating company information

The initial investment, estimated reserves and the cost in US$ per barrel of reserves are tabulated for selected projects in Table I.1. The first three are non-conventional bitumen and extra-heavy crude developments; for the Canadian and Venezuelan projects, the costs are the average of the projects analyzed in this report. The next six are conventional heavy oil projects by definition but, with the exception of the two Middle Eastern projects, are located offshore in deep water or in harsh environments. The last two are light oil. The Brazilian pre-salt reservoirs are located in over 7,000 feet of water and another 16,000 to 17,000 feet below the seabed. Shale oil is a non-conventional source that is rapidly increasing supplies in North America. Such resources are located in every region of the world and appear to be cost competitive with other non-conventional sources.

As Table I.1 indicates, non-conventional extra-heavy oil and bitumen in Venezuela and Canada are no more costly than pre-salt oil and shale oil. The project in Congo is more costly because of the remote location and lack of infrastructure. The offshore conventional heavy oil developments in the North Sea and Brazil cost more but are still competitive. Thus, cost alone will not defer heavy oil development. Other factors such as external energy and water use, with the associated environmental impacts, could serve to deter investment in heavy oil in some parts of the world. However, the primary factor in whether heavy oil is developed at the pace suggested in the longterm outlook of this report will depend on how fast oil demand continues to grow, the oil price and how fast new light oil sources, such as Iraq and the Brazilian pre-salt developments, come online.

The volume of heavy oil entering the export market increases to 4.5 million b/d by 2015 and declines thereafter in the short- and medium-term project scenario as more producing countries increase heavy oil processing capacity. The heavy crude on the export market decreases to 4.3 million b/d by 2020 and 3.3 million b/d by 2030. In the long-term scenario, heavy crude entering the export market continues to increase, despite growing domestic processing capacity in producing countries, reaching 6.0 million b/d by 2025 and remaining at approximately that level through 2035.

In her speech yesterday, Michelle Obama talked in personal terms about her own and President Obama’s modest upbringings. She discussed her own father’s struggles as a pump operator to put her through school and Obama’s grandmother and single mother, who suffered pay discrimination. She talked about how student loans enabled both Obamas to eventually enjoy lucrative careers.

“When it comes to rebuilding our economy, Barack is thinking about folks like my dad and like his grandmother,” Ms. Obama said.

This biographical detail has been widely interpreted as an effort to forge an emotional bond with working and middle class Americans — a reminder that the Obamas have experienced what they have, while the Romney’s haven’t.

But it’s also worth noting that the implicit biographical contrast Ms. Obama drew here is directly relevant to one of the central policy disputes of this campaign — the argument over how best to create opportunity and shared prosperity.

How should we rebuild our economy to create opportunity for those who lack it? The two candidates have starkly different answers to this question. Romney believes the best way to promote opportunity is to unshackle the free market, which will enable people to realize their potential and shower everyone with prosperity. His running mate’s fiscal vision entails deep cuts to education and financial aid for students. Romney has counseled struggling students to shop around and borrow money from their parents. Obama derides this as “you’re on your own economics” and says recent history has shown this to be a sham.

Obama, meanwhile, is arguing for a larger governmental role in facilitating opportunity, through more investment in education and financial aid and other judicious government intervention in the economy. Romney derides this as favoring government-enforced “equal outcomes” and claims Obama’s argument for government support is demeaning of individual initiative as a factor in people’s success.

Romney cites his own success as proof of what the private sector can shower on people if only we allow it to. Obama, too, has cited himself as the type of person who needed assistance in order to fully realize his potential; Ms. Obama’s speech fleshed that out last night. In other words, both cite their own successes in making the case for how to make the economy work for everyone. But the key difference is that Romney went on to enormous success after growing up amid far more comfortable circumstances than the Obamas did.

Michelle Obama’s speech wasn’t just about emotionally connecting with the middle class. It was about driving home that she and Barack have lived through some of the same life experiences as the people who are at the center of the campaign’s policy dispute over how to promote social mobility, shared prosperity, and economic security.

This isn’t to detract in any way from Romney’s achievements; he seems to be an extremely hard worker with a great deal of self-discipline. Rather, the point is that if both are going to cite their own stories as proof that their vision is the best way to promote opportunity and mobility for those who lack it, the Obamas have a far more relevant tale to tell.

Charles Krauthammer: Her whole task was to say why. And her answer was, “Why? Because essentially he's a saint.” Because of his upbringing and because of his emotions and because of his humanity. He does of this because he cares. And the brilliance of it is this: It drained Obama of any, either, ideological motivation, or any having to do with self interest or ambition, which I think is sort of a more plausible explanation.

He's a man highly who is liked and highly ideological. A man of the left who sees the role of the government as ordering, the reorderering, of society in a way to make it more just, as he understands it . And also, extremely ambitious. A self made man who makes himself out of nothing, rises out of nowhere. But all of that, in her telling, doesn’t even exist. The only reason he does what he does, he cares about women, he cares about immigrants, he cares about the poor. He cares about the unemployed. He cares, he cares, he cares.

She told the story of a Gandhi. And, you know, looking at the scene, looking at how he's conducted himself in the presidency and particularly in the campaign, with ruthlessness and determination and drive, it’s not quite a plausible story. I’m sure in the arena, it was a plausible story. I saw the tears, but I’m afraid, I thought it was a great speech, but I didn't buy a line of it.

The World Coal Association does not provide information on coal pricing. We are unable to supply pricing information, market forecasts or advice on where to buy and sell coal because of our ‘Competition and Compliance’ guidelines. Please direct enquiries on these areas to the companies and organisations listed at the bottom of this page. WCA will not respond to any enquires on these areas.

In countries with energy intensive industries, the impact of fuel and electricity price increases is compounded. High prices can lead to a loss of competitive advantage and in prolonged cases, loss of the industry altogether.

Countries with access to indigenous energy supplies, or to affordable fuels from a well-supplied world market, can avoid many of these negative impacts, enabling further economic development and growth.

"Coal News and Markets Report" summarizes spot coal prices by coal commodity regions (i.e., Central Appalachia (CAP), Northern Appalachia (NAP), Illinois Basin (ILB), Powder River Basin (PRB), and Uinta Basin (UIB)) in the United States. 

The report includes data on average weekly coal commodity spot prices, total monthly coal production, eastern monthly coal production, and average cost of metallurgical coal at coke plants and export docks. The historical data for coal commodity spot market prices are proprietary and not available for public release.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke repeated that the job market is still far from healthy after signs of economic improvement over the past year, and he called on lawmakers to reduce the long-term budget deficit.

When Bernanke testifies to the Senate Budget Committee, economists expect no shifts in the Fed's efforts to bolster the recovery. They say Bernanke's tone might be slightly more upbeat than when he spoke Thursday to House members. But they expect him to reiterate the Fed's plan to keep a key interest rate at a record low near zero until at least late 2014.

The super-low rates are meant to encourage consumers and businesses to borrow and spend and further strengthen the economy.

Analysts also expect Bernanke to hold out the possibility that the Fed might launch another round of bond purchases later this year if the economy needs more support. Such purchases are intended to further drive down long-term rates....READ MORE

Benchmark crude-oil futures declined in electronic trading Monday but held above $101 a barrel, in line with broad selling across commodity and equity markets.

Oil fell for a third day in New York as bets that Europe's debt crisis will worsen and curb fuel demand countered concern that tension with Iran may disrupt Middle East crude exports.

Futures declined as much as 0.5 per cent before German and French leaders meet in Berlin today as they seek to craft a plan for rescuing the euro over the next three months. The US will act to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Iran blocks the channel, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said in an interview on the CBS "Face the Nation" program yesterday. Brent oil's premium to West Texas Intermediate crude rose to the highest in almost two months.

"It's a matter of two factors for the market," said Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. "We have concerns about potentially significantly reduced economic activity emanating from Europe, and Iran. Any potential disruptions have to be taken seriously because it won't take much to put us into a supply problem."...READ RESOURCES

Bullion banks remain positive on Gold for 2012 with major banks predicting an average gold price of between 13% and 28% above today’s spot at $1,595/oz. It will be interesting to see if these forecasts get as much international media coverage as the poll of 20 hedge fund managers has.

UBS have reiterated their bullish outlook for gold and believe gold will average $2,050/oz in 2012. This is 28% above today’s spot price of $1595/oz.

Goldman Sachs said overnight that gold will average $1,810/oz in 2012 – which is 13% above today’s spot price.

Barclays Capital have said this morning that gold will average $2,000/oz in 2012 – which is 25% above today’s spot price.

Gold will move higher due to “structural pillars of support” in an environment of negative real interest rates and rising inflationary pressures, as well as continued central bank buying. Given the risks posed to the Eurozone and indeed the UK, Gold priced in sterling and euros should experience similar gains - if not more.

The ECB’s Draghi’s warning regarding a Eurozone break up, currency devaluations and the risk of a “big inflation” is a reminder that the price of gold should be considered not solely in dollar terms but also in other currencies –especially were the European single currency to become less single.

Rehypothecation and the serious risks that a massive period of deleveraging poses to the global financial and economic system is likely to be a very important factor in 2012 which will Lead to heightened volatility but is another positive for gold prices in the long term....READ MORE

Rare earth minerals may be the most important, let least understood factor in America’s transition to a low-carbon, clean-tech future. They’re essential to virtually every source of renewable energy and consumer technology we use today.

But China dominates worldwide rare earth supplies and production, and their monopoly could corner the world economy. energyNOW! chief correspondent Tyler Suiters explores how U.S. dependence on China’s rare earths could affect our energy future and high-tech lifestyles. The full video is available below:

Americans are used to seeing the words “Made in China” on most things we buy, but could they soon also read “Mined in China?” The nation controls 97 percent of global production of the elements we rely upon in every aspect of modern life. Consider the technologies requiring rare earths: computers, smart phones, military jets, rocket systems, electric cars, wind turbines, energy-efficient light bulbs, and flat-screen televisions, to name a few.

China’s claim on the rare earths market began in the 1980’s. Premier Deng Xioping famously quipped “the Middle East has oil, but China has rare earths,” and the country ramped up mining efforts. This drove production costs down so sharply that rare earth mining became unprofitable in other countries, including the U.S., which had led global production since the 1960s. It also boosted China’s economy.

“They were very effectively using their control over the rare earth industry to force high-tech manufacturing into China,” said John Burba, CTO of Molycorp, operator of the only active rare earths mine in America. “I could look and see how fast it was leaving the United States.”

Molycorp hopes to counter China’s rare earths monopoly through its Mountain Pass mine in California. Until the 1980s, Mountain Pass was the single top producing rare earths mine in the world. Plunging commodity prices and a series of environmental accidents forced it to close.

Through a revamped approach that favors computer control and automation, Molycorp says it can safely produce 40,000 tons of rare earths a year by 2013 – equal to all U.S. demand. “A facility of this size in China would probably require 3,000 to 4,000 people,” said Mark Smith, Molycorp CEO. “We’ll have 300 or 400.”

Meeting that demand is critical to the burgeoning clean tech economy, which consumes 20 percent of the world’s rare earths. They coat the inside of compact fluorescent light bulbs, go into the magnets that turn electric vehicle batteries, and power the electrical generators inside wind turbines. For context, some of the biggest turbines can each use two tons of rare earths.

If production can’t be increased, another solution may be to find replacements. Companies with a big stake in renewables are actively looking for rare earth substitutes. General Electric says it has developed a higher-performance wind turbine magnetizer coil, completely free of rare earths, and Toyota is working on an EV motor that doesn’t need rare earths at all. But, both are still in the experimental phase and not yet market-ready.

So while breaking up the rare earths monopoly has environmental consequences, it also represents an economic imperative – and the window is closing. “The big danger is that China totally controls the production of all devices containing rare earths,” said Jack Lifton, of Technology Metals Research. “If we haven’t made any significant moves by 2015, we will simply no longer be a nation with any hope of doing so.”...READ MORE

Dated Brent averaged $79.50 per barrel in 2010 an increase of 29% from 2009

Other benchmark crudes registered similar declines. OPEC production restraint helped to push prices higher late in the year, with prices reaching a peak near $94 at year-end.

The key crudes quoted are Brent, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), Nigerian Focados and Dubai in US$ per barrel.

Rotterdam & US Gulf Coast prices for gasoline, gas oil and heavy fuel oil are included in US dollars per barrel For data whose source is Platts, the redistribution and reproduction of this data is strictly prohibited without prior authorization from Platts....READ MORE

Non-OECD demand rose by 2.2 Mb/d – the highest annual growth on record in volumetric terms – just slightly outpacing the growth seen in 2004. Growth remained robust in China and the Middle East with Chinese consumption growing by 860,000 b/d or 10.4%. OECD oil consumption rose by 480 Kb/d – making 2010 the first year of annual OECD growth since 2005. Despite the increase, consumption in 2010 was still 3.6 Mb/d below the peak in 2005.

The data series for proved oil and gas reserves in this years Review does not necessarily meet the definitions, guidelines and practices used for determining proved reserves at company level, for instance, under accounting rules contained in the Statement of Recommended Practice. 'Accounting for Oil and Gas Exploration, Development, Production and Decommissioning Activities' (UK SORP) or as published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission nor does it necessarily represent BP's view of proved reserves by country. Rather the data series has been compiled using a combination of primary official sources and third-party data. Canadian proved reserves include an official estimate of 26.5 billion barrels for oil sands 'under active development'. Venezuelan reserves are taken from the OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin, that noted in 2008 that the figure included proven reserves of the Magna Reserve Project in the Orinoco Belt, which amounted to 94,168mb.

Reserves include gas condensate and natural gas liquids (NGLs) as well as crude oil.

We have provided a detailed explanatory note on reserves clarifying current definitions and terminology.

R/P ratios represent the length of time that those remaining reserves would last if production were to continue at the previous year's rate. It is calculated by dividing remaining reserves at the end of the year by the production in that year.

Reserves-to-production (R/P) ratios are available by country and feature in the table of oil reserves. R/P ratios fror the region and the world are depicted in the chart above and the Energy charting tool.

There is a time series of crude oil reserves, which can be found in the Excel workbook. Data are measured in thousand million barrels. ...READ MORE

We hope that sharing this outlook contributes to the wider debate on global energy issues. It identifies long-term energy trends, building on our Statistical Review of World Energy, and then develops projections for world energy markets to 2030, taking account of the potential evolution of the world economy, policy, and technology.

The outlook’s ‘base case’ reflects a ‘to the best of our knowledge’ assessment of the world’s likely path from today’s vantage point, drawing on expertise both within and outside the company. It is not a statement about how we would like the market to evolve.

The outlook highlights the central role markets and well-designed policy can play to meet the dual challenge of solving the energy needs of billions of people who aspire to better lifestyles, and doing so in a way that is sustainable and secure. It also highlights potential alternative outcomes, underlining the uncertainties attached to any long term projection. The discipline of building a numerical projection sharpens our thinking, but we believe the precise numbers are less important than the underlying story of the challenges we all face and the choices we make in producing and consuming energy. ...READ ALL HERE