“Mark Miller, the Libertarian Party candidate, has been endorsed by four major Texas newspapers. His campaign focuses on responsible fracking procedures, rights of surface property owners in drilling areas, and the need to rename the commission to the Texas Oil and Gas Commission.”
The misnamed Texas Railroad Commission (TRC), which actually regulates crude oil and natural gas production, may soon encounter significant change. Dr. Mark Miller, a Stanford University petroleum engineering PhD, former University of Texas professor, and oilfield entrepreneur is campaigning for a seat on the three-seat Commission.
Charged with the inherently conflicting goals of both promoting and regulating oil and gas in Texas, the Commission has long been a refuge for cronyism and aspiring politicians lacking any credible qualifications for the position. In its earlier life, TRC’s “market proration authority” was used as a template by OPEC for international supply restrictions.…
Continue Reading“In the late 1970s, only three prominent energy experts continued to insist that oil prices would not rise inexorably and to display a contrariness to all efforts to dissuade them: Peter Odell of Erasmus University, the late Morry Adelman of MIT, and Arlon Tussing.” (Michael Lynch, below)
Several months ago, a giant of modern energy economics died at age 82. I belatedly sing his praises.
Arlon Tussing, author, co-author, or editor of an estimated 300 books and publications, influenced a generation of market-oriented energy economists. He also educated the energy industry by being realistic and blunt at a time when the conventional thinking was that ‘depleting’ resources meant that costs and prices had to go up.
Tussing analysis such as in his 1983 “An OPEC Obituary” (Public Interest) were spot-on, at a time when many voices were saying ‘Just Wait’ for Energy Crisis #3 (following #1’s Arab OPEC in 1973/74 and #2’s Iranian Revolution in 1979).…
Continue Reading“The environmental battles over energy infrastructure expansions will continue to ramp up…. The bottom line from these examples is that the risk of energy projects is creeping higher and that will filter into energy company spending – hurting both the nation’s future energy supply and its profitability for the companies.”
Energy availability is often ignored until it isn’t available. Whether that is a grid power outage, such as those in 1965 and 2003 that blacked out the Northeast region of the country, or the loss of power at your home or work, the issue of insuring adequate energy availability isn’t a high priority for most people until you don’t have it. Ask the residents of south Australia who suffered a blackout last week.
Two interesting examples – one on each coast of the U.S.…
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