permafrost Loc: Minnesota

Due to the world oil glut, prices fell again this morning (6/20/17) to a nine month low..

Even while Russia and OPEC have cut back production, Libya and African state have rushed to recover from past wars and legal battles..

Now it looks as if the path will be to move into renewables.. In spite of trumps actions that is the direction investors and the world are moving..

http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/15/investing/solar-renewable-energy-big-oil/index.html

Big Oil may be ignoring the rapid growth of solar and wind energy at its own peril.
The world might still get the majority of its energy needs from fossil fuels like oil and coal, but governments have begun to crack down on carbon. And consumers are shifting to cleaner options like solar panels and Tesla's electric cars.
Traditional energy companies need to act quickly or they risk being left behind when the world's appetite for oil has finally peaked.
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"Wind and solar are poised to radically reshape energy markets," analysts at oil and gas consultancy Wood Mackenzie wrote in a report this week, calling it the "biggest shift in strategic direction in a generation."
Big Oil must spend $350 billion on wind and solar between now and 2035 in order to have their renewable market share match the 12% they currently hold in oil and gas, Wood MacKenzie estimates.
"The shift to alternative energy is underway," the report said. "The transition is forcing the oil and gas industry to rethink its future."
Related: Oil has a Tesla problem. But when will it hit?
Up until this point, large oil companies like ExxonMobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) have avoided investing heavily in renewables. Critics have pointed to the high costs of solar and wind and the reliance on generous government subsidies that could fade away.
But renewable energy costs have begun to come down, a trend that many expect will accelerate thanks to the billions of dollars being poured into new technologies. Solar costs alone have been roughly halved over the past five years. The growth is backed up by impressive job creation, with solar employment expanding last year 17 times faster than the total U.S. economy.
All of this means there may now be a business case for Big Oil to diversify into cleaner forms of energy, if for no other reason than to protect its own future.
"The growth opportunities in renewables cannot be ignored," Wood Mackenzie wrote, adding that "renewables pose a threat to legacy oil and gas operations."
Of course, it would take a very long time before renewable energy can make up a meaningful portion of energy companies' total production. And the timing for future demand for oil is notoriously difficult to predict.
Still, it is clear that fossil fuel investments no longer look as alluring as they once did. Oil and natural gas prices remain depressed due to serious gluts, forcing large energy companies to postpone long-term and expensive projects like deepwater drilling.
Part of the problem is that governments have begun to crack down on carbon emissions amid heightened awareness about global warming. While the U.S. decided to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, most nations and many business leaders remain committed to the goal of boosting cleaner energy.
Related: Solar jobs growing 17 times faster than U.S. economy
That's why Wood Mackenzie has begun forecasting a "carbon constrained" scenario where oil demand peaks before 2030 and "enters a slow decline" as investor sentiment towards carbon "hardens."
In that pessimistic scenario for fossil fuels, the firm estimates that solar and wind power could make up nearly one-quarter of the global power market by 2035. In this scenario, Wood Mackenzie says renewable energy could generate nearly three times more revenue by 2035 than all of U.S. shale.
Big Oil does seem to be listening. Many energy companies have shifted towards natural gas, which is seen as a cleaner fossil fuel.
European oil companies are moving more aggressively into renewables, with Norway's Statoil (STO) investing in offshore wind and France's Total acquiring solar companies.
If Wood Mackenzi's predictions are true, much more will need to be done soon if oil companies want to ensure they aren't left behind in a cleaner energy world.
- See more at: http://money.cnn.com/2017/06/15/investing/solar-renewable-energy-big-oil/index.html#sthash.xEMDprHr.dpuf

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

I've always said the companies with the big money will be the ones to hire the people and technology to produce renewable energy. Once oil becomes too expensive for these companies to make a profit worth the risk they have the resources and money to invest in alternatives. No need for government to pick winners and losers. Especially since they are real good at picking and supporting losers. Kinda like todays democrat party.

Super Dave Loc: Realville, USA

Are you suggesting (gasp) free markets might prove somewhat useful?

Damn. Who'd a thunk it?

Weasel Loc: In the Great State Of Indiana!!

Two weeks ago I called for June 29th to be D-Day for the stock market. I am standing by my prediction!

Super Dave Loc: Realville, USA

D-Day?

Explain please.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

Dave, J,

Good for you guys welcome to the real world..

I have posted on this many time in the past months.. The ongoing investment in renewables is now going to extend to oil companies themselves.

even Exxon knows the future of the energy biz..

The thousands of jobs in the renewable industries will no doubt be claimed by the orange guy, but it has been going on for years..

Europe and China will now be world leaders, but the onrush of progress in our own country is not stopping simply because trump and company want to move backwards..

Investors are much more informed and visionary then the narrow minded trump cartel..

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

You sound like a fool. Just because you hate Trump you post your innuendo as if you know something. Frankly you're just another liberal blowhard.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

J,

Just as scribes were put our of work by the printing press, so may fossil fuel worker be removed by renewable s..

This is not new, it has been on going for years..

Wind turbines and solar panels accounted for more than two-thirds of all new electric generation capacity added to the nation’s grid in 2015, according to a recent analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy. The remaining third was largely new power plants fueled by natural gas, which has become cheap and plentiful as a result of hydraulic fracturing.

It was the second straight year U.S. investment in renewable energy projects has outpaced that of fossil fuels. Robust growth is once again predicted for this year.

And while Republican lawmakers in Washington have fought to protect coal-fired power plants, opposing President Barack Obama’s efforts to curtail climate-warming carbon emissions, data show their home states are often the ones benefiting most from the nation’s accelerating shift to renewable energy.




Also----


US Clean Energy Jobs Surpass Fossil Fuel Jobs By 5 To 1
February 1st, 2017 by NRDC

Originally published on NRDC.
By Lara Ettenson, Director, California Energy Efficiency Policy, Energy & Transportation program

The recently published Department of Energy 2017 U.S. Energy and Employment Report shows that clean electricity jobs are no doubt the engine that drives America’s electric energy economy, outstripping the number of paychecks provided by the fossil fuel industry by at least five to one. While that doesn’t mean fossil fuel generation is gone, it certainly means that if you are a politician looking for ways to grow jobs for the long term in your community, clean energy is the path to take.


Check out the numbers

All told, nearly 1 million Americans are working near- or full-time in the energy efficiency, solar, wind, and alternative vehicles sectors. This is almost five times the current employment in the fossil fuel electric industry, which includes coal, gas, and oil workers.

Morgan

Obama tried to have us at the forefront of this new industry, china stole it, can we get it back and cut the blood flow to the oil barons,while creating a new future for us!

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

Government has lost their ass when interfering or propping up one industry over another. Actually I shouldn't say government I should say tax payers. Many more on OPP more knowledgably than you or I have pointed out how inefficient these renewables (except for natural gas) have been. I was just in S. Dakota and stopped to count turbines on a wind farm. Out of 34, seven were turning and three had repairman. I don't no if this is par for the course or not. I have never been one to say we should keep obsolete jobs, such as a fireman on a train just to keep people employed. Obama wasn't about renewables. Shows how gullible you idiots truly are. He was about redistribution of wealth. Hell he admits it. Climate change is the ultimate redistribution scheme. The fossil fuel industry will convert on it's own when it becomes profitable. Coal isn't obsolete yet. China builds a new plant every week so keep giving them kudos . I'm thrilled Americans can get employed by alternate energy companies, as long as my tax dollars aren't subsidizing it. I'm not for subsidizing big oil or any other energy source.

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

Obama failed. China will always outpace us in solar panel production because they don't have an EPA. Government does not create new futures. Government hinders the future. If you hate big oil as much as you whine about close down your internet, never use anything with plastics, live in a tent, crap in the woods and bury it, No more driving or flying for you. If you do this you will no longer be a hypocritical whiner.

Super Dave Loc: Realville, USA

You're delusional.

The real world doesn't need a non-binding agreement that punishes Americans but allows China and India to continue to increase pollution for decades.

The free markets didn't discover profits in the last 8 years because Obama sold America down the river.

Obama was hindering the free markets with stupid regulations, not helping them with stupid unattainable mandates.

permafrost Loc: Minnesota

It is true what other have said,,, You do not understand anything..

You clearly do not understand the Paris accord.. No matter now as we are not part of it.. You back worlders got what you wanted..

JFlorio Loc: Seminole Florida

Liar!

Super Dave Loc: Realville, USA

Haha.

The Paris Accords never had a chance to do anything except punish America and make elites feel good about themselves.