Wind Energy, Turbines, Libya, and Oil Price Conspiracies

Updates

March 2, 2011: One of the points I was trying to make below was finally voiced in words that no one could misunderstand: Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour says the administration favors high oil prices.  The second point: for those following the high speed railroad story, ask who will build the high-speed electric locomotives, and then ask who is the administration's White House economic adviser. Answer at bottom of the this post.

Original Post

I have to flesh this out later, but while I cogitate on this, you all may want to spend some time connecting the dots.

• WTI price of oil: jumps 9.2 percent in one day; approaching $100/barrel; follows news in Libya
• Libya: accounts for less than 1.5 million barrels of oil/day; all of it goes to Europe (Brent, not WTI)
• Libya: accounts for less than 3 percent of global production
• XOM: accounts for about 3 percent of global production
• Saudi Arabia: everyone says Saudi can easily make up the difference if Libya is down for the long term
• The Bakken: estimates are that North Dakota could produce 1 million barrels of oil/day by 2015
• Link to the top wind energy turbine companies worldwide
• Recent wind energy turbine sales: Norway and Sweden to get giant GE turbines; "giant" was their word, not mine
• The administration's new economic czar is the CEO of GE, Mr Jeffrey Immelt
• I seem to remember an old adage, "what's good for GM, is good for America."

Whenever my students ask me a question I cannot answer or if they ask me a question that I can answer, but then the follow-up question is "why," I tell them two things:

• Follow the money
• Google it

I remember when I first started this blog, I remember reading many other blogs that opined that the Bakken was being "hyped."  Of course, that's in the eye of the beholder, but when I see the anxiety caused by "losing Libya" with a piddly 2 million bopd, and then seeing estimates of 1 million bopd coming out of the Bakken in a couple of years, it should give pause with regard to one's thinking exactly how important the Bakken, the Niobrara, and the Eagle Ford are.

*******

Answer to trivia question: it is my hunch that GE will make the electric locomotives for high-speed rail advocated by the administration. The administration's economic czar is the GE/CEO.