Kurt Cobb

Latest articles from Kurt

• Could This Be OPEC’s Long-Term Goal?

  Published 08 June 2015 | viewed 10,893 times

  Delayed gratification is said to be a sign of maturity. By that standard OPEC at age 55 demonstrated its maturity this week as it left…

• The Illusion Of A Rapid Energy Revolution

  Published 02 June 2015 | viewed 10,435 times

  Three recent news items remind us that energy transitions take time, a lot of time--far too much time to be shrunk down into a television…

• Why Energy Costs Are So Important To The Global Economy

  Published 28 May 2015 | viewed 12,949 times

  Slowing productivity growth in the United States has been in the news in recent months. It has become a concern to policymakers because they believe…

• China Is Cooking The Books On GDP Growth Figures

  Published 28 April 2015 | viewed 11,106 times

  Last year China reported the slowest economic growth in 24 years, about 7.4 percent. But the true figure may actually be much lower, and the…

• The Fatal Flaw In The Climate Change Debate

  Published 14 April 2015 | viewed 16,972 times

  Everyone loves a courtroom drama--especially one that pits a feisty, but a determined criminal defense attorney against the awesome power of a prosecutor who has…

• One Of The Most Worrying Trends In Energy

  Published 07 April 2015 | viewed 21,326 times

  It should seem obvious that it takes energy to get energy. And, when it takes more energy to get the energy we want, this usually…

• The Uncomfortable Truth Behind Flat Carbon Emissions

  Published 31 March 2015 | viewed 9,277 times

  Last week we learned that maybe, just maybe, global carbon emissions were flat in 2014 even though the global economy supposedly grew by 3 percent.…

• Oil Price Speed Limit Presaging An Age Of Austerity?

  Published 23 March 2015 | viewed 14,688 times

  It is a staple of oil industry apologists to say that the recent swift decline in the price of oil is indicative of long-term abundance.…

• U.S. Shale A Marginal, Not Swing Producer

  Published 19 March 2015 | viewed 20,046 times

  Most people have heard the old saying: "You can put lipstick on a pig. But it's still a pig." That's sort of what is happening…

• Could This Be Saudi Arabia’s Best Kept Secret?

  Published 23 February 2015 | viewed 31,286 times

  It is popular these days to speculate about why Saudi Arabia cajoled its OPEC allies into maintaining oil production in the face of flagging world…

• Reality Check For Both EIA And IEA

  Published 10 February 2015 | viewed 9,521 times

  Recent developments are beginning to undermine the supremacy of the world's long-running energy information duopoly and its perennially optimistic narrative. Policymakers, investors and the public…

• Bad News For World Economy That No One Wants To Hear

  Published 02 February 2015 | viewed 18,771 times

  Reading the general run of financial headlines might lead one to believe that price declines in those commodities which are highly sensitive to economic conditions…

• Why The World Needs Both Shale And Tar Sands

  Published 26 January 2015 | viewed 11,920 times

  What the current oil price slump means for world oil supply is starting to emerge. "Layoffs," "cutbacks," "delays," and "cancellations" are words one sees in…

• A Word Of Warning About EIA Forecasts

  Published 21 January 2015 | viewed 18,188 times

  Put this in the category of things that can't be true, but that are nevertheless affirmed with a straight face: The U.S. Energy Information Administration…

• Top Five Possible Energy Surprises For 2015

  Published 30 December 2014 | viewed 18,222 times

  The coming year is likely to be as full of surprises in the field of energy as 2014 was. We just don't know which surprises!…

• The Hidden Costs Of Cheap Oil

  Published 15 December 2014 | viewed 20,534 times

  As a consumer of oil, you may regard recent sharp declines in the world oil price as a blessing. But... If you work in the…

• How The US Could Beat OPEC But Won’t

  Published 09 December 2014 | viewed 17,288 times

  OPEC has declared war on American oil production with the intention of making the country more dependent on imported oil and on oil in general.…

• Will OPEC’s Decision Lead To The End Of The American Shale Dream?

  Published 02 December 2014 | viewed 12,391 times

  To paraphrase Mark Twain: Rumors of OPEC's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Breathless coverage of the rise in U.S. oil production in the last few…

• Russia-China Deal Could Kill U.S. LNG Exports

  Published 18 November 2014 | viewed 36,418 times

  Russia and China have signed two large natural gas deals in the last six months as Russia turns its attention eastward in reaction to sanctions…

• Why The Current “Oil Glut” Could Lead To A Price Spike

  Published 03 November 2014 | viewed 25,304 times

  Back in March 1999 "The Economist" magazine carried a cover photo of two men drenched in oil as they attempted to close a faulty valve…