I have been posting at The Oil Drum as a contributor for about a year now. Yesterday, I announced that I would be taking a break for a while. (I will continue to post at […]
Author: Robert Rapier
What Planet Are They From?
I have come across a couple of articles in the past few days that really left me shaking my head. One praises Hugo Chavez as a hero, and the other blasts oil companies for their […]
Hot Gas Lawsuit in Utah
I wrote this up a couple of weeks ago, but never got around to posting it. I guess business is slow for the folks who sue people for a living: Suit Seeks to Deflate Excess […]
Water Usage in an Oil Refinery
There has been much controversy regarding the amount of water used to produce a gallon of ethanol. Considering just the usage in the ethanol plant (ignoring any irrigation requirements for the corn), this amounts to […]
Ethanol in the News
There were several ethanol stories in the news today. It was a mixed bag. From BusinessWeek: Ethanol’s Growing List of Enemies Paul Hitch has spent his entire life raising cattle and hogs on a stretch […]
Refining 101: Summer Gasoline
Just what is summer gasoline? Twice a year, in the fall and in the spring, you hear about the seasonal gasoline transition. However, most people probably don’t understand what this actually means. AAA recently provided […]
Energy Heating Up Inflation
I am not quite sure why this was a surprise: Producer prices unexpectedly jump 1.3% There were two major culprits identified: Energy and food. However, the food component was also related to energy: Food prices […]
OPEC Holds Steady
I have been trying to get inside the mind of OPEC lately and predict what they would do at this week’s meeting. Worldwide crude inventories have been falling, so the market appears to be undersupplied […]
When Will Saudi Arabian Oil Production Peak?
The eventual decline of oil production in Saudi Arabia will likely have a profound impact on all of our lives. This event will result in energy shortages around the world, and depleting oil supplies will […]
Conflicts of Interest
Critics often charge me with a conflict of interest for my position on grain ethanol. They suggest that I have something to gain by opposing grain ethanol. Often, a charge of bias will be the […]