China could displace US Dollar dominance

million storage facilities and how the country had a big devaluating pile of dollars.
Well, trusted sources say that China has taken the next step to woo the Arab countries and establish closer relations.
Until now, the US dollar has been used as the sole oil trading currency around the globe. But last weeks rumors started to surface that a secret meeting took place between Gulf Arab oil producers and some oil importing states trying to decide on an alternative currency to dollar for transactions. Spearheaded by China, the meeting has proposed to trade oil in a basket of currency including, the Euro, Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, gold and a new currency to be planned by the GCC (The Gulf Cooperation Council-Saudi Arabia, Kuwait which already went off the US dollar two years ago, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi).
But why are Arab countries lending a kind ear to China? Look no further than the U.S, invasion of Iraq. With an estimated one million Arab deaths resulting from the US invasion, anger is simmering throughout the Arab world, not just Iraq. The bad publicity gained has helped an enthusiastic China in a big way. China is in need of huge amounts of oil and the Gulf States are happy to comply with China in exchange cheap imports, military technology transfer. This pushes the US further aside from the bargaining table and reduces its influence in the Middle-East.
This scenario is far removed from the Nixon Shock of 1971, if one were to walk the lanes of history. In 1971 the then U.S. President, Nixon, cancelled the direct convertibility of the dollar to gold. During the same period Oil production in the US peaked and the country ran out of capacity to increase the production. OPEC (The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) thus steps into the picture. Nixon's move helped the US to print more dollars- as much as they needed- to buy oil from OPEC establishing direct nexus between the dollar and oil.
So, here's the bigger picture: When this dollar dominance ends, as efforts are already visible, it could well be the last shoe to drop from the US economy.

US shale oil deposits: Two trillion barrels of crude oil

Oil shale deposits.

US shale oil deposits: Two trillion barrels of crude oil By JERICAN for OIL-PRICE.NET, 2006/12/29

This may sound like a fiction story but it is true! While total world resources of oil shale are conservatively estimated at 2.6 trillion barrels, US sits on close to two trillion barrels of crude. Possibly more than all the crude than was ever produced worldwide since petroleum age began.
The Green River Shale Formation encompassing the States of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming was first discovered in 1924. This famous shale formation covers tens of thousands of square miles. It is found in three different ancient lake basins. The layers of sediment in this formation stretch undisturbed for many miles.
This shale is a soft sedimentary rock that readily fractures into layers, composed of minute particles of clay, which may easily be removed. It was formed from multi layers through erosion. There are 40 million layers in one part of this formation. Deposits within these layers are fossilized plant, animal life and algae, which has turned over millions of years into kerogen. Some claims have been made that this was formed from the Great Flood of Biblical times. Geologists say that this formation was formed through countless floods perhaps through 500 to 700 millions of years.
There are two conventional approaches to oil shale processing. In one, the shale is fractured and heated to obtain gases and liquids by wells. The second is by mining, transporting, and heating the shale to about 450oC, adding hydrogen to the resulting product, and disposing of and stabilizing the waste. Both processes use considerable water. The total energy and water requirements together with environmental and monetary costs have so far made production uneconomic. During the oil crisis of the 1970's, major oil companies spent several billion dollars in various unsuccessful attempts to commercially extract shale oil.
After initial attempts proved to be too expensive and were shelved some ten years ago, a host of energy companies are revisiting technologies to successfully extract kerogen from shale and economically turn it into crude oil. Participating giant Shell Oil representative, Terry O'Cannon states, "We try to keep them from speculating too much and keep expectations low because we don't know if this technology will be successful and viable in the long term."

US opens more areas for oil exploration

Sarah Palin is the one allied with the campaign "Drill, baby, drill", but in an inventive merger the President has laid claims for it too-very nearly. In a bold attempt to boost the domestic oil and gas production, he has opened up large offshore areas along the southern Atlantic coastline, the eastern areas of the Gulf of Mexico and northern shore of Alaska for drilling.
The U.S. has had a long-term moratorium on oil exploration for almost twenty years. The move towards more exploration is aimed to reduce oil imports, obtain more revenue from lease and licence and to whip up support for the comprehensive energy and climate legislation.
As expected there was an angry backlash from environmentalist. Detractors say the move:

Contributes to global warming with increase in pollution

Kicks in fears of chemical and oil spills

Threatens coastal communities dependent on the sea

Affects the habitat of endangered polar bears, whales and other wildlife

Will open up more areas like the west coast for oil exploration

Won't bring in energy security or reduce oil imports

"This is not a decision that I've made lightly" Mr Obama said, aware of the objection from environmentalists. "But the bottom line is this: given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth, produce jobs, and keep our businesses competitive, we're going to need to harness traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable, home-grown energy."
In the meantime, supporters of the move, for their part, see this as an attempt to decrease dependency on foreign fuel. They say, it adds jobs and brings in more energy security; that when oil is produced locally, it helps the economy with more income and demand for goods.
The announcement comes as a 'give and take' policy to garner support and momentum for a new energy and climate bill that proposes cuts in green house gases. The senate is expected to take up the climate bill shortly, almost the last chance before the mid-term elections. The bill has already been passed by the House of Representatives, and the President is hoping to get Republican support in the senate. The US Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that the move was more to give energy support to the American people as the country was about sixty percent dependent on foreign oil, and that the proposals still weren't sure to win support from senators close to the oil industry. Republican support or not, ten Democratic senators from the coastal states have already signed a joint letter expressing opposition to the exploration.
Already the President has made major concessions on coal and nuclear power to garner support for the bill. In the announcement unveiled at Andrews Air Force Base Mr Obama had also included plans to expand the production of nuclear power to "move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on home-grown fuels" and clean energy. Only last month, the President had announced a $50 billion loan guarantee to build eight new nuclear power plants.
Said Mr. Obama, "While our politics has remained entrenched along worn divides, the ground has shifted beneath our feet. Around the world, countries are seeking an edge in the global marketplace by investing in new ways of producing and saving energy." Further he added, "The only way this transition will succeed is if it strengthens our economy in the short term and the long run. To fail to recognise this reality would be a mistake."
Other energy proposals include ordering of 5,000 hybrid vehicles to the federal fleet and more stringent fuel economy standards for new cars. "This rule will not only save drivers money; it will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil," Mr Obama said. "That's like taking 58 million cars off the road for an entire year."
Drilling already taking place in the western and central areas in the Gulf of Mexico would come now closer to just 125 miles from Florida. But officials said that a buffer would be put in place off the Florida shore line so that the rigs aren't visible from the land. The first drill would take place off the coast of Virginia within two years. However, it all depends on the Congress lifting the moratorium on drilling.
The administration, in effect, is thus adopting some measures put forward by President Bush, which were challenged in court on environmental basis. The Interior Department had set aside the proposal after President Obama came to power. But one notable difference from Bush's plan is exception given to the ecologically sensitive Bristol Bay in south-western Alaska, which has several endangered species of whales and fishes. The moratorium would also remain for the Pacific coast from California to Washington. Of course, the Oil companies aren't happy with the exempted areas, either.
The Interior Department says the untapped oil would meet three years of U.S. oil demands. Though at this point the oil estimates aren't clear, the reserves would be relatively smaller than the Department's estimates, and would not impact the price of oil. A clear picture will emerge only after the exploration begins. And, it will take years, anywhere between 14-16 years, before the oil is seen. For a comparison, EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook, for March 2010 shows that domestic crude oil production averaged 5.32 million bbl/d in 2009, up about 370,000 bbl/d from 2008. The projected growth in crude oil production this year is by 210000 bbl/d.
This move for oil drilling isn't surprising as during his presidential campaign in 2008, President Obama had said that he supported expanding offshore drilling for oil and gas. A senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity, Brendan Cummings, said the announcement was "all too typical of what we have seen so far from President Obama - promises of change, a year of 'deliberation,' and ultimately, adoption of flawed and outdated Bush policies as his own".

If not oil, then what?

In fact, the US is the third largest crude producer in the world, but imports almost 57 percent of the oil it needs. The top fifteen countries in the list of crude oil imports to the US last year were, are Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Algeria, Iraq, Angola, Brazil, Colombia, Russia, Kuwait, Azerbaijan, Congo, and Ecuador.
According to EIA, there is substantial decline in production from oil fields in the federal Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. Further, the US liquid fuel consumption was a staggering 18.7 million bbl/d in 2009 even when it declined by 810000 bbl/d to previous years.
So, there is need for oil and do we have an alternative at present? The pill is bitter to swallow but the answer is 'no'. To limit the opposition to oil drilling in the U.S. alone is to see a small picture of the whole problem. Oil drilling wherever it's done (not only in the U.S., which has better resources to tackle problems of the kind) could cause ecological damage, whatever precautions taken. The proposed explorations will not markedly reduce the dependency on foreign oil. Neither are they 'the' solution for the energy needs.
Hence, what's to be done is to decrease the dependency on oil. Small but significant steps are the need for the hour with increased investments in safe and clean renewable sources of energy. This announcement, at best, is just a temporary measure, whichever way you think.

Cowon JetAudio v8.0.9.1520 Plus VX-FOSI

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