Posted on 01/20/2020 8:26:35 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Despite its cool Green parties and ambitious wind and solar agendas, Europe remains by far the world’s largest importer of oil and natural gas.
Oil output in the North Sea and off the coast of Norway is declining, and the European Union is quietly looking for fossil fuel energy anywhere it can find it.
Europe itself is naturally rich in fossil fuels. It likely has more reserves of shale gas than the United States, currently the world’s largest producer of both oil and natural gas.
Yet in most European countries, horizontal drilling and fracking to extract gas and oil are either illegal or face so many court challenges and popular protests that they are neither culturally nor economically feasible.
The result is that Europe is almost entirely dependent on Russian, Middle Eastern, and African sources of energy.
The American-Iranian standoff in the Middle East, coupled with radical drop-offs in Iranian and Venezuelan oil production, has terrified Europe—and for understandable reasons.
The European Union has almost no ability to guarantee the delivery of critical oil and gas supplies from the Middle East should Iran close the Strait of Hormuz or harass ships in the Persian Gulf.
Europe’s only maritime security is the NATO fleet—a synonym for the U.S. Navy.
Vladimir Putin’s Russia supplies an estimated 30% of Europe’s oil needs. In times of crisis, Putin could exercise de facto control over the European economy.
In other words, Europe refuses to develop its own gas and oil reserves, and won’t fund the necessary military power to ensure that it can safely import energy from problematic or even hostile sources.
It’s no wonder that Europe’s traditional foreign policy reflects these crazy paradoxes.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailysignal.com ...
Play stupid games win stupid prizes.
PING!
“Play stupid games win stupid prizes.”
Western Europe, in its present form, has 20 more years, at most (probably half that time for Sweden and Belgium) due to demographics, so it’s not worth the investment there (or here) to make sure they have a secure supply of oil.
They made their bed, they can learn to sleep in it.
Shhhh! Quiet, Vic. You're going to blow the whole gig. We got them to slip the moose over their own heads and now you're trying to screw the whole thing up.
Israel found shale gas offshore and is now exporting gas/oil to Jordan.
The world is rich in hydrocarbon energy....ready to be extracted at low cost....which would result in economic prosperity for billions of people.
But socialists know better....they know hydrocarbons are EVIL and must be eliminated! Only gov’t provided energy is GOOD and safe.
The EU has fallen for it and the citizens will pay the price.....not the socialist leadership.
U.S. Fracking has made North Sea oil extraction uneconomical due to low prices.
Exactly. All they can do is hope Russia doesn't feel the need to inspect those pipelines - and hope is not a strategy.
Euroweenies
..
Dumb ass Europeans, the answer to all their energy problems is staring (sneering) them in their faces. Just ask Greta what to do, problem solved.
“The world is rich in hydrocarbon energy”
Not so rich, however, that we can keep up our current energy consumption indefinitely or even for another 50 years. Which is why we need nuclear power. Renewables too, if they ever work out the kinks. The day we are energy independent is the day we can tell the Middle East KMA.
“Only gov’t provided energy is GOOD and safe.”
Considering that the US government is subsidizing Exxon-Mobil et al. to the tune of billions of dollars I’m pretty sure oil is gov’t provided energy too.
https://www.taxpayer.net/energy-natural-resources/oil-and-gas-subsidies-overview1/
Iran's Zarif to skip Davos forum over programme changes
Okaaaay...
Much of Germany’s past aggression was primarily intended to obtain reliable sources of fuel. In the past three decades they have invested unimaginable amounts of money in “alternative energy”, the vast majority of these funds went to wind and solar. But wind and solar by nature are not “reliable” enough to power a modern economy. In the end it was more of a feel good exercise, and because for decades they also have a birth rate that has been lower than what it takes to maintain their population, they have had to take in millions of emigrants from third world countries. We have troubles of our own, but Western Europe has created a much bigger mess for themselves.
Won’t that squash them? How big is the moose(sic)they be slipping?
“slip the moose”
America has gotten into bed with the Saudis for the last 50+ years, so I’m not sure what is worse.
Let Europe defend itself.
I swear. I'm going to have to start reading my own replies before I post them.
With my luck, that will probably lead to reading whole articles before posting comments.
Heh, heh. Now, if we can only get the moose to bite their sisters.
I do not know where you get your information, but you are 100% WRONG.
There is enough hydrocarbon energy to serve our needs for 200 years.
Renewables are not viable in any way. The wind/solar experiment proved they are FAILURES beyond any doubt.
Lastly, your link to “subsidies” is utter BULLSHIT. They are tax breaks. Subsidies are payments made to industries....like wind/solar.
The tax deductions given to oil/gas are no different than any other industry for an asset depreciating over time.
Hard to fight a mechanized war with horses and wagons.
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