While I have written posts on Nigeria and regularly referenced Libya in the last half decade on the burrito, I know very little about most of Africa when it comes to energy. So it was interesting to sift through this comprehensive report from the IEA to get a better understanding of some of the broader energy trends underway. Henceforth are my […]  More »

One of my favorite songs of this year is ‘I Forget Where We Were‘ by Ben Howard. The song’s title has been resonating with me recently as I get a wee bit reflective as we approach the twilight of an eventful year. So much has happened across currency markets, it is easy to forget where […]  More »

Schneider Electric’s CMO, Chris Hummel, pondered whether the IEA’s claim that solar energy could be the leading source of electricity by 2050 was achievable. Matt Smith’s initial reaction was hum-dee-dum…not a chance! Then he thought about it and grabbed his research shovel and started digging.  More »

The above phrase is from the translation of  ’plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose‘ by the French novelist Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr. Regardless, not only is it great, but also highly applicable to a veritable selection of shenanigans going on across energyland™.  First up – or actually first and second up, are two examples […]  More »

              This visual voyage through some cartographic capers plots a course across US energy consumption, global emissions, and the second largest continent on earth. So grab your coat, and let’s start charting… First up we are mapping US energy consumption, and specifically, what is wasted. An awesome burrito reader pondered […]  More »

Not meaning to be villainous – like my British counterparts in the Jaguar commercial - but it would seem that sometimes ‘it’s good to be bad‘. And here are some immediate examples across commodityland™. The first topic we are going to look at in dastardly detail is retail gasoline prices. Prices generally peak in the first half […]  More »

…I would have no squabble in doing one of her hits,  but we would have to work in some commodity themes into the lyrics. So here are some ideas I am working on pitching her. Roar - We could definitely belt this one out. Not only does roaring louder, louder than a lion sound like fun, […]  More »

China is in a pickle. It is a pickle it is well aware of – and trying to fix – but a pickle nonetheless, as it tries to wean itself off coal and ramp up its natural gas consumption. So here are some of the trials and tribulations faced by the world’s largest energy consumer […]  More »

There is an interesting set of twists and turns at play between US unemployment data, vehicle sales, and gasoline demand.  More »

While I’ve been digging into a bunch of different commodities recently, there have been a number of interesting bits and bobs relating to coal that I’ve been squirreling away. Hence, here are ten tidbits that I wanted to share: 1) Coal is currently used to meet 30% of global primary energy needs, which is the highest level since […]  More »

If this tortoise could talk, I’m pretty sure he would say ‘preposterous’ in response to what you are about to read. For the wild and wacky world of energy has revealed some preposterous notions in the last week or so. Here are but a few of them.  –First up we are talking trash, for only 1% […]  More »

Russell Gold is absolutely marvelous. Not only has he spent over a decade as an intrepid energy reporter at the Wall Street Journal, but he has written a book, ‘The Boom‘, which is the quintessential history of the US fracking revolution. The book provides a fair and balanced view on how hydraulic fracturing has kick-started […]  More »