Keith's Corner

Should We Be Surprised?

Newspaper reports indicate that many of the world’s largest oil and natural gas producers, including some of those in the Persian Gulf, are choosing to sell their oil and/or natural gas and to use coal to generate electricity for their own needs. With the current high prices for petroleum products showing no signs of substantive reductions over the longer term, these countries have realized that they are far better off selling the products which they produce and buying cheaper coal to meet their own needs. Similar arguments have been made in support of building nuclear generation facilities in Iran and elsewhere. Although this will no doubt upset some environmentalists, they will have to remember that, in many ways, it is a zero sum game in that the natural gas will be burned somewhere and will likely displace coal or oil when it is burned. The bottom line is that countries will continue to look to their own bottom line when making decisions as to which fuels they will use.

Last updated Jul 18, 2008