Robert Rapier

Latest articles from Robert

• U.S. Gasoline Demand At All-Time High

  Published 14 August 2017 | viewed 14,124 times

  Given all the media hype about peak oil demand — which is supposed to come about largely as a result of the explosive growth of…

• Is The Shale Rebound Causing A Return Of Flaring?

  Published 06 August 2017 | viewed 11,253 times

  Underneath the surface of North Dakota is the Bakken Formation, which is part of the Williston Basin that also lies underneath parts of South Dakota,…

• The Natural Gas Boom Shows No Signs Of Slowing

  Published 19 July 2017 | viewed 15,295 times

  Last month the BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017 was released. This report gives us the opportunity to review the big picture when it comes to global…

• The World Is Millions Of Barrels Away From Peak Oil

  Published 25 June 2017 | viewed 38,979 times

  The notion that demand for crude oil will soon peak has largely replaced the idea from a decade ago that crude oil production was about…

• Will Rising U.S. Production Drive OPEC Into A Corner?

  Published 11 February 2017 | viewed 10,072 times

  In an earlier article I addressed some of the skepticism around the recent production cuts enacted by OPEC. Today I want to consider in more…

• Five Energy Predictions For 2017

  Published 15 January 2017 | viewed 35,667 times

  I read an article this morning where one analyst predicted that we are in a 10-15 year bear market for oil. The analyst stated that…

• Energy Sector Highlights Of 2016

  Published 30 December 2016 | viewed 14,085 times

  A lot happened in the energy sector in 2016, with two major stories leading the way. Both the surprising election of Donald Trump to the…

• OPEC’s Announced Production Cuts Are A Big Deal

  Published 19 December 2016 | viewed 15,802 times

  By now you have undoubtedly heard that late last month at OPEC’s 171st Ordinary Meeting in Vienna, the group announced that it would reduce output…

• Is The Permian 20 Billion Barrel Oil Discovery Real?

  Published 28 November 2016 | viewed 39,022 times

  Earlier this month the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced the largest estimate of continuous oil that it has ever assessed. The area assessed is in…

• The Energy Sink: Why The Ethanol Dream Is Unrealistic

  Published 29 October 2016 | viewed 12,503 times

  If I told you that I had created a process to extract pure gold from seawater, you might deem it an amazing accomplishment. If I…

• What Hubbert Got Wrong About Peak Oil

  Published 18 September 2016 | viewed 20,296 times

  If you happen to be interested in the topic of “peak oil”, you almost certainly know the name M. King Hubbert. While you may know…

• U.S. Gasoline Consumption On Target For A Record Year

  Published 22 August 2016 | viewed 21,252 times

  In last month’s Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO), the Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that it now expects record U.S. gasoline consumption this year: Motor…

• Electric Vehicles Won’t Kill Off Oil Demand Anytime Soon

  Published 31 July 2016 | viewed 16,040 times

  Before you start furiously typing out a retort, hear me out. First, I want to make it clear what I am not skeptical about. I…

• Analyzing The 2016 BP Statistical Review

  Published 25 June 2016 | viewed 15,180 times

  Each year in June two very important reports are released that provide a comprehensive view of the global energy markets. The highlight of the recently-released…

• When Will Solar Overtake Oil?

  Published 30 May 2016 | viewed 51,184 times

  Several years ago, when I was working on my book Power Plays, I spent a lot of time thinking about the future of energy. One…

• Proved Oil Reserves Lost $840 Billion In Value

  Published 11 May 2016 | viewed 13,108 times

  I spent a lot of time in 2015 warning that at year-end we would see a huge decline in crude oil reserves. As I have…

• Biofuel Breakthrough: Production Jumps 64%

  Published 03 May 2016 | viewed 24,205 times

  A few people have asked if I can reproduce more of my Forbes columns here, because they don’t like wading through the ads there to…

• What Was The Primary Cause Of The Coal Crash?

  Published 14 April 2016 | viewed 7,908 times

  Today, as had been expected, Peabody Energy Corp. (NYSE: BTU) — the largest coal producer in the United States — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy…

• How Leonardo DiCaprio’s Carbon Footprint Clashes With His Climate Claims

  Published 09 March 2016 | viewed 22,114 times

  Leonardo DiCaprio recently won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in The Revenant. I saw the movie, and to my layman’s eye it…

• The Billion Dollar Biofuel That Fell 2.7 Billion Gallons Short

  Published 17 February 2016 | viewed 15,568 times

  Ten years ago a visionary named Vinod Khosla gave a presentation called Biofuels: Think Outside the Barrel. It seems to have disappeared from his Khosla…