The Libby Verdict

There is a lot of buzz right now in the MSM and the blogsphere about the fact that Scooter Libby was found guilty of perjury and might face a considerable amount of time in prison, and what the potential consequences might be for the Bush Administration in general and Cheney in particular. But most likely the answer to that question will be: Nothing at all.

Libby will certainly appeal the verdict and try to draw out the whole process until after the next elections, when he will get his presidential pardon for loyal services rendered, like hundreds of other members of this administration, many probably with far more serious crimes to answer for than Scooter and his perjury charges. This will give Libby one more reason to keep his mouth shut until then and to protect his boss Cheney, something that would he have done probably anyway. After all a good foot soldier in the mob never betrays his Don.

And to be honest, this whole sordid affair seem pretty minor in comparison to the massive crimes Bush, Cheney and the whole gang have already committed: Wars of aggression, torture, concentration camps, hundreds of thousands of people slaughtered. Compared to that it seems hard to get worked up over an outing of an CIA agent working in Washington DC.

Saudi Oil Production in decline?

Over at The Oil Drum (a site i can only heartily recommend for everyone who is interested in energy matters), Stuart Staniford makes the most compelling case that i have so far seen that the oil production of Saudi Arabia may be indeed at or near its peak. His case rest on the fact that all the reported production numbers for Saudi Arabia for last year all show a linear decline of about 8% combined with a steep increase in drilling rigs deployed in the country. This decline was only shortly reversed when a new field (Haradh, 300 kbd) came online. These facts combined indicate rather strongly that the reason for the observed decline could be geological (probable decline at Ghawar, by far their largest field) and not political (mostly to target of a certain price range) like it was in the past when Saudi Arabia did cut production.
If true this does not mean that the Saudi oil production is going to start crashing through the roof, most likely they would be still able to maintain a similar level for several years due to increased investment in both old and new fields. But it would mean that their own optimistic projections of possible production capacities of 12 or even 15 million barrels a day are pure fantasy. With Saudi Arabia as the country with the largest reported oil reserves in the world unable to increase production and Iraq with the second largest descending into anarchy, Peak Oil could be indeed just around the corner.

Mission Statement

This Blog is primarily meant to be as a repository for my assorted thoughts and opinions on all things and matters that hold my interest. I assume it's better having them stored in a single place under my control than scattering them around in the net on various forums (or is it/should it be fori?) and commentaries, but i guess we'll see about that. If there is something among these that holds your interest, dear reader, even better, but if not i hope will manage somehow nonetheless.

In the beginning...

... was the Weblog.