Oil prices are not likely to come up anytime soon

[JustMe]

Originally Posted by stefk

Well then, everything else that we pay money for is going to have to fall in line with lower wages. That in itself is a pipe dream. Too many greedy people and corporations out there for that to happen, coupled with the fact that a lot of things were built/purchased on credit when times were good, payments will stay the same…f#c*ed up situation for a lot of folks out there..

You are 100% correct. Sadly a whole lot of folks that over extended and lived away beyond their means are now going to have to pay the price and unfortunately that may mean loosing everything. It's a major correction and there are going to be major casualties. Too many think it's going to go away tomorrow but as the countries producing cheap oil have maintained, it's here to stay for the foreseeable future. We haven't seen anything yet... Once severance packages and EI run out this summer, we're going to be facing serious pain.

[Deo101]

Stop importing the oil from the Country that has basically waged economic war with us??? Maybe that is a good start.

Since oil is a commodity it really has never needed to be truly "marketed" Not in a competitive fashion other than dollars and cents. I'm thinking we need to brand our oil as local, ethical, organic, free trade, cruelty free, environmentally friendly, no animal testing etc etc.

If I had a choice at the pump to purchase .50c/L Saudi made gasoline or $1.50 Canadian, I'd go with the Canadian.

We need to start thinking this way with our purchases. Support ourselves and shelter us a bit.

[mark-edmonton]

Originally Posted by Deo101

Stop importing the oil from the Country that has basically waged economic war with us??? Maybe that is a good start.

Since oil is a commodity it really has never needed to be truly "marketed" Not in a competitive fashion other than dollars and cents. I'm thinking we need to brand our oil as local, ethical, organic, free trade, cruelty free, environmentally friendly, no animal testing etc etc.

If I had a choice at the pump to purchase .50c/L Saudi made gasoline or $1.50 Canadian, I'd go with the Canadian.

We need to start thinking this way with our purchases. Support ourselves and shelter us a bit.

Yes! And the USA needs to get out of bed with the Saudis!

[Johnny199r]

Originally Posted by JustMe

You are 100% correct. Sadly a whole lot of folks that over extended and lived away beyond their means are now going to have to pay the price and unfortunately that may mean loosing everything. It's a major correction and there are going to be major casualties. Too many think it's going to go away tomorrow but as the countries producing cheap oil have maintained, it's here to stay for the foreseeable future. We haven't seen anything yet... Once severance packages and EI run out this summer, we're going to be facing serious pain.

I think a lot of people in Alberta got used to the really high wages that came along with high oil prices as "normal" and permanent. Those who have been around for a really long time likely knew better, but a shock to deal with nonetheless. It takes discipline to live below your means and save.

[justsomeguy]

Originally Posted by JustMe

You are 100% correct. Sadly a whole lot of folks that over extended and lived away beyond their means are now going to have to pay the price and unfortunately that may mean loosing everything. It's a major correction and there are going to be major casualties. Too many think it's going to go away tomorrow but as the countries producing cheap oil have maintained, it's here to stay for the foreseeable future. We haven't seen anything yet... Once severance packages and EI run out this summer, we're going to be facing serious pain.

This x1000!!

Reality is AB has priced itself out of the marketplace for not just oil but almost any other industry, and it's spread throughout the economy from the top to the bottom. We are not cost competitive relative to the rest of the country. That is going to mean wage cuts....and it will start with the O&G producers and their direct employees and contractors. We're already seeing 10% cuts an I see more in the future. Most companies have already cut the number of employees as low as they can and still maintain a viable operation, so only other option is wages.

It will start with the employees getting wage cuts...they then have to go home and tell their spouse to cut back on spending, and tell the guy quoting their home renos that his quote needs to go down 10% if he wants the job....when he balks and says his costs are so and so the reply will be "tough, I work at the wellhead and drive the economy of this province....I just took a wage rollback so you've got to go tell your workers their wages are going down 10%, and you have to tell your suppliers they need to cut their material costs by 10%.....and when they balk they need to continue that conversation all the way down the line". Where this is going to fall apart is when it comes to housing costs.

It will impact the entire economy, wages need to either roll back or freeze to let inflation force the rest of the company to catch up. Unless oil bounces back and we can keep on the gravy train this is going to take several years to work itself out. I have no idea how it is going to go, how it is going to end, all I can say is it is not going to be pretty.

It's going to suck big time, and the guy at the bottom of the pile is going to suffer the most. At the root of it, and the biggest issue to deal with is going to be the housing market.....how do you straighten out a market that has been out of control for a decade without hurting a lot of folks.

[mich]

Originally Posted by avb3

You may want to reconsider your comment after reading this Bloomberg Finance analysis. Particularly pay attention to why power companies prefer renewables from a cost factor perspective.

The change is already happening.

From the report:

Wind power is now the cheapest electricity to produce in both Germany and the U.K., even without government subsidies, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). It's the first time that threshold has been crossed by a G7 economy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...ing-point-bnef

And how would you like to manufacture those solar cells or wind turbines? You aren't doing it without carbon based products ..... Net gain at their lifespan is less than zero, nevermind that they are a add on and not a full time producer

[mich]

Originally Posted by mark-edmonton

Yes! And the USA needs to get out of bed with the Saudis!

Maybe if we turned the pipes off for a few days/weeks they might take the hint. We have the power just not the resolve. The saudis can't replace us

[avb3]

Originally Posted by mich

And how would you like to manufacture those solar cells or wind turbines? You aren't doing it without carbon based products ..... Net gain at their lifespan is less than zero, nevermind that they are a add on and not a full time producer

Assertions made require reference.

[Dick284]

Originally Posted by avb3

Assertions made require reference.

One needs only to look no further than the AESO website to see the abject failure that wind generation is in this province.
It is incapable of providing base load, it can't supplement changing grid conditions like assets like hydro can, but alas hydro generation is at best khaki generation, and in Alberta there's is no way we have the water nor the where for all to have sufficient capacity through this sort of resource stream to make hydro anything but peeking and ancillary capable. Wind can't be relied upon to provide voltage or frequency support either. Wind is nothing more than a bad idea foisted upon us through manipulative marketing and spin doctoring.
I also fail to see how solar can provide any grid support or ancillary services to the grid in the winter months with our shorter daylight periods.

Nobodies given zero thought to how the blackstart scenarios will unfold with the moving away from carbon based generation either. This is the real troublesome aspect for those who get what grid operations, and electrical generation is truly all about.

The whole anti carbon mentality is nothing more than wealth redistribution wrapped up in fancy cliches and social engineering!