Last week we have seen that COVID-19 might have been the wake-up call the world needed. It is most certainly not the cause of our current economic woes. Those have their roots decades back in the past. The remedy is…
Early in 1981, a man walked into a village in Central Haiti. He walked up to a peasant woman and identified himself as her brother Clairvius. The woman did not believe him as there was one problem. Clairvius died 18…
In the second blogpost of the space series, we have seen that methane is likely a dream come true for spacefarers. Because when it comes to fuel, two things are important. Easy and cheap production of a lot of it.…
Thanks for all the feedback I got on this space series so far. Out of all comments and questions, one loomed large. “Where would we get enough methane from in space and economically so?” But before we go there, we…
In 1768, the French author François-Marie Arouet, also known under the nom de plume Voltaire, composed a verse epistle. He addressed it to the anonymous author of The Three Impostors. Voltaire felt like he needed to reply to this virulently…
The last few years have gotten us in touch with new, radical green groups that seem to seek mankind’s return to a pre-industrial state. Sometimes one would be forgiven to assume that some of those radicals want to expel humans…
I love quotes and of all quotes, those from Nicollo Machiavelli rank among my favorites. There is hardly any subject I can write about that would not find a fitting quote from the man. For the initiator has the enmity…
2011 a new mountain pass was discovered in the Lomseggen mountains in Norway. The receding ice of the Lendbreen glacier revealed an ancient pathway that humans used to get from one part of Norway to the other. A team of…
Wow, the last couple of weeks have been on the very wild side for any oil and gas person. Frankly, I know some old-timers in O&G and even they say that none of them has seen anything similar in about…
The last decade has seen a veritable explosion of new superhero movies. One of the most recognizable and also popular heroes is Thor. Son of Odin, the god of thunder and a member of the iconic Avengers team. In one…
Whoever has been to South Africa and really engaged up close with the local business world will have some tales to tell. One of them is the multiple, sandwich-like layers of affirmative action that lace everything that goes on in…
Ever since the very first cargo of LNG was shipped a little more than 60 years ago by now, the entire LNG world was dominated by the notions of reliability and financial safety. The dogma is that LNG terminals and…
If you are an oil and gas professional I want you to make a little mental exercise with me. Close your eyes, lean back and think very hard if you have ever seen such crazy times in your trade. Be…
Last week we saw that unchecked free trade leads into the abyss of countries competing on how to better destroy country and people. How to fix it. In the developed world we like to give things a price. At least…
In nature, it often happens that two organisms form a mutually beneficial, stable relationship with each other. It’s called a symbiosis. Both organisms have an interest in the relationship. A very iconic example is the honeybee and flowers. The flowers…
In 1347, a ship of the Genoese merchant fleet arrived in Messina (Sicily). Most of the crew had already deceased when it pulled into the harbor. They had fallen victim to a mysterious affliction. The Black Death had arrived in…
I grew up with tales of aliens that had visited Earth in ancient times. Crazy? It sure is in many ways but my father was an avid reader of the books from the Swiss author Erich von Däniken. Von Däniken…
Years ago, a friend of mine wanted to perform a financial transaction for a rather large sum of money. He resided in a country afflicted with rather prohibitive financial restrictions. The transaction was not illegal and there was no risk…
In 1955, the then-North Korean leader Kim Il Sung gave a speech. During this speech, he mentioned the term “Juche” for the first time. The exact title was “On Eliminating Dogmatism and Formalism and Establishing Juche in Ideological Work”. North…
On May 8th, 1978, the Austrian/Italian Reinhold Messner and his friend Peter Habeler made history. They were the first people ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest without using artificial oxygen. A very notable achievement. It made Messner an…
Every group of people has its stories, fables, and prejudices. That’s no different for planet gas. The story of Russia’s gas weapon wielded to achieve political objectives is its most pervasive staple. I have discussed it with many professionals and…