general thoughts and coal..., page-46

Sav-J,

TU from me for effort. I saw "uneconomic", BIG partners, etc..

I have been posting that coal is a non-starter for current holders,and many agree because the timescales are just huge to get to market. Doesn't mean that a spike or some spec effects won't happen, but just as a business proposition, keeping feet on the floor and within my generation, not in my kids, the business case efectively won't be executed. I see you did iron ore, and how long from Lang Hancock finding the stuff to first shipment, or even Fortescue!

Running paralellel to all this is public attitude. Think nuclear for example. Nothing wrong with it, +200 nuclear power stations operating 24/7 for the last 30 years is testiment to that. (please no carping about some rusky techo flunky buggerising around with some out-dated russian reactor with all the safety systems turned off). But its public perception and when people start blocking coal loaders in Newcastle and claiming Australia is akin to a drug pusher selling coal, I doubt the climate for coal will get better. Espesially something as gargantuan as you describe.

Look at the communists posing as farmers for example of motivated self-interest in getting water, and stopping water. The chardonnay set on the North shore with government subsidised PV on their roof won't be happy until power is 3 times the current price, and coal in the middle of nowhere, and jobs...not interested in supporting such a passe old school technology. Its all attitudes.

CTL/UCG "may" have a chance in medium term, but it seems most HC posters have no concept of how much time things take. Even the damn schools haven't got the BER buildings yet.

There really is only one game here, oil.

I was going to make a new posting, but I'll do it here::

imagine no drilling problems,
no running out of casing,
a core sample taken successfully,
some decent oil horizon and
finally some flow, not enough for surace but pumpable at some rate north of 500bbl/d.

Now that is achievable, and that is what I am hoping for.

Maybe only as real as Lennon's "Imagine all the people living life in peace"...I admit.

I also bet JH has wet dreams about going to his London conference and annoucing that CTP just did the unimaginable.

Stranger things have happened.....