Leslie’s Notebook

Recent press reports indicate that in 2007, some 8 million cars were added to the fleet in China. I say that even if a recession hits and high gasoline prices somehow cause half of those cars to be parked, that is still 4 million more cars needing gasoline now than needed it two years ago.

So, in the words of former Chevron guru (now retired) Don Paul, “The race is on for the last big find.”

Is it Tupi or Carioca offshore Brazil? Is it lurking in the deepest waters of the Gulf of Mexico–on the Mexican side? Is it something in the Arctic not yet found, maybe in the Chuckchi Sea off Alaska? Is it something found but not yet exploited, in the Middle East?

No one knows when or where the last big find will be announced. Let’s hope it is several years down the road, at the end of a long string of good, but lesser, finds, that allows us to bridge to the end, when we transition to a smart mixture of other fuels.

–Leslie Haines, Oil and Gas Investor, lhaines@hartenergy.com

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