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The Morning Rant

Funny how governments obfuscate their financial decisions with high-minded platitudes about the social good and moving forward and building community. The Norwegian government decided to reopen those fields for one reason...tax receipts from the sale of that natural gas will be through the roof. And then they will be able to pay (for a little while) for the massive welfare state that has developed in the last 25 years, as the immigrant population has tripled. Yes...tripled! 6% in 2000, to 18% today.

Norway to Reopen 3 Gas Fields Shut Down in 1998

Norway has approved plans to reopen three gas fields in the North Sea that were shut down nearly three decades ago, a move the government says will support European energy security.

The Ministry of Energy said on May 5 that it has approved development plans for the Albuskjell, Vest Ekofisk, and Tommeliten Gamma fields, all located in the Ekofisk area in the southern North Sea.

The fields were discovered in the 1970s and began production between 1977 and 1988, but were closed in 1998 during a redevelopment of the Ekofisk field.

Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland said the reopening showed the continuing value of Norway’s offshore assets.

Norway is positioned well in comparison to most of the rest of Europe, because they are almost entirely powered by hydro power. They use petroleum for profit, which sounds good, but they are unbelievably smug and hypocritical about going carbon-zero domestically, because they pay for it with petroleum exports!

Gas will be exported to Emden in Germany, while condensate, a light liquid hydrocarbon that is separated from natural gas, will be sent to Teesside in the UK.

Unlike Norway, Germany has moved more cautiously, backing limited domestic and cross-border gas projects, while the UK’s major new North Sea projects remain caught between energy–security arguments, court rulings, and a government net-zero policy shift away from new drilling licenses.

Germany and the UK are collaborating on net-zero goals—the total “decarbonization” of all sectors away from fossil fuels—with Germany targeting 2045 and the UK 2050.

Ah yes...the two European economies failing the fastest! Destroying domestic energy production, welcoming millions of 3rd world savages who are busily draining the government coffers while simultaneously catering to their every cultural demand does not sound like a solid basis for a 21st century economy! Germany is particularly suicidal...they had 19 functioning nuclear power plants in 2000, and today? Zero. None. At least the UK only cut nuclear power by half, not the absolutely insanity of the Germans.

But both countries are fixated on carbon-zero economies, and both countries will fail. Perhaps they can repurpose their highways and use them for solar generation? Nobody will be able to drive anyway. Or start cutting down their forests for a few years' worth of heating. That would work!

It is impossible to run a modern economy on renewables, except for a few small countries that have hydro or geothermal. The other technologies simply don't work. The sun doesn't shine very much at night, and the wind doesn't blow 24 hours a day! Plus, the destructiveness of solar and wind is the dirty little secret of the environmental lobbies. Solar is inefficient and sucks up huge amounts of land. Wind generation is also inefficient, uses a huge amount of petroleum during construction, and is famously unreliable. Then at the end of their functional lives, these installations are enormously difficult to recycle. Mostly they get dumped into land fills!

And the upshot of all of this communist/environmental nonsense is that electricity rates in Germany have almost tripled since 2000. And in the UK? Pretty much the same! But all of those Germans and Brits can feel satisfied that they are saving the earth! as they freeze in the winter and boil in the summer.

At least the Germans can enjoy their fast cars for a little while longer on those good highways of theirs...right? Except that their fuel costs between double and triple what ours costs.

It would take a heart of stone not to laugh at their predicament. They have no one to blame except themselves and their feckless leaders. In 50 years, when the UK and Germany are the poorest countries in Europe, and on the fast track to being governed by Sharia law, I wonder whether their citizenry will question their decisions, or will they continue to blame everyone else?

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]. If you folks who are on X/Twitter would follow us it would be much appreciated!