Fall in global oil supply not expected before 2030

The world's oil supply won't begin to run out for at least another 24 years, contrary to some theories that suggest production has already peaked and supply is now in a terminal decline, a prominent U.S. energy consulting group says.

Cambridge Energy Research Associates estimates remaining global supply at 3.74 trillion barrels, compared with 1.2 trillion estimated by "peak oil" theorists. Peter Jackson, CERA's director of oil industry activity, doesn't dispute that oil will run out, but says the peak won't occur before 2030. He said the peak won't be followed by a sharp decline but by an "undulating plateau," in which production rises and falls for decades before entering permanent decline.

Canada woos mine partners from China

From The Globe and Mail

In a renewed effort to woo Chinese mining money. Canada is handling out stacks of detailed geological maps and data sheets to anyone who wanders past its booth at the annual China mining conference in Beijing.

The maps - giving the precise locations of everything from copper and gold finds to uranium and zinc deposits - were quickly snapped up by the scores of Chinese mining executives who crowded around the Canadian booth yesterday.

It was a clear signal that the new Conservative government in Ottawa is throwing open its doors to Chinese miners, despite the political furor over a failed Chinese corporate bid to acquire Noranda Inc. in 2004.

Ottawa to block CRTC plans on VoIP

The Haper government will announce today its intention to rewrite the CRTC's key ruling on Internet-based telephone services, a highly unusual move that could mark a big step toward a more open and consumer-friendly sector. Industry Minister Maxime Bernier will say in a speech in Toronto that the Conservative government will again block the CRTC's repeated efforts to regulate phone services that run over the Internet. The move increases the odds that digitally based telephone services will become even more common in the near future, which could be a boon for consumers.