Friday's episode was the best of the season. Probably because both halves of the show finally took on energy, and really gave the industry a journalistic beating. One that it deserved, and was long overdue... as the MSM won't ever go there.
the first half was about XoM's contract with Papau New Guinea to develop LNG there and the fallout from that. ... another country about to ignite due to corruption, false promises and loads of oil industry cash.
What’s happening in Papua New Guinea is not rare. In fact, it is so common that it has its own term (first coined by British economist Richard Auty): the Resource Curse. The idea is that developing countries with vast natural resources are twenty times more likely to have civil unrest, a sort of paradox of abundance. Perhaps curse is the better catchall label given that the blame for the terrible outcomes in countries like Chad, Nigeria, and Burma can be attributed to multiple factors: corrupt politicians, internal ethnic conflict, and multinationals throwing around money and swag.
Due to a combination of Exxon’s aggressive public relations campaign and simple rumor, people in Papua New Guinea believed the pipeline development would bring them prosperity and modern infrastructure.
the second half was about the Texas drought, and how influential locals there believe the Lord will bring the rains for them. ... If they'd just pray more. Lots of climate denial, as one would expect. But a nice juicy reminder at the end of the report showing reservoirs of water reserved for fracking only. Priceless.
