Anyhoo, as for this week that was, renewed hope of the US government propping up the ailing US economy (déjà vu²) has left crude markets wanting, as Ben Bernanke provided no further guidance to potential stimulus measures, while President Obama’s $450 billion plan to spur on job creation was met with a very tepid response. This has brought another choppy week for oil, as anticipation builds for the Federal Reserve meeting a week from this coming Tuesday to see what measures it may take next to divert the US economy away from its latest perilous journey toward double-dipdom. 

As for the good ship natty, tropical activity continues to bombard the US, bringing stormy weather and production-shuttering in the Gulf. Nonetheless, as temperatures (/demand) deteriorate, and the battening down of hatches remains more precautionary than damaging, natty remains pigeon-holed just below $4.  

This weekend is one of milestones for different reasons, as we reach the peak of hurricane season on Saturday, and the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday. With that in mind, let’s count our blessings, and delight in these bites:  

–Cool infographic on energy consumption in the US.

–Fantastic succinct summary: the world’s changing energy equation.

–Another great infographic: American identity according to social media. 

–Record rig counts point to oil shale.

–Go at it, geeks…40 rare photos from Star Wars.

–Think planning your city’s energy is easy? Prove it by playing Energyville. (h/t Jeff Lenetsky)

–A poor economy means less trash in the landfill - proven by Florida.

–Suez canal cargo correlation points to slowing global economic growth.

–2008: Next US president will be the Chauncey Gardener of Energy.

–Cartoon wheel - characters by color. Yep, big fan. 

–How are hurricanes named?

–The military looks to solar and energy efficiency.

–Halliburton CFO says new Frac fluid tastes like beer. (of course it does).

–Deep-fried everything.

The Burrito Deluxe Award of the Week goes to the passing of the peak of hurricane season this weekend. It has been pretty intense of late; we await the waning of it.

The Burnt Burrito Award of the Week goes to Greek government debt. While headlines have been dominated by the will we / won’t we / when will we see further stimulus from the US government, the yield on 2-year Greek government debt has now reached 56%, inferring near-certain default.  

p.s. I am the guest speaker at an event at The Petroleum Club of Houston on Thursday, September 15th @4pm. If you are interested in attending please send me an email to matt@energyburrito.com 

Have a grand weekend!

Hey there! This is probably the happiest picture I’ve seen out of Japan in so long…it warmed the cockles of my heart: the battle against adversity continues. As for the week that was, we have welcomed in the start of injection season for natural gas with hoots and hollers (well, a bit of a rally at least) as prices find a floor at four (bucks). Meanwhile, back in the crude complex, although the desire of global leaders to oust Colonel Gadhafi (spelling variation #63) may be strong, his will to remain seems stronger. Crude has inevitably recouped a good deal of its losses after a short n’ sharp spate of profit-taking earlier in the week, as uncertainty reigns like April showers. Without further rambling, let’s hit some delights from the buffet of bites: 

–A controversial report came out this week, saying shale may be dirtier than coal.  

–But no! We’re talkin’ ’bout a shale gas revolution…

–But yes! Shale is not a credible ‘new green message’. This debate has legs, will run on…

–Jelly bean resembling Kate Middleton to be auctioned for $800.

–Retail prices: diesel outpaces gasoline.

–Canadian oil sands on the verge of a boom…again.

–(Odd) skyscraper designs of the future. (h/t Trace Mayer)

–The wacky world of Nonfarm payroll revisions.

–Let’s make an action movie! (here’s an infographic how).

–Interest soars in nat gas vehicles.

–EU biofuel targets are ‘unethical’.

–Farmer dyes sheep orange to stop them being stolen.

–New app calculates calories from photos of food.

–US is on track to have 1 million plug-in vehicles by 2015.

–A website dedicated to pictures of Kim Jong Il looking at stuff. Oddly fascinating. (h/t @michael_weis)

The Burrito Deluxe Award of the Week goes to UK natural gas, for breaking back below 60p/therm. It has regained some sanity after a more-than-momentary lapse of reason following the Japanese earthquake and the fear of diverted supply in the form of LNG cargoes. 

The Burnt Burrito Award of the Week goes to Spring Break for distorting data. Not only were jobless claims 22k higher than expected due to this (we hope), but implied demand for gasoline reached its highest level since the week before Christmas due to this temporory boost in demand.

Have a riproaring weekend!