This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog.
I realize that the headline that I have chosen for this article may sound a bit wild to many of you, but keep reading because what we are potentially facing is extremely serious. Right now, we are already in the midst of an epic global energy crisis.
There have already been significant power outages all over the planet, and prices are spiking at a pace that is absolutely breathtaking. With each passing day, it seems like supplies of oil, natural gas, propane, and coal just keep getting tighter, and what is really odd is that it is happening so early in the year. Summer just ended a few weeks ago, and the heart of winter in the northern hemisphere is still several months away. So if things are this bad already, what are things going to look like when we get into January and February?
This morning, I was stunned when I pulled up the Drudge Report and saw that one gas station in California was now selling gasoline for $7.59 a gallon…
Gas keeps getting more and more expensive, especially in California. But perhaps nowhere is it pricier than the remote central coast community of Gorda.
The town’s only gas station is offering regular unleaded for $7.59. Premium is nearly $8.50.
The good news is that a gallon of gasoline is not nearly that high in most of the rest of the nation.
But the bad news is that prices are rising aggressively from coast to coast. As of yesterday, Fox News was reporting that the price of gasoline had risen “for 22 straight days”.
The main reason why prices are skyrocketing is because supplies are starting to get really tight. In fact, it is being reported that the crude oil hub in Cushing, Oklahoma could be “effectively out of crude” in just a few weeks…
In a note predicting the near-term dynamics of the oil market, JPMorgan’s commodity Natasha Kaneva writes that in a world of pervasive nat gas and coal shortages which are forcing the power sector to increasingly turn to oil (boosting demand by 750bkd during winter and drawing inventory by 2.1mmb/d in Nov and Dec), Cushing oil storage – which just dropped to 31.2mm barrels, the lowest since 2018…
… may be just weeks from being “effectively out of crude.” The bank’s conclusion: “if nothing were to change in the Cushing balance over the next two months, we might expect front WTI spreads to spike to record highs—a “super backwardation” scenario.”
Needless to say, we have never seen anything like this happen before.
In such a scenario, how high could the price of oil potentially go?
And if oil price records are being shattered in the months ahead, what will ordinary Americans have to pay when they go to fill up their vehicles?
I have a feeling that we are about to enter uncharted territory.
Meanwhile, one expert recently told Bloomberg that we could soon be facing “propane-market armageddon”…
In the report by Bloomberg, Ang says prices for the first quarter of 2022 are already far above later supplies, saying, “it may indicate players are preparing for propane-market armageddon.” He added that some areas could see outright shortages before winter ends.
To add to the stress, Poynter says some weather forecasts are already calling for a colder than normal winter, thanks to the La Nina effect. Experts call for an 87% chance of the system bringing an early and harsh winter season.
The use of the term “outright shortages” definitely alarms me, because there are millions of Americans that use propane to heat their homes.
If the propane runs out in the middle of the winter, what are those people supposed to do?
On the other side of the globe, a tightening of natural gas supplies has become an enormous problem. According to Global News, natural gas prices in Europe and Asia “have more than tripled” in 2021…
Regional natural gas markets in the United States are seeing prices for this winter surge along with global record highs — suggesting that the energy bills causing headaches in Europe and Asia will hit the world’s top gas producer before long.
Gas prices in Europe and Asia have more than tripled this year, causing manufacturers to curtail activity from Spain to Britain and sparking power crises in China.
In addition to a lack of natural gas, a severe coal shortage has also contributed to the economic chaos that we are witnessing in China at the moment.
Just recently, CNN reported that energy shortages had already spread to 20 different provinces…
Power shortages have spread to 20 provinces in recent weeks, forcing the government to ration electricity during peak hours and some factories to suspend production. These disruptions resulted in a sharp drop in industrial output last month and weighed on the outlook for China’s economy.
India is being hit really hard by the global coal shortage as well.
In fact, we are being told that most of India’s coal plants “have critically low levels of coal inventory”…
Most of India’s coal-fired power plants have critically low levels of coal inventory at a time when the economy is picking up and fueling electricity demand.
Coal accounts for around 70% of India’s electricity generation.
So the truth is that my headline for this article is not over the top at all.
The shortages aren’t something that we have to wait for. They are already here, and they are going to get a lot worse.
Of course, this new energy crisis is going to make our global supply chain headaches even more frustrating.
In our economic system, it takes energy to literally do just about anything, and as energy becomes more expensive virtually every form of economic activity will also become more expensive.
That means that all of the stuff that is made for us in Asia and shipped halfway around the planet is going to start costing a lot more.
As toy shortages intensify heading into the holiday season, we are already seeing some resellers pricing toys at nearly 400 percent of their normal levels…
American Girl’s sold-out blonde winter princess doll, which retailed for $250, is now going for up to $999 on platforms such as Mercari and eBay.
The cat-themed Gabby’s Dollhouse, which is all the rage for this year’s preschoolers, has nearly quadrupled on some sites from its original $55 price tag.
This is the “new normal”, and so you might as well get used to it.
I am shocked that things have deteriorated so rapidly, and this new global energy crisis is definitely setting the stage for so many things that I have been warning about.
As global energy supplies get tighter and tighter, all of us will feel the pain.
And the experts are telling us that things are not going to turn around any time soon.
So I hope you have a plan for this winter and beyond because things are really starting to get crazy out there.
***It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “7 Year Apocalypse” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.***
About the Author: My name is Michael Snyder and my brand new book entitled “7 Year Apocalypse” is now available on Amazon.com. In addition to my new book, I have written five other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, “Get Prepared Now”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned) By purchasing the books you help to support the work that my wife and I are doing, and by giving it to others you help to multiply the impact that we are having on people all over the globe. I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe. I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article. The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial, or health decisions. I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and anyway that you can share these articles with others is a great help. During these very challenging times, people will need hope more than ever before, and it is our goal to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with as many people as we possibly can.
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If you live in the north cut wood.
If you live on the prairie collect dried dung.
It gets cold down here in the South where I live too, last winter we even had a few nights where we had frost on the grass, and it got down to freezing.
Yes as this article states, Gas prices in CommieFornia are as high as $7.59 per gallon of Gas. You woke morons voted these criminals in, to run your economy. Congrats.
My FL “Off the Grid” BOL has been running Solar for 6-3/4 years for electricity. I have not had a single utility bill in this entire time. Do the Math on that. Get off their fragile, manipulative, greedy grid. I use propane to heat, cook, and grill. I am in FL and only used 1- 15Lb BBQ grill size tank for heat last winter. Total cost for winter heat =$13. Time to get smart people, you need to change your lifestyle and adapt.
I SUGEST you get plenty of fire wood and partition off parts of your house to keep the heat in and learn how to heat rocks.
Food you should have stocked up by now so shame on you if you have not. So not necessary in this order you should by now have food, warm cloths, at least a half a tank of fuel in your cars/trucks, communications
, means to hunt fish and protect yourself.
Most of all you should be grounded , know what’s going on, and common knowledge. Did I forget anything ?
I normally fill propane in the early spring, but because of a medical problem, I let it slide. I’ve talked to my propane supplier recently and he has put me on his list, but with his farm accounts, I maybe looking around to find someone else for my propane. So it is or will be a good question if and when I can get more propane,. I normally prepay for 600 gals, but because of the weather, and the political situation, who knows.
Due to the massive Biden energy cost increases, so many of the Unprepared on fixed incomes will have to choose between “HEAT or EAT” this winter.
And when the Grid Crashes for weeks or months with no end in sight, you will all be living “Off the Grid.” Got a back up plan? Plan B, C, D,…
I wouldn’t worry. Let’s calm down and think rationally about this. In whose interests does it serve that you buy heaps of crap from China every Christmas to give to spoilt ingrate kiddies and relatives?
Is it possible to dial back your energy usage during the winter months?
The answer to both these questions is simple: spend your money on things that give more value, for example a book, or more personal pleasure, a nice bottle of wine, some nice cheese, or spend an evening in with the hottest honey you can find.
As for the ingrate children, how about getting them to go outside and play, or help grandma with the dishes? And do they really need the latest spy-ware toy from China anyway? I still laugh about the China doll that would actually ask kids to do things like ‘find out what color is mommy’s underwear’, or give details on when mommy is in or is she single.
Leave the shopping malls to the n##gers to fight over the latest cabbage patch doll re-incarnation.
A lot of if the shortage effect people will depend on the winter. A warm winter and people will probably be okay. An extremely cold winter and there will be problems and government “warming shelters” for those unable to heat their homes. Even electric heat will suffer, as we have went to natural gas combined cycle plants, which often switch to fuel oil when natural gas is curtailed, We shutdown our coal plants way to soon. Nukes are not being built, can’t get license and are being retired.
Good luck convincing just 20% of the population under the age of 65 to turn off their phones,computers, Internet,televisions, video games, etc; for just ONE day and find other ways to entertain themselves.
People have lost touch on how to entertain themselves without the use electronic devices.
If you want to know what controls most people simply look at what they are clutching in their hand and refuse to be separated from.
Energy & food. It’s not too late but the bells toll.
Survivors will adopt to new conditions and prepare for them,…………….. while the sheeple will not, and they will panic if they don’t get their girl a $900 doll while their heat is gone, power is out, no gas at the stations, and food is gone.
Whaaaa. I want my doll. Lol not! I’m not a human garbage can.
We make all these things, yet still experience fake shortages. Bring back better.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. Great Grandmother taught me well. Please check on your neighbors. 73
The globalists and their puppets have repeatedly used the phrase dark winter. Not sure why no one is taking them seriously on that. They’ve been very upfront about their plans for the great reset and this is part of that.
You still go to Drudge Report!?
Mal
From energy independence to dependence and price rises!
What change – Oh Ya Biden became president and went to war on domestic energy production.
USA voters are as dumb as rocks!!
Ain’t that the truth. I’m not an elitist, but one can never over estimate the gullibility and stupidity of the millions of f*ckwits who voted for prez. JB and the Dems.
You only got it 1/3 correct that is the number of STUPES residing in the USA the rest of us are not stupid, but have NOT been able to stop the scum currently running this country
The rest of us were needed to provide the numbers needed to elect the scum running this country, and we did.
let’s go BRANDON
Hollywierd told us this would happen with the movie, IDIOCRACY. First – take over the MSM. Second – take over the public schools. Third – hugely increase the size & scope of the centralized Fed.Govt. Fourth – heavily influence the way large companies are run. Fifth – ……..
Sounds like a basic Communist takeover to me. Plenty of useful idiots to make it happen.
$28 to $30 per gallon gasoline by May, 22 but don’t fret because there will be none available (at any price) by May.
The shortages of food will continue to slowly but inextricably mount until one day very soon, no food is available at the retail level – overnight panic and the psychopathy of the bulk of the population will immediately turn to despair, and then rage/violence. It is now long unavoidable.
The major and minor urban centers will become death zones in just days. One of the main killers will be dehydration from lack of water and dehydration from diarrhea from consuming water fouled by all variety of waterborne malaise. It will be fast and furious. Fast and furious. Preceded by general grid failure. Fiefdoms may spring up around municipal water towers. Comical.
As critical infrastructure becomes unmanned and derelict, cascading failures of things like nuclear power plants will render the earth a sterilized ball similar to our moon. Good day.
Sounds good to me.