"Robert Lee" wrote in message .. .
I was wondering if you worked out how high the price of oil has to be in
order for an SPS project to be profitable.


Good question, because the price of oil is artificially low right now,
even at $40/barrel.

First, could somebody please compute a "realistic" price for oil,
which includes the following factors:

- cost of military to assure access to oil supplies

- economic cost of vast balance of trade deficit

If we generalize to all fossil fuels, including coal as well as oil,
then there are other hidden costs:

- cost of Mercury pollution to seafood

- future cost of introducing emission controls for Mercury, Sulphur
et al (presently blocked by the polluters)

- healthcare cost and reduced life expectancy due to particulate air
pollution and chemical air pollution

- future cost of proposed CO2 remediation systems (e.g. underground
CO2 storage and intercontinental network of pipelines)

- future collateral cost of global warming

Those are some of the biggies.

I have never seen anybody present a holistic per barrel cost for oil.
It is difficult for SPS to compete against the present phony price
structure of fossil fuels whose prices are kept artificially low, and
real costs hidden.