Thanks. I was aware of that, but it's useful to have verification by an expert.

But my point is that the market architecture of the natural gas market is structurally different in that it has not become financialised in the way that the oil market - which is also oversupplied, but no-one knows how much - currently is.

My thesis is that the crude oil market has been systemically manipulated by producers for some time, funded by 'free' money from ETFs.

I have seen no refutation of this, and via the FT Alphaville blog, directly and indirectly received considerable agreement.

"Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky

I fail to see why shale gas should be a temporary solution (except that it, like tar sands, will run out some time in the long run). The resource base is huge, and while the individual wells decline at an incredible pace, you can drill an incredible number of new wells. Indeed, you have to do that. That only tells me Baker Hughes will be busy in the future.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.