The recent headlines on Brazil's "exciting" once-in-a-decade 5 to 8-billion barrel offshore oil discovery generated major financial market excitement (by way of a 26% price increase for Petrobas's NYSE-traded shares). What the press did not address was, firstly, the fact that the discovery well cost over $250-million -- and secondly, that at the world's current oil consumption, a 5-billion barrel reserve is depleted in only 59 days !! And as an 8-billion barrel find -- the aggregate new reserves would be ddepleted in only 94 days !! Put another way -- at the world's current oil consumption rate, the reserves found in this truly major and newsworthy oil discovery would be depleted in about 3-months (assuming that the new field reserves are at the top end of current estimates !!).

The financial and commodity markets are also turning a blind eye to the fact that the world's current oil finding rate -- increasingly difficult and costly in any event -- currently comprises only about 50% of current world oil consumption !! In our world of inexorably rising oil consumption (think "China" and "India"), the industry must also contend with the recurrent supply uncertainties deriving from natural disasters and the many notably unstable political regimes involved. Is there a more compelling argument for the inevitable "Hydrogen Economy?"

Understandably -- the universe of "alternative" energies (solar, wind, ethanol, biofuels, et al) are now being widely promoted. But without a known exception, all remain dependent upon direct and indirect Government subsidies in varying forms. A long list of valid and other reasons support subsidies for "alternative" energy sources -- despite hydrogen being increasingly understood and accepted as the obvious, and only, REPLACEMENT energyresource.

The front-and-center issue is that the industrialized world must soon embrace the "Hydrogen Economy" simply as a matter of survival -- as the world's oil and gas resources approach depletion. Other energy fuels, as coal and nuclear, are inevitably either environmentally degrading -- or in the case of nuclear, generate dangerous waste products incurring increasing disposal costs.

The "Hydrogen Economy" will eliminate the rapidly rising environmental costs of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide (NOX) and sulphurous oxide (SOX) emissions (greenhouse gases) and the resulting global warming. The longer term costs of maintaining environmental stability cannot be ignored. By generating "clean" energy, with benign environmental impact, the "Hydrogen Economy" will provide the only longer term, economic pristine alternative (more
correctly -- the REPLACEMENT alternative).

Depletion and pollution concerns will be substantially eliminated in the "Hydrogen Economy" because our planet's hydrogen reserves are virtually inexhaustible -- and its combustion products, exclusively heat and water vapour, are environmentally pristine. A reminder here that our Sun's energy is fuelled by burning hydrogen !!

It is increasingly evident and accepted that the inevitable "Hydrogen Economy" will have a dramatic economic impact on the world as we know it -- and certainly on the many major players in the massive global energy industry universe.

About the Phoenix Position in Hydrogen Generation:

Phoenix intends to maintain a leading role in the future "Hydrogen Economy" -- capitalizing on the primary development milestone we reached with the October 2006 grant of U.S. Patent 7,122,171 covering the innovative, proprietary hydrogen gas generation technology on which Phoenix holds long term, worldwide exclusivity rights through its U.S. subsidiary -- Phoenix International Energy Inc. Additional international patent filings have been completed under the rules of the International Patent Cooperation Treaty in Canada, the European Union, Australia and India; other national coverages are under review.

The Phoenix position is secured through the comprehensive Technology License Agreement with the major U.S. research university under which the intellectual property rights are maintained for a period of 20 years beyond the 17-year life of the last patent issued under accord. Phoenix maintains that the newly issued U.S. Patent establishes a strong measure of confidence that no "prior art" has been disclosed in its patent application examination process that may conflict with the basic, proprietary "foundation" technology covering the solar light-powered generation of minimal cost pure hydrogen fuel gas from an ordinary water feedstock. The benign environmental
credentials of hydrogen generation (from a water feedstock) -- and its combustion products (only heat and water vapour) -- will ensure the survival of a more pristine planet Earth.