There are many myths about energy and the economy. In this post I explore the situation surrounding some of these myths. My analysis strongly suggests that the transition to a new Green Economy is not progressing as well as hoped. Green energy planners have missed the point that our physics-based economy favors low-cost producers. In fact, the US and EU may not be far from an economic downturn because subsidized green approaches are not truly low-cost. [1] The Chinese people have long believed that... Читать дальше...
China is making further inroads into Iraqi oil and gas by inking an initial agreement with Iraq’s state-owned Midland Oil Company to develop the Mansuriya gas field with a Chinese-Iraqi consortium. The already-producing Mansuriya field foresees production of 100 million standard cubic feet of gas over a period of 18 months and 300 mscf projected over a period of 4-5 years, Reuters reported, citing a Iraqi oil ministry statement on Monday. The consortium brings together China's Gereh and Petro Iraq. Читать дальше...
EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) researchers have used a genetic learning algorithm to identify optimal pitch profiles for the blades of vertical-axis wind turbines. Vertical-axis wind turbines with their high energy potential, have until now been vulnerable to strong gusts of wind. The explanatory open access paper has been published Nature Communications. When you consider today’s industrial wind turbine, you likely picture the windmill design, technically known as a horizontal-axis…
Prices at the U.S. pump have fallen for four straight weeks, dropping another 3.5 cents from a week ago, down to $3.55 per gallon on Monday just ahead of the official start of summer driving season over Memorial Day weekend, according to GasBuddy, Based on prices at the pump a month ago, the national average per gallon has dropped 12 cents, but remains 2.2 cents higher than this same time last year, GasBuddy noted, while the national average per gallon of diesel has fallen 3.3 cents week-on-week and 12 cents year-on-year. Читать дальше...
Rapidly expanding Chinese automaker BYD is close to a deal that would see it supply all-electric double decker buses in London. Transport giant Go-Ahead Group is set to award the Shenzhen-based firm a contract to build more than 100 of the vehicles at around £400,000 each and £100,000 cheaper than its UK competitors, sources told the Sunday Times. Transport for London (TfL), chaired by Mayor Sadiq Khan, has given the decision the green light. BYD previously partnered with competitor Alexander Dennis... Читать дальше...
Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude oil exporter, saw its crude shipments rise in March to the highest level in 9 months, the latest data by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI) showed on Monday. Saudi crude exports rose by 96,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March compared to February, to hit 6.413 million bpd, according to the JODI data which compiles self-reported figures from the individual countries. The rise in exports in March was the second consecutive monthly increase in Saudi... Читать дальше...
The decision to switch from a fossil-fuel-powered car to a more emission-friendly model can be governed by a variety of factors, ranging from monetary to ideological. As Statista's Florian Zandt reports, a recent survey from Statista's Consumer Insights suggests that the adoption of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) can also be seen as a generational question, at least in the United States. You will find more infographics at Statista For example, 22 percent of U.S. respondents... Читать дальше...
Physical crude oil markets have weakened as demand is underperforming expectations amid sufficient supply, analysts and traders have told Reuters. Demand appears to be especially underwhelming in Europe, where the key crude grades that underpin the Brent Crude benchmark have weakened in recent weeks, to the widest discounts to Dated Brent for a year. Demand in the U.S. also looks weaker for the coming start of summer travel. Refinery utilization rates haven’t rebounded despite the end of planned maintenance season. Читать дальше...
ALMATY, Kazakhstan - When it comes to gold, Uzbekistan has bought low and large. Now it is selling high.World Gold Council data shows that Uzbekistan was the world's top gold-selling country in March with 11 tons sold, with only Thailand's 10 tons coming anywhere near in terms of volume. Most other central banks in the world are trying to accumulate the precious metal, but Uzbekistan did plenty of that before the current trend. And with several economic headwinds to contend with, Uzbekistan's strategy to sell gold has a logic to it. Читать дальше...
The United States’ largest pension fund, CalPERS, will vote against the ExxonMobil board at the upcoming May 29 board meeting, in a move designed to block the supermajor’s attempt to sue activist investors who are pressuring it to move more quickly on lowering emissions, Reuters reported on Monday. Activist investors have already withdrawn their resolution, but Exxon has continued to forge ahead with the lawsuit, attempting to recoup legal costs related and other expenses accrued in the interim. Читать дальше...
Oil companies operating in Kurdistan refuse to amend their contracts with the semi-autonomous region of OPEC’s second-largest producer Iraq, which has led to an impasse in the talks about resuming oil exports from Kurdistan, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, said this weekend. “The companies refuse to amend, so the process stops at this point,” Al-Sudani said in a televised press conference on Sunday, as carried by Bloomberg. Crude oil exports from Kurdistan have now been halted for more than a year... Читать дальше...
BHP has until Wednesday to return with a binding offer or walk away under UK takeover rules Major shareholders in Anglo American are reportedly open to accepting a simpler takeover bid from its bigger rival BHP, which could create a mining juggernaut. The Telegraph reported that two major Anglo investors said BHP’s current plan to break up the business was too complicated but suggested they would consider a revised bid that did away with this element. “Taking away that conditionality can improve... Читать дальше...
Australia could face a natural gas shortage later this decade without action to boost domestic supply, according to industry group Australian Energy Producers, which endorsed the federal government’s recently released gas strategy. “This is a challenge Australia faces this decade. As the Future Gas Strategy points out, without action, the east coast of Australia faces projected shortfalls by 2028 and the west coast by 2030,” Australian Energy Producers chair Meg O’Neill is set to say in a speech on Tuesday... Читать дальше...
ADNOC has bought an 11.7% stake in Phase 1 of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG export project in Texas, Abu Dhabi’s national oil company said on Monday, announcing its first strategic investment in the U.S. The state energy firm of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also signed a 20-year LNG offtake agreement from Rio Grande LNG Train 4 with NextDecade. ADNOC acquired the stake in Phase 1, or trains 1 through 3 at Rio Grande LNG (RGLNG), through an investment vehicle of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP)... Читать дальше...
New U.S. LNG projects risk delays amid the Biden Administration’s push for lower emissions and the ongoing reviews about the environmental impact of the planned export facilities. After President Joe Biden halted new LNG project approvals in January for a review of the current permitting process, the U.S. Administration is looking to implement stricter rules on pollution the export facilities are allowed to emit in the community. These new requirements are holding back projects, one being Venture... Читать дальше...
Venezuela’s government has announced it will ban bitcoin mining and seized 11,000 application-specific integrated circuits used to mine the cryptocurrency. The statement also said the government had disconnected a number of Bitcoin mines as it sought to “disconnect all cryptocurrency mining farms in the country from the electrical system, avoiding the high impact on demand,” Bitcoin.com reported. Cointelegraph reports that the announcement also followed the confiscation of 2,000 Bitcoin mining devices... Читать дальше...
The eastern Libyan government has offered Russia’s Tatneft the opportunity to build a refinery in Libya as part of efforts to attract investments to the region. According to the Libyan Observer, the offer was made during the Russia-Islamic World Forum in the republic of Tatarstan, when the eastern government’s investment minister suggested that Tatneft build a refinery in Benghazi or Tobruk. Tatneft already has operations in Libya, where last year it struck oil at a field it operates together with... Читать дальше...
Crude oil prices began the week with a gain following the news that a helicopter with Iran’s president on board had crashed and both he and the country’s foreign minister died. According to a Reuters report from earlier in the day, Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amirabdollahian were on board a helicopter traveling across mountainous terrain in heavy fog, returning from the border with Azerbaijan where the officials attended the opening of a joint Azeri-Iranian hydropower project. A later report said rescue... Читать дальше...
A couple of years ago, commodity pundits predicted that the green metal quartet of copper, lithium, nickel and cobalt would become the new age oil rivaling the total value of crude oil production amid the clean energy transition. A 2021 Eurasia Review analysis forecast that prices for the four metals could reach historical peaks for an unprecedented, sustained period in a net zero emissions scenario, with total value of production rising more than four-fold for the period 2021-2040. Unfortunately... Читать дальше...
While solar and wind power installations and power generation are booming in Europe, policymakers need to address the growing gap between baseload capacity and soaring intermittent renewable electricity. Europe still has a lot of work to do in providing flexible and reliable grids to handle the soaring share of renewables in electricity generation and consumption. Last month, the European Union saw a record-low power generation from fossil fuels and a record-high share of renewables in the electricity mix... Читать дальше...
