The Oil Drum

Chevron reports decline in oil, natural gas production

Chevron Corp. said Tuesday that first-quarter oil and natural gas production fell 1.2% after the Venezuelan government seized bigger stakes in two oil fields.

ConocoPhillips: The anti-Exxon

The Texas-based oil company breaks with the other U.S. majors to support mandatory national regulation of greenhouse gas emissions

Venezuela’s nationalization trend will not sweep Latin America

As Venezuela’s May 1 deadline for nationalization of several major oil operations nears, studies by Standard & Poor’s and Rice University suggest nationalization may not always have dire consequences.

Growing energy nexus: Energy-hungry China looks to Latin America

China's fast-paced economic growth—averaging 9.1% per year in the last decade—can only be sustained by high energy consumption, an increasing amount of which will need to be imported. Given global competition for energy resources, China's energy policy is now focused on securing a steady supply in the medium to long term. This means looking beyond traditional suppliers in Asia and the Middle East and seeking new alliances with potential suppliers in Africa and Latin America. However, while Latin America's importance to China is growing, it will never become a core energy supplier. Further, relations are likely to remain of a commercial nature, and China is not apt to become a committed political ally for Latin America.

Will there be a gas OPEC?

Indicatively, the louder the appeals for a gas OPEC, the fewer demands that Russia should ratify the Energy Charter. The tactic of sidetracking attention works. For Moscow, entry into a coordination cartel is a much less binding step than ratification of the Charter with all of its indigestible protocols. If the leading gas exporters reach some agreements of principle, the rules of the game will undergo a dramatic change.

Who profits from a gas OPEC?

Four years after the fall of Baghdad - which for the neo-cons would signal the advent of the US as "the new OPEC" - a meeting in the tiny Gulf emirate of Qatar may be signaling the birth of a new cartel: a "gas OPEC", grouping countries controlling 73% of the world's gas reserves and 42% of production.

Appetite for ethanol spurs food price inflation

It began with the Mexican tortilla crisis, and is now spreading to the price of everything from meat and milk to Coke.

North America's love affair with ethanol — produced mainly from corn — is unleashing a surprising surge of inflation through the global food supply chain.

No US Corn Shortage Seen Yet Despite Ethanol Demand

The amount of corn used for ethanol continues to climb but the supply of corn is beginning to rebound a bit as livestock feeders seek cheaper sources of animal feed, such as feed wheat, analysts said on Tuesday.

No one is saying the food-versus-fuel debate will go away, but for now it appears the intensity is easing a little, they said.

World Bank Warns of Environment Cost of India Growth

India's robust economic growth will put unprecedented pressures on its land, water, air, soil and forestry resources, a World Bank report said on Tuesday.

Bush Administration Appeals Ruling on Drilling

The Bush administration and the timber industry are appealing a federal court ruling that struck down a policy to allow logging and oil and gas drilling in large undeveloped sections of national forests.

Concentrating solar power better option than nuclear

I refer to 'concentrating solar power' (CSP), the simple but effective technique of concentrating sunlight using mirrors to create heat, and then using the heat to raise steam and drive turbines and generators, just like a conventional power station. It is possible to store solar heat in melted salts so that electricity generation may continue at night or on cloudy days. This technology has been generating electricity successfully in California since 1985 and half a million Californians currently get their electricity from this source. CSP plants are now being planned or built in many parts of the world.

Purdue Energy Center Symposium to Pave the Road to a Hydrogen Economy

With the continued rising cost and demand for oil and gasoline, international leaders will come to Purdue University to share ideas and information on how to end global dependence on fossil fuels and move to a hydrogen economy.

As climate worries grow, cities turn green

Green roofs aren't the future: They're already here. In Chicago, 2.5 million square feet of downtown roof space is now covered with hardy plants such as sedum and prairie grass--the better to lower heating and air-conditioning costs (by 10 percent or more) and dramatically reduce rainwater runoff.

OPEC-10 March Oil Output 26.575M B/D, Up 90,000 B/D Vs Feb

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries raised its crude-oil output in March following two months of cuts, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

The 10 OPEC members subject to production quotas, not including Iraq and recent member Angola, produced 26.575 million barrels a day, up 90,000 barrels a day from February levels, according to a report by the Energy Information Administration. The EIA is the statistics arm of the Energy Department.

China Plans to Boost Oil and Gas Output to Meet Booming Demand

China plans to produce 193 million tons of crude oil and 92 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2010, said the nation's top planning agency.

Mexican, Colombian, C. American leaders promise to revitalize regional development

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said his country's reduced commitment to the refinery was due to the declining production at its largest oil field Cantarell.

"We want to give the refinery project viability with realistic alternatives while taking care of Mexico's own production and consumption," Calderon said...

Russia to Delay Construction of Pacific Pipeline Due to Oil Shortages

Russian government official said on Tuesday, April 10, that construction of the second leg of Asia-bound Pacific oil pipeline could be delayed by three-four years from its original March 2008 deadline due shortages in oil supply from underdeveloped East Siberian fields.

Siberian Gas Pipeline Bursts for a Second Time in 10 Days

The number of accidents at oil production centres of the Khanty- Mansi Autonomous Area rose by 17.4 per cent in 2005 against the previous year, with 4,200 accidents registered in 2005. Metal corrosion accounts for almost 90 per cent of the accidents.

Look Out: $500 Uranium Is On the Way

And here's the dirty little secret why uranium prices could be stable at $2,000 per pound...

The cost of uranium is only a minuscule part of a power plant's spending. Analysts have reported that nuclear power plants can cost more than $2 billion! That's just the cost of construction, which doesn't include the billions spent on maintenance throughout the plant's lifetime. Spending $2,000 per pound of uranium to keep your plant running is minimal to investors.

Asian Refining Facing Hard Times

Between now and 2011, a spate of new refineries with a total capacity of 7 million barrels per day will be built. Half of that new capacity will be in Asia. The refineries aim to profit from the ongoing global shortage in refining capacity, which has sent crack spreads soaring. However, the threat of overcapacity now looms large.

Chavez Guarantees Latin American Energy Supply for 100 Years - Calls Bush ethanol plan "craziness"

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called for the creation of a Latin American energy system to prioritize local markets in a "true energy revolution," guaranteeing oil and gas supply to the region for 100 years.

"All the oil and energy that Latin America needs is here in Venezuela," Chavez said tonight at a graduation ceremony in Caracas. "That resource, once in the hands of the empire, is now in Venezuelan hands, and we have it to share with the people of Cuba and the Caribbean, Nicaragua and Central America, Brazil and South America, at least for 100 years."

Urban farming thrives in Cuba

For the Cubans' recent history proves that, if driven by necessity, people can and will organize grassroots, community-based ways to feed themselves. At the same time, the Cuban experience shows that even a modest amount of government support and investment can greatly amplify community efforts. If - as a growing number of academics warn - industrial nations ever face food supply disruptions due to climate change or peak oil, such lessons will be vital.

Uranium prices rise 19% in one week!

By electrifying railroads and building electric cars (with tax breaks to make them affordable), along with conservation and pursuing alternative fuels, we could rev up our economy and eventually tell OPEC to go stick its oil where the sun don't shine.

Kerry, Gingrich debate global warming

Climate change is heating the earth and also warming relations between Democrat John Kerry and Republican Newt Gingrich.

Building boom fuels climate risk at Spain's beaches

Rapid construction of homes and hotels along Spain's shoreline means its beaches stand a greater risk of disappearing as climate change brings higher sea levels and more coastal erosion, officials said on Tuesday.

UN raises alarm on Africa's delay in addressing climate change

Africa, the continent most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, is not acting urgently enough to stem the dire economic and environmental damage of greenhouse gas emissions, the UN cautioned Tuesday.

Ghana: Government Opts For Nuclear Energy

The government has resolved to opt for nuclear energy as an alternative source of power in a move to avert any future energy crisis in the country.

U.K.: Will your home fail the new energy test?

Hundreds of thousands homes are likely to be given a poor 'green' rating under the Government's new energy efficiency tests.

From 1 June, all houses put up for sale will have to undergo a 'green' audit costing up to £200 and will be given a grade from A to G.

U.S. offers renewable fuel standards for vehicles

The United States announced new standards for renewable fuels for cars and trucks on Tuesday, but stopped short of committing to regulate greenhouse gases that spur global warming.

The renewable fuel standards program aims to cut dependence on foreign oil and curb global warming pollution by expanding the use of ethanol and other alternative fuels, said Stephen Johnson, head of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Uranium price jumps to record 40-year high

The price of uranium has recorded its biggest percentage increase since dealings were first reported almost 40 years ago. The cost of the fuel used in nuclear power plants jumped 19pc to $113 a pound at a US auction last week.

Wildcat growth in oil patch begins to trouble Albertans

The oil sands boom that's brought billions of dollars to Alberta has also brought anxiety to a significant number of citizens, some of whom are questioning the rapid pace of development as the provincial government nears the end of a long oil sands review.

Bodman: Summer gasoline supplies seen adequate - the U.S. Energy Secretary discusses gasoline supplies, the rumored natural gas OPEC, and filling the SPR.

African American Exodus from San Francisco

And, this problem is not unique to San Francisco – it is happening in cities all over the country. As the end of the automobile culture of suburbia draws near due to peak oil, the ones who really are in that higher income bracket are starting to come back to the cities, where everything is close by, often within walking distance. Hence the demand for the gentrification of San Franhatten, and African Americans won’t be the only population we will lose due to being priced out of the housing market.

West Coast to Feel the Pain of High Gas Prices

An oil industry analyst predicts that even if gasoline supplies and prices ease off in the rest of the nation this summer, the West won't be so lucky.

US faces change as climate warms

Chicago and Los Angeles will likely face increasing heat waves. Severe storm surges could hit New York and Boston. And cities that rely on melting snow for water may run into serious shortages.

Snowy forests 'increase warming'

Planting trees in snowy areas may worsen global warming as their canopies absorb sunlight which would otherwise be reflected by the snow, a study says.

New York pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

New York City produced 58 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2005, according to officials who promised on Tuesday to cut that by 30 percent by 2030 as the city tries to become a leader in the fight against global warming.

Millions face hunger from climate change

Rising global temperatures could melt Latin America's glaciers within 15 years, cause food shortages affecting 130 million people across Asia by 2050 and wipe out Africa's wheat crop, according to a U.N. report released Tuesday.