Peak Oil: Punctuated Power

Our power, water and communications utilities are now heavily interdependent and are particularly energy hungry — being unable to withstand interruptions to their energy source for more than a few hours or days at most. The impending peak in the world’s production of oil will have unforeseen consequences to the supply of all utilities that are wide ranging and potentially severe. The Hubbert curve which may be used to predict the supply of oil suggests a gentle decline in the oil flows of around 3% to 6% per year. The consequences of that decline will be anything but gentle and unless action is taken beforehand will potentially result in a simultaneous and catastrophic collapse of all our utilities and along with it our present way of life.

Green Concerns Over the Energy Bill

Environmental groups are anxiously watching three votes this week that could significantly water down the energy bill currently before the Senate. The outcome of the votes will determine whether or not the environmental community supports the legislation drafted by Senate Democrats.

Russia's Thermal Coal Demand Seen Tripling by 2020

Demand for thermal coal in Russia, the world's fifth-largest coal miner, could more than triple by 2020 as the country invests billions of dollars to expand its power network, industry officials said on Monday.

Thermal coal supply would rise by more than 50 percent and the proportion of exports in overall output from the world's third-biggest coal exporter would fall, said Vladimir Shchadov, deputy director of Rosenergo, an agency within the Energy Ministry.

Pakistan Shrugs Off US Opposition to Gas Pipeline Project

Pakistan vowed on Monday to go ahead with the US$7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project despite opposition from the United States.

US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher last week reiterated Washington's opposition to the gas pipeline project in Islamabad and advised Islamabad to turn to Central Asia for its energy needs.

"We repeatedly have said that we have energy requirements and we find this pipeline feasible," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam told reporters in Islamabad.

Quenching China's thirst for oil

In the first five months this year, China's net oil import roared to 65.83 million tons, an increase of 11.5 percent from the same period last year. At the same time, China produced 77.51 million tons of oil, a 1.7 percent rise year-on-year.

Customs statistics show that from January to May, China imported 67.43 million tons of crude oil, up 9.6 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, it exported 1.6 million tons, down 36.6 percent.

IEA Studies Safety Net for Natural-Gas Supply

The International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 oil-consuming nations, may build a "safety net" of natural-gas stockpiles to buttress supply, said the agency's executive director, Claude Mandil.

Gunmen Occupy Nigerian Oil Installation

Unidentified gunmen have occupied an oil pipeline switching center in Nigeria and are preventing local workers and security forces from leaving, company officials said Monday.

Chevron's Nigeria Oil Output Down 42,000 bpd After Attack - Report

Chevron Corp. (CVX) has cut oil output from Nigeria by 42,000 barrels a day following an invasion of its Abiteye flow station, Reuters news agency said Monday.

Earlier, Chevron Nigeria Ltd., operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company/Chevron Joint Venture, confirmed a group of 20 armed youths invaded the station Sunday.

Iraqi union leader urges opposition to oil law

A proposed law regulating Iraq's oil industry would foster U.S. "hegemony" over the world's third largest oil reserves and Iraqi oil workers are determined to oppose it, an Iraqi union leader said on Monday.

Geopolitics, gold and the oil price

Instability in Nigeria is the present driving force behind oil prices, now back at a nine-month high, while gold seems to have turned a corner with the highly significant changes in the US bond market. But let us not forget that a real spike in both the oil and gold price is very likely to require a particular constellation of geopolitics.

Petrobras Workers Threaten 5-day Strike in July

Workers at state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), or Petrobras, may go on a five-day strike beginning July 5, Brazil's main oil workers' union said in a release on its Web site.

The council of the federation of Brazilian oil worker unions, or FUP, Sunday unanimously approved a strike that would affect Brazil's oil production, the release said. Petrobras produces more than 95% of Brazil's oil output of about 1.85 million barrels a day.

China welcome to explore Iraqi oil resources

China is welcome to explore oil resources in Iraq as a new law is set to open its oilfields to international companies, the Iraqi ambassador to China said yesterday.

"We encourage Chinese enterprises to join the multinational competition for exploration of Iraqi oilfields," said Mohammad Sabir Ismail.

Nigeria: Fuel, water scarcity cripple Abeokuta

ECONOMIC activities were practically grounded to a halt in Abeokuta the Ogun State capital yesterday as the fuel scarcity continued to bite harder while water and electricity supplies still remained unavailable.

The acute water scarcity, which started in the state capital on Monday last week, worsened the plights of residents, who were also experiencing outage and fuel shortage leaving most people frustrated and stranded.

Mexico Tax Bill Should Include Pemex, Beltrones Says

Mexico's Senate leader, Manlio Fabio Beltrones, said President Felipe Calderon's plan to boost tax collection should also address how to increase resources for state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos by lessoning its tax burden.

Eastern Mediterranean Oil Politics

Oil drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean Sea has emerged as an issue over the past few months following an initiative enacted by the Cypriot government to hand out research and drilling rights for oil reservoirs that might be found deep under the sea, and worth some $500 billion.

Saving Holland: The Netherlands deals with climate change

With much of its land below sea level, the Netherlands is charting a course around ominous climate-change trends.

Part II is here.

The Promise of the Blue Revolution

Aquaculture can maintain living standards while averting the ruin of the oceans.

Geological Society of America: The future of hydrocarbons: Hubbert's peak or a plateau?

Due to economics, science, technology, and the increased manufacturing of hydrocarbons from sources other than oil, the world's production of oil and gas in the twenty-first century will not peak sharply but will plateau or gradually decline. The scenario presented here places us among the optimists.

Power cuts spark riots in Pakistan's biggest city

Youths rampaged through Pakistan's biggest city overnight, torching a police booth and erecting blazing barricades to protest 10-hour power cuts - a fresh headache for the government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Electricity shortages have struck much of Pakistan just as temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius, forcing businesses to close or throw away perishable products and leaving residents stewing in their homes.

Resentment at the outages has begun boiling over into the streets of Karachi, the country's main port and business capital, where anger is focused on the privatized local power utility.

Pakistan: Sugar mills may be allowed to generate power

The government is expected to allow sugar mills to use furnace oil as co-fuel for power production to overcome the worst ever energy crisis in country’s history. The sugar industry can produce about 2000MW electricity in five years.

An earlier initiative by the government to utilise sugar industry’s capacity for power generation about two years ago had failed to materialise because of gas shortages and the government did not consider furnace oil as an alternative fuel at that time. The electricity shortage has become acute now and the government is ready to purchase it at higher tariffs.

Philippines: Shell team to review options

Pilipinas Shell late last year concluded that the environment was far “too overheated to do an economic project, as the cost of raw materials and services increased substantially, resulting in abnormally escalated cost estimates.”

...Actual cost of the expansion, according to officials, had gone up by 40 percent due to the huge demand in services and raw materials worldwide.

Petrochemical woes in the pipeline

The European petrochemicals industry is coming under increasing strain from two distinct quarters. First, rich oil-producing Middle East countries and China are investing heavily to capture a bigger share of the world market for these basic chemical products.

Second, European regulations, however well-intentioned, are placing a further heavy burden on the continent's big petrochemicals groups. This is making it even harder for them to compete with the new capacity, which will soon be flowing out of the developing world.

Lithuanian parliament backs controversial law on nuclear plant

The Lithuanian parliament gave its backing on Tuesday to a controversial law concerning the construction of a new nuclear power plant, paving the way for final approval next week.

The draft law has been written to give a legal framework to the most ambitious energy project the Baltic states have ever attempted: a nuclear power station jointly built by Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland.

Oil: Ghana could become 'an African tiger'

Ghana's President John Kufuor says the discovery of the country's first major oil deposit could turn the West African country into an "African tiger".

"Even without oil, we are doing so well... With oil as a shot in the arm, we're going to fly," he told the BBC.

Ghana: Akuse High Tension Cable Thief Burnt to Death

THE VOLTA River Authority [VRA] and Electricity Company of Ghana [ECG] apart from struggling to find a lasting solution to the current energy crisis, are also suffering from intermittent cutting of high-tension cables by criminals.

Suspects take advantage of the quiet atmosphere often enjoyed during the middle of the day at Akuse and illegally climb the pylons and cut the cables, that supply electricity to Tema and other parts of the country, for sale.

NGO warns of desertification

The Friends of the Earth-Ghana has appealed to government to recognise the links between the current energy crisis, the problems of desertification and climate change and the toll they take on national and local economies.

The Mainstreaming of Green Buildings (and Everything Else)

Few people realize that it's the building sector -- not industry or transportation -- responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions. The good news is that this vibrant market proves that we can dramatically cut emissions sharply and reap a broad swath of economic and other benefits at the same time. Part of the solution is right in front of us. We can do this.

Lobbies stymie action on energy

Three powerful lobbying forces — automakers, electric utilities and the coal industry — are confounding Democrats' efforts to forge a less-polluting energy policy.

Disputes over automobile fuel economy, use of coal as a motor fuel, and requirements for utilities to use more wind or biomass to generate electricity have threatened to stall energy legislation in both the Senate and House.

‘Hot’ gas is hot topic in courts and Congress

As the temperature rises, liquid gasoline expands and the amount of energy in each gallon drops. Since gas is priced at a 60-degree standard and gas pumps don’t adjust for any temperature changes, motorists often get less bang for their buck in warmer weather.

Consumer watchdog groups warn that the temperature hike could end up costing consumers between 3 and 9 cents a gallon at the pump.

Iran says won't rule out using oil as a weapon

"We will not start using this tool (of oil) but if others use their tools that they have not put aside to put pressure on negotiations, it is natural that the two sides would discuss all their tools," Kazempour Ardebili said.

Asked what would be the impact if Iran stopped its oil exports, Kazempour Ardebili said: "Definitely the market will be faced with a new shock and oil prices will increase strongly."

He added that prices would climb above $100 a barrel.

Argentine industry with no energy for fourth day running

Argentina’s main natural gas and electricity distributors interrupted this Monday for the fourth day running their provision to industry and big consumers to ensure supply to homes following a consumption peak attributed to the polar weather spell covering most of central and south Argentina.

Chavez Announces New Stage of Energy Revolution in Venezuela

During the inauguration of a combined-cycle plant at the Termozulia electric plant in the western state of Zulia, the Venezuelan leader said that the main goal of this new stage is to substitute almost 27 million inefficient incandescent light bulbs by energy saving light bulbs in the official, industrial and commercial sectors.

Chávez insisted on the need to modify the consumption patterns that often tend to the waste of electricity and fuel, and stressed that the efforts currently being made by the Venezuelan government aim at preserving the environment.

China Slows Coal-Liquids, Ethanol Push on Water Fear

Beijing is trying to slow the push on water-intensive alternative energy on mounting signs that China might face a serious water shortage in the future.

This may stymie the second-largest energy consumer's plans to turn its huge coal reserves and agricultural land into transport fuel, and lead it to continue relying on greater imports to fuel its booming economy, a bullish factor for global oil markets.

Senator: Halt Expansion of Oil Reserves

A Senate Democrat is aiming to halt expansion of the country's oil reserves for one year, saying it makes no sense when oil prices are high.

Algeria Plans to Develop Solar Power for Export

Algeria plans to make use of its hot southern desert to develop solar power for export and domestic consumption, the OPEC member country said on Monday.

110 people killed in North Korean explosion

A South Korean aid group said Tuesday that about 110 people were killed in a gasoline pipeline blast 10 days ago in the northwest of North Korea.

...The disaster occurred when villagers gathered around a previously cracked pipeline to collect gasoline.

Transneft to develop existing oil terminal bypassing Belarus

The head of Russia's Transneft said Monday the pipeline monopoly would develop the existing terminal of an oil pipeline that helps Russian crude reach world markets without passing through transit countries.

The Earth today stands in imminent peril

...and nothing short of a planetary rescue will save it from the environmental cataclysm of dangerous climate change. Those are not the words of eco-warriors but the considered opinion of a group of eminent scientists writing in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.