The Oil Drum

Energy from the motion of the ocean

The buoys get deployed a mile or so offshore, either individually or linked together in a field of a dozen or more covering 30 acres of the ocean's surface. They are also an environmentalist's dream - barely visible from the beach, drawing on an abundant, renewable energy resource, with little or no impact upon marine life and emitting no gases that contribute to global warming.

Maine Call Center Could Be Turned Into Research Institute

An ambitious project could be getting started in Rockland. The Free Press newspaper reports that investment banker Matthew Simmons is planning to buy the former MBNA call center building on the Rockland waterfront and turn it into a new international water energy research center.

..."What I've started is getting interested parties to get interested, hopefully, in Rockland, to create an institute in Rockland, an institute of water, and allowing 200 to 300 of the best scientists in the world, backed by maybe 20 universities, and 20 corporations and 20 think tanks, come here as a water fellow, and under one roof get all these people doing wave energy and tidal energy and desalination and so forth," said Simmons.

Weekly Offshore Rig Review: Floating Rigs Locked In, Too

Last week, we started a year-end analysis of the future prospects and rig contracting trends by looking at the jackup fleet's contract coverage for the next three years. This week, we will continue by examining the current level of future contracted time for the competitive drillship and semisubmersible fleet and then comparing those numbers across the leading offshore drilling contractors' fleets, as we did previously for jackups.

Canadian Oil Sands Could Fill Rising U.S. Demand for Energy

Between growing unrest in the Middle East and OPEC's determination to cut production rather than increase it, Canada's oil sands are becoming a more viable resource to the United States. Recently two energy companies announced strategic developments that could in the coming years help reduce America's dependence on OPEC.

Indonesia to Drill 200 Oil, Gas Wells by 2009, Regulator Says

Indonesia, the second-smallest member of OPEC, plans to drill 200 exploration wells by 2009 to find new oil and gas areas and replace aging fields, a government official said.

Truckers sue oil companies over `hot fuel'

Truck driver owner-operators file consumer fraud lawsuit against oil companies, claiming 'hot fuel' provides less energy.

(One part of) A Unified Climate/Energy Agenda

I asked him why green groups haven't been more effective on climate and energy issues. He said it's simple: when the business lobby goes after an issue, it speaks with a single voice. The chamber of commerce, the think tanks, and all the constituent industry groups agree on what they want. Then they lay it out to lawmakers.

80 Members of Congress Pen Letter to President Bush to Fund Renewable Energy

Eighty Members of the U.S. House of Representatives took time this week to send a letter to President Bush seeking substantially higher funding levels for renewable energy and energy efficiency in the White House's Fiscal Year 2008 (FY'08) budget request for the U.S. Department of Energy.

George Monbiot on The Current Monbiot talks about "ethical travel." Streaming audio.

The Great Green Leap Forward: Energy-Hungry China and India Leapfrog to the Front of the Global Green Building Movement

The Pernicious Price of Petroleum

Our love of driving is killing us. While we think of car crashes as causing fatalities, the production and transportation of fuel also significantly undermines public health.

In his book Lives Per Gallon: The True Cost of Our Oil Addiction, Terry Tamminen outlines the direct and indirect impact that petroleum consumption has on millions of Americans every year.

France agrees to cooperate with Gulf states to develop nuclear energy

France agreed in principle to work with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on the peaceful development of nuclear energy, said a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday.

The statement came after the six member states of the GCC -- Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman -- decided to launch a plan on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Germany Sees Big Potential in Green Biomass Fuel

HAMBURG - Large-scale production in Germany of green fuels using new generation biomass-to-liquid (BTL) technology is feasible and may fill around 20 percent of national fuel needs, the Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday.

Sakhalin gas: Shell loses, whales win

MOSCOW- There are three opponents of Russia's strategy to become a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter - the western gray whale, the US government and Gazprom.

Belarus criticizes Russian hike of oil export duties

MINSK, Belarus: Belarus' Foreign Ministry on Thursday slammed Russia's decision to hike customs duties on oil exports to Belarus, saying it violated bilateral agreements.

Iraqi oil law stalled by dispute over division of powers

Oceans may rise over 4 1/2 feet by 2100

OSLO (Reuters) - The world's oceans may rise up to 140 cms (4 ft 7 in) by 2100 due to global warming, a faster than expected increase that could threaten low-lying coasts from Florida to Bangladesh, a researcher said on Thursday.

Saudi Aramco revealed as biggest group

The world's biggest company is controlled by Saudi Arabia and is not listed on a stock exchange, according to new research by the Financial Times and the management consultancy McKinsey.

African oil ministers call for establishment of African oil fund: fund is "urgently needed to tackle the consequences of oil price hikes on the African economies."

Russia, Germany and European energy policy

The "special relationship" between Russia and Germany over energy supplies is both a challenge to European Union integration and an invitation to get serious about it.

Analyst: Russia to 'Hit' Chevron with CPC Bill

Russia is preparing a bill to define the role of private investors in gas and oil pipelines in Russia aimed at blocking Chevron Corp's Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) oil pipeline, which is to transport oil from Kazakhstan via Russian territory, according to Russian press reports.

3 hostages taken from Shell oil complex

YENAGOA, Nigeria - Armed men who seized control of a Royal Dutch Shell PLC oil complex overnight fled Friday, taking three Nigerian hostages, shooting a man and forcing the oil giant to halt production at the site.

5 oil and gas companies to pay royalties

WASHINGTON - Five oil and gas companies, including Shell, ConocoPhillips and BP, have agreed to pay royalties on future production under flawed drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, the government said Thursday.

John Michael Greer: Nawida 2150

This is my third and (for now) last exploration of a deindustrial future using the tools of narrative fiction. Fifty more years have passed since "Solstice 2100." Massive climate change, including the melting of the Antarctic ice cap, and the final stages of catabolic collapse have transformed the setting almost beyond recognition. In the aftermath of these changes, new cultural forms are evolving to replace the last fragments of industrial civilization.

One Million Pixels for Social and Environmental Harmony

Our timing is not accidental. We are operating at a pivotal moment in terms of the future of our countries and of our planet. In the era of peak oil, of global warming, of the exponentially worsening situations created by the illegal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and of spectacular natural disasters such as the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, it is time for a profound paradigm shift in the way that we relate to one another and to our planet.

Fog halts Houston Ship Channel traffic

HOUSTON - Ships were halted from moving along the 53-mile (85.3 kilometer) Houston Ship Channel to the busiest U.S. petrochemical port on Thursday due to dense fog, said the U.S. Coast Guard.

...Tankers running through the channel supply crude oil to refineries in Houston and Texas City, which account for 11.8 percent of U.S. refining capacity.

U.S. Energy Sec Bodman disappointed by OPEC cut

"I am disappointed if in fact they end up cutting supply. I am gratified that they are putting it off here for another month or six weeks. Hopefully (it will) give them more time to evaluate," Bodman told reporters ahead of an U.S.-Asia energy summit.

Insurance by the Mile: A simple way to slow global warming.

Uzbekistan pushes up gas prices

Uzbekistan has doubled the price of natural gas its sells to neighbouring Kyrgyzstan, officials have said.

The former Soviet republic is to charge $100 (£51) per 1,000 cubic meters of gas, up from $55.

Chic energy goes green, keeps green in wallet: Geothermal to wind to solar, alternative sources gain glamour, efficiency