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Lure of Israel’s gas may dampen Turkish ire

TEL AVIV, Israel, Nov. 14 (UPI) — Israel is on the cusp of becoming a natural gas exporter and key energy power in the Middle East, a move that could produce significant geopolitical changes in a region beset by turmoil. That includes a new alliance with Turkey, which seems to be moving toward setting aside its political differences with the Jewish state, just as it is doing with Iraq’s oil-rich Kurds, in the interest of achieving its ambition to become the main energy broker in the region. Israel is now considering its options for exporting gas from its Tamar field, which began production March 30, and the larger but still undeveloped Leviathan field, which is due to come onstream in 2015. Between them these fields contain an estimated 30 trillion cubic feet of gas. Israel has set aside 40 percent of its gas production for export, expected to earn […]

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Exxon: Nigeria not living up to oil potential

LAGOS, Nigeria, Nov. 14 (UPI) — Elijah White, a vice president of Exxon Mobil Production Co., said Nigeria needs to create a “stable and attractive” climate for energy investors. “Nigeria needs to create a stable and attractive investment climate, competitive fiscal terms to attract capital and develop clear regulatory and competitive policies that would enable her to realize the full potential of the industry,” he was quoted as saying Wednesday from Lagos by the Platts energy news service. Nigeria aims to increase its proven crude oil reserves from 35 billion barrels currently to 40 billion barrels by 2020. Companies like Exxon said that’s unlikely, though the Nigerian government said it’s on pace to meet its goals despite a fragile national security situation and declining international investments. Royal Dutch Shell has repeatedly said it was unable to fulfill its contractual obligations in Nigeria because of issues involving militants who, in […]

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In Blow to Coal, TVA to Shut 8 Units

The Tennessee Valley Authority will retire eight coal-burning generating stations at three locations in Alabama and Kentucky, a decision that deals another blow to the coal industry, which is shrinking under more stringent environmental regulations and struggling to adjust to changing fuel prices. The TVA’s power-generation overhaul is intended to save the utility money and sharply reduce its coal use. Across the U.S., utilities are shuttering coal-fired power plants, but the trend is hitting the mining industry hardest in the Central Appalachian states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. Coal is costlier there than in other parts of the U.S., and it’s becoming more labor-intensive to extract because mining companies are being forced to tap coal seams deeper in the earth. Forty years ago, the TVA got more than 80% of its power from coal. Today coal accounts for 38%, a number that is dropping fast as a […]

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In Venezuela, Campaign Takes the Form of a Fire Sale

CARACAS, Venezuela — The transportation minister appeared on live television from an auto-parts store, trumpeting prices that had been slashed in half, at least. A top regional official, broadcasting from another shop, boasted that prices of toys and other goods had been cut to the bone. From an appliance store, the commerce minister called on shoppers to buy washers and dryers at new, low-low prices. This week, the entire cabinet of President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has been waging a battle against soaring inflation like a socialist version of Crazy Eddie, the onetime electronics chain store famous in New York for its goofy 1980s ads that trumpeted its “insane” prices. It is all part of a fever-pitch campaign to quell frustration with the economy by forcing retailers to slash prices, giving a much-needed shot of adrenaline to Mr. Maduro’s government just weeks before municipal elections that opponents want to […]

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New climate pact must consider historical emissions: Chinese official

WARSAW, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) — A new global pact under discussion at the ongoing UN climate talks should take into account historical carbon emissions by developed countries, a Chinese official said here Thursday. Su Wei, deputy chief of the Chinese delegation, said industrialized countries are mainly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions in the past two hundred years. The current climate change was caused mainly by developed countries since the industrial era as greenhouse gas has an atmospheric life of 50 to 200 years, he said. “It is important to take the historical responsibility element into the context of climate actions after 2020,” said Su, who is also director of the climate change department of China’s National Development and Reform Commission. China supports Brazil’s proposal to study the historical responsibility for the accumulated carbon emissions, he added. The two-week climate talks held in the Polish capital is set to lay […]

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China Prepares to Open Its First Deep-Water Gas Project

HONG KONG—China is set to start the pumps at its first deep-water natural-gas project, an engineering feat using a Chinese-made platform designed to withstand typhoons and using hundreds of miles of undersea pipelines. The field is part of Beijing’s effort to more than double its use of gas to 10% of China’s energy mix by 2020, helping to wean the country off the dirtier coal that produces two-thirds of its electricity. The Liwan-3 gas field in the South China Sea about 200 miles southeast of Hong Kong is expected to go online by early next year and eventually to pump about 4% of the country’s gas supply. It has the potential to send more gas to China than current imports from Australia, China’s second-largest supplier of liquefied natural gas. For all its complexity, the $6.5 billion project is located well. The field is in undisputed waters in the South […]

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Japan dials back climate change emissions target

AP Photo TOKYO (AP) — Japan has drastically scaled back its target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, possibly complicating efforts to forge a global climate change pact. The new target approved by the Cabinet on Friday calls for reducing emissions by 3.8 percent from their 2005 level by 2020. The revision was necessary because the earlier goal of a 25 percent reduction from the 1990 level was unrealistic, the chief government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, told reporters in Tokyo. He called that target “completely baseless.” The new target represents a 3 percent increase over 1990 emissions. Given Japan’s status as the world’s third largest economy and fifth largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, the decision to back away from the more ambitious target could be a significant setback for efforts to reach a new agreement at world climate talks now underway in Warsaw, Poland. Under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, Japan […]

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China to drive world's renewable energy increase

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (UPI) — China’s increase in renewable energy is on course to surpass the European Union, the United States and Japan combined, says the International Energy Agency. In its annual World Energy Outlook released Tuesday, the IEA said China will be the strongest driver in the worldwide trend in which renewable energy is expected to account for almost half of the increase in global power generation by 2035, China Daily reports. China’s 12th five-year plan, covering 2011-2015, calls for 30 percent of electricity to come from non-fossil fuels by 2015, up from 5 percent in 2001. By 2015, China also aims to cut its energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 16 percent and CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 17 percent. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Fatih Birol , the IEA’s chief economist, said in an interview with China […]

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China to drive world’s renewable energy increase

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (UPI) — China’s increase in renewable energy is on course to surpass the European Union, the United States and Japan combined, says the International Energy Agency. In its annual World Energy Outlook released Tuesday, the IEA said China will be the strongest driver in the worldwide trend in which renewable energy is expected to account for almost half of the increase in global power generation by 2035, China Daily reports. China’s 12th five-year plan, covering 2011-2015, calls for 30 percent of electricity to come from non-fossil fuels by 2015, up from 5 percent in 2001. By 2015, China also aims to cut its energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 16 percent and CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 17 percent. China is the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases. Fatih Birol , the IEA’s chief economist, said in an interview with China […]

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China's smog threatens health of global coal projects

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – A choking smog across much of northern China threatens not just the health of local residents, but also of major coal projects globally that are still on the drawing board. Beijing’s plans to tackle pollution largely target coal-fired power, which will hit already slowing demand in the world’s top importer of the fuel. With China’s coal demand the primary driver for a slew of mine investments over the past decade, this trend could derail a list of capital intensive coal projects from Australia to Indonesia and Mozambique. Even without the environmental drive, new railways from mines to ports, falling investment in coal-fired generation and slowing power demand growth could see China’s miners export some of their surplus output at competitive prices, hitting regional miners and the viability of new projects. This is a major shift for a country that built an average of two coal-fired power […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple