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Energy Efficiency Is Long Overdue

On a global scale, we humans are becoming more energy efficient with each passing year. Even so, we’re exploiting only a fraction of the technological opportunities to use energy more cost-effectively. There’s a lot governments can do to put this right. Worldwide, the amount of energy employed to produce a unit of gross domestic product fell by 0.4 percent a year from 2000 to 2010, according to the International Energy Agency . Last year and the year before, the annual decline accelerated to 1.5 percent. Looking ahead 20 years, though, the IEA (in effect, a club of energy ministers) estimates that two-thirds of the potential for energy efficiency will remain unexploited. Capturing a good part of this potential wouldn’t be technically difficult. Proven cost-effective technologies, and others in the pipeline (if you’ll forgive the expression), could reduce the expected growth in energy demand by as much as 50 percent […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. May Reach Records For Crude-Oil Production by 2016

The U.S. is on track to reach records for crude-oil production by 2016, as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling techniques continue to unlock oil in shale rock. The renaissance in the oil sector feeds into the debate of whether the U.S. should allow crude oil to be exported freely. The U.S. has kept a lid on oil exports since 1973, when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries stopped selling crude to the U.S. in retaliation for its support of Israel in a war with Egypt and Syria. The rising U.S. production "will weigh heavily on oil prices," said Ed Morse, head of commodity research at Citigroup […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EIA: light duty vehicle energy consumption to drop 25% by 2040; increased oil production, vehicle efficiency reduce US oil and liquid imports

EIA: light duty vehicle energy consumption to drop 25% by 2040; increased oil production, vehicle efficiency reduce US oil and liquid imports Energy consumption by light-duty vehicles in the United States, AEO2013 and AEO2014, 1995-2040 (quadrillion Btu). LDV energy consumption declines in AEO2014 Reference case from 16.0 quadrillion Btu in 2012 to 12.1 quadrillion Btu in 2040, compared with 13.0 quadrillion Btu in 2040 in the AEO2013 Reference case. Source: EIA. Click to enlarge. Reflecting slow growth in travel and accelerated vehicle efficiency improvements, US light-duty vehicle (LDV, cars and light trucks) energy use will decline sharply between 2012 and 2040, according to the US Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) Annual Energy […]

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EIA: US to approach highest oil production level since 1970

US crude oil production is expected to approach the historical high achieved in 1970 of 9.6 million b/d through 2016, the US Energy Information Administration said in an early release of its Annual Energy Outlook 2014 . However, crude oil production is expected to level off and then slowly decline after 2020 while natural gas production grows steadily, showing a 56% increase from 2012-40 when gas production reaches 37.6 tcf. EIA projects low gas prices will enable gas-fired electric power generation to overtake generation formerly supplied by coal and nuclear plants in some areas, with gas accounting for 35% of total power generation and coal accounting for 32%. US exports of gas via pipeline and as LNG are expected to increase to 3.5 tcf in 2029 and remain at that level through 2040, EIA said. Increased production of oil and gas will enable the US to sharply reduce its […]

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U.S. shale oil production to peak in 2021 at 4.8 mln bpd-EIA

Production from shale formations in the United States, which has led to an unexpected reversal in long declining oil output, will peak at 4.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2021, according to an Energy Information Administration forecast issued on Monday. This year is the bumper year for production out of the tightly packed shale rock. Output should rise by 1.2 million bpd, the highest annual jump, to 3.5 million bpd this year, according to tables in the EIA’s Annual Energy Outlook. Production will exceed 4 million bpd next year and rise more gradually toward its peak. It will fall to 3.2 million bpd by 2040. Last year, the EIA expected shale oil production to peak in 2020 at 2.8 million bpd with this year’s production at 2.3 million bpd. (Reporting by Sabina Zawadzki; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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When Will US Light Tight Oil (LTO) Peak?

Ron Patterson has graciously allowed me to cross post this here.  It originally was posted at oilpeakclimate.blogspot.com     The rapid rise in oil output since 2008 has the mainstream media claiming that the US will soon be energy independent.  US Crude oil output has increased about 2.8 MMb/d (56%) since 2008 and about 2 MMb/d is from the shale plays in North Dakota ( Bakken/Three Forks) and Texas (Eagle Ford). My modeling suggests that a peak from these two plays may be reached by 2016, other shale plays (also known as light tight oil [LTO] plays) may be able to fill the gap left by declining Bakken and Eagle Ford output until 2020, beyond that point we will see a rapid decline. There are two main views:  There will be little crude plus condensate (C+C) output from any plays except the Bakken/Three Forks in North Dakota and Montana and the Eagle […]

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Energy Department predicts near-record oil output, moderate gasoline prices; natural gas soars

The Energy Department says the nation’s energy picture is getting ever rosier. Production is rising, consumption is slowing, and prices are expected to remain in check. According to the Energy Department’s annual outlook, domestic oil output may regain the peak it reached in 1970 over the next two years and gasoline prices will fall over the same period to just over $3 per gallon. Natural gas production and use will continue to soar, demand for gasoline will fall, and energy-related emissions of carbon dioxide will remain below 2005 levels for the next quarter-century. “The report confirms that the United States really is experiencing an energy revolution,” said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of the research and analysis group IHS and author of “The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World.” The increased oil and gas production, Yergin said, is giving “a big boost […]

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Is This the Next Major Shale Gas Producer?

I’m talking about Poland.  In an attempt to broaden its energy portfolio and wean itself off Russian natural gas, a renewed push for shale development is kicking off. As of last month, new Polish Environment Minister Maciej Grabowski has made it a personal mission to turn Poland around and remove the red tape that previously pushed out some of the biggest names in the industry.  The reversal of high coal consumption will also be at the top of the agenda. shale gas 19 In his first news conference early this month, he said, “If I decide that amendments are needed, I intend to present a final version within weeks, not months,” according to Bloomberg. He added, “Investors have been waiting for this for a very long time and they […]

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U.S. forecasts natural gas boom through 2040

fracking America’s energy boom will continue for decades, and natural gas will replace coal as the largest source of U.S. electricity by 2035, the Department of Energy forecast today. U.S. production of crude oil will increase through 2016, when it will approach the record set in 1970, before leveling off and then slowly declining after 2020. Natural gas production will grow steadily, jumping 56% from 2012 to 2040, according to an early release of an annual report by DOE’s Energy Information Administration. "Advanced technologies for crude oil and natural gas production are continuing to increase domestic supply and reshape the U.S. energy economy as well as expand the potential for U.S. natural gas exports," Adam Sieminski, EIA Administrator, said in releasing the Annual Energy Outlook 2014. This energy bonanza is largely due to the combined use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing or fracking, which releases oil and gas […]

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EU passenger car registrations up 1.2 percent

PARIS (AP) — The European car market is slowly mounting a rebound, with new car registrations up for the third month in a row. The European carmakers’ association reported Tuesday that EU passenger car sales were up 1.2 percent in November. But car sales for the year to the end of November are still below the same period last year. Amid Europe’s recession, car registrations fell nearly uninterrupted for about two years until September, when they began to rise again. Growth is now slowly coming back, so the car industry may have hit bottom. But some significant markets are still losing ground. Registrations in France fell 4 percent in November, while they dropped 2 percent in Germany. © 2013 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . ©2013 The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple