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Exxon forecasts natural gas to be world’s second most-used fuel

Natural gas will overtake coal as a global energy source in the middle of the next decade, in part because of the environmental benefits it offers, according to ExxonMobil , the world’s largest oil and gas company. In its annual forecasts of the energy outlook for the next three decades, published on Thursday morning, Exxon says that around 2025 gas will become the world’s second most-used fuel on an energy-equivalent basis, behind oil. By 2040, it expects natural gas consumption to rise 65 per cent, but coal use to be no higher than it is today, rising and then falling again during the next two decades. The forecasts sketch out the battleground for a contest between gas and coal to be the dominant fuel for power generation. Exxon is significantly more negative about the outlook for global coal use than other forecasters. The International Energy Agency, the think-tank backed […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US military to seek bulk purchases of advanced drop-in biofuels

se more alternative fuels. Under USDA’s and Navy’s “Farm-to-Fleet” venture, biofuel blends for the first time will now be part of the Department of Defense’s domestic solicitations for jet engine and marine diesel fuels. The Navy said it would seek to purchase JP-5 and F-76 advanced drop-in biofuels blended from 10-50% with conventional fuels. “A secure, domestically produced energy source is very important to our national security,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said in a statement. “The Farm-to-Fleet initiative we are announcing today is important to advancing a commercial market for advanced biofuel, which will give us an alternative fuel source and help lessen our dependence on foreign oil.” […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Europe will sleep warm, Ukraine says

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said European energy consumers will stay warm this winter as a result of efforts to resolve gas issues with Russia. “Europe will sleep calmly, in warmth, if Ukraine maintains normal relations with Russia,” he was quoted by the National News Agency of Ukraine as saying Tuesday. Ukraine was able to reach an agreement with Russia to defer payments toward debt incurred this year from natural gas deliveries from Russian energy company Gazprom. Disagreement in 2009 prompted Gazprom to cut gas deliveries through Ukraine, which left European consumers in the cold for several weeks. European consumers get about 20 percent of their gas needs met by Russia, much of it through a Soviet-era transmission network in Ukraine. The deal that broke the 2009 impasse left Ukraine with a higher debt burden for gas than its European counterparts. Yanukovych said the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Russian economy at risk from oil markets, IMF says

MOSCOW, Dec. 11 (UPI) — The International Monetary Fund said there were risks to the health of the Russian economy because of its heavy reliance on the oil industry. Antonio Spilimbergo, an economist with the IMF, said he was concerned about the health of the Russian economy following a week-long visit to the country, which ended Tuesday. In a statement following his visit, Spilimbergo said growth in the Russian economy had slowed down and vulnerabilities persist. Inflation remains in check, however, and the economy is moving at its full capacity despite a slowdown in the growth of the Russian gross domestic product. “These projections are subject to risks — prospective tightening of international financial conditions, Russia’s dependence on international oil prices, growth in unsecured credit, and the impact of uncertainty concerning the pace of structural reforms on business climate and investment,” he said in a statement. He said the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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6 ways to become more miserable about climate change and peak oil

Page added on December 11, 2013 It’s bad enough that most middle-class people still have to struggle to keep their jobs and homes in today’s Second Great Depression. But if you’re even a little bit awake, then you also have to worry about longer-term threats: climate change, Fukushima, peak oil and the impending collapse of industrial civilization. There’s plenty of reason for anyone to be depressed these days. Yet, somehow, some people still manage to keep calm and carry on. So, for the ordinary person who thinks that happiness is for dopes and who needs a little help finding their way to the bottom, therapist Cloe Madanes offers “14 Habits of Highly Miserable People.” Here, for those who are energy- and climate-aware, I offer my own adaptation of Madanes’s six top points to succeed at self-sabotage: Be afraid, be very afraid, of economic loss. If you know that fiat […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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The future of oil supply

Page added on December 11, 2013 Were they crying “Wolf”? Concerns about “peak oil” have recurred repeatedly since the resource was first developed, but they reached an unprecedented height in 2007 just prior to the global economic recession. Since then public concern has diminished, partly as a result of shale oil production in the United States. Yet, despite these developments and globally rising reserves, oil prices have almost doubled since 2010 and have tripled in a decade. The ‘peak oil’ debate has not gone away – oil remains critically important, adequate substitutes have yet to be found and concerns about depletion persist. This volume presents the best scientific evidence on why a decline in oil supply may, or may not, be in sight. It considers the production and resources of conventional oil and the potential for developing alternative liquid fuels from tar sands, shales, biomass, coal and gas. It […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
Category:

The future of oil supply

Were they crying “Wolf”? Concerns about “peak oil” have recurred repeatedly since the resource was first developed, but they reached an unprecedented height in 2007 just prior to the global economic recession. Since then public concern has diminished, partly as a result of shale oil production in the United States. Yet, despite these developments and globally rising reserves, oil prices have almost doubled since 2010 and have tripled in a decade. The ‘peak oil’ debate has not gone away – oil remains critically important, adequate substitutes have yet to be found and concerns about depletion persist. This volume presents the best scientific evidence on why a decline in oil supply may, or may not, be in sight. It considers the production and resources of conventional oil and the potential for developing alternative liquid fuels from tar sands, shales, biomass, coal and gas. It describes how economies might react and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Crude Oil Rangebound as Markets Assess Stockpile Data, Agency Forecasts

Crude-oil futures traded in a tight price range in Asian hours Wednesday as investors digested stockpile data, agency projections about oil markets and reports of easing tensions in Libya. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January traded at $98.41 a barrel at 0541 GMT, down $0.10 in the Globex electronic session. January Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.01 to $109.39 a barrel. Late Tuesday, data from the American Petroleum Institute, a trade body, showed U.S. crude oil stocks fell by 7.5 million barrels last week. The more closely watched inventory data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration is due later Wednesday. U.S. crude-oil stocks are expected to fall for the second consecutive week, by 2.5 million barrels on average for the week ended Dec. 6, according to a survey of 11 analysts surveyed by The Wall […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Oil price steady above $98 ahead of supply data

The price of oil was steady above $98 a barrel Wednesday ahead of a report on U.S. crude stockpiles. Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 5 cents to $98.46 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $1.17 to $98.51 on Tuesday, its highest level in six weeks, on optimism that the U.S. Energy Department’s report Wednesday would show supplies fell for the second week in a row. Data for the week ending Dec. 6 is expected to show a draw of 2.8 million barrels in crude oil stocks and a draw of 2.1 million barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. Oil has fallen from $110 in September on high supplies, muted demand and a lessening of Middle East tensions. It sank to nearly $92 late last month but has since […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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WTI Trades Near Six-Week High as U.S. Crude Supplies Drop

West Texas Intermediate traded near the highest price since October after industry data showed crude inventories declined for a second week in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures fluctuated in New York after rising 1.2 percent yesterday. Crude stockpiles shrank by 7.5 million barrels last week, a report from the American Petroleum Institute showed yesterday. Government data today is forecast to show supplies dropped by 3 million, according to a Bloomberg News survey. In Libya, three eastern ports will reopen Dec. 15, said the head of the country’s energy-protection force. “The run of inventory increases had the market rattled, but it now appears to be reversing and the focus is coming back to global growth numbers,” said Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The outlook is for a test of higher levels for crude.” WTI for January delivery was at $98.48 a barrel […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple