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IAEA: Tepco Should Consider Controlled Discharge

TOKYO—The International Atomic Energy Agency has advised the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant to consider discharging lightly contaminated water into the ocean, as storing radioactive water at the plant has become increasingly unsustainable. The IAEA’s advice reflects the dilemma facing the plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., which must weigh risks from the storage of increasing amounts of contaminated water against those of releasing some partially cleaned water into the ocean, a move vehemently opposed by local fishing communities and residents. Groundwater flowing into the site and its reactors is continuously adding to about 400,000 tons of highly contaminated water stored in roughly 1,000 tanks at the site. Tepco said earlier this year that it had found contaminated water leaking from underground storage tanks. In addition to the leaks, concerns have also grown that the tanks will obstruct other work necessary to decommission the plant, which […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Tiny Cracks Scrutinized in Kashagan Pipeline Leak

Operators of the giant Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan are homing in on microscopic cracks in a steel pipeline as they race to understand the cause of dangerous gas leaks that have forced them to halt output indefinitely and could result in hefty repair costs. Members of the NCOC consortium running Kashagan fear the stoppage could extend well into next year if a technical investigation, launched in October after leaks were detected for the second time in three weeks, concludes that a poisonous mix of hydrogen and sulfur contained in the crude oil has done extensive damage to the pipeline system in the $40 billion project, people familiar with the matter said. A prolonged stoppage at Kashagan, where oil had begun flowing on Sept. 11 after many years of delays and cost overruns, could be a drag on the finances of consortium members, including Italy’s Eni ENI.MI -0.06% ENI […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Resource-hungry Chinese lead railroad drive in Africa

The Chinese, investing heavily in Africa to secure its oil and other raw materials for their expanding economy, are spearheading a new era of railroad building to unlock the continent’s interior. This is an echo of the long-gone colonial empires when a century ago British and French engineers first opened up Africa to plunder its riches. The railroad frenzy is being accompanied by a massive push to build several major ports along the coast of East Africa to accelerate exports across the Indian Ocean, mostly to China, India and Japan, as well as lay down a network of oil and gas pipelines to these ports. “Railways are key to increasing regional trade,” said Darlan Fabio de David, chief executive of Rift Valley Railways, a private equity-backed company rehabilitating the line between the Kenyan port of Mombasa and the inland Ugandan capital of Uganda […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Venezuela cyber crackdown ensnares Web's Bitly

Venezuelans have been scrambling for dollars for weeks, taking refuge in the greenback as their own currency is in free fall. Rather than address the economic imbalances behind the bolivar’s plunge, the government is going after the bearers of the bad news – it’s taking down websites people use to track exchange rates on the black market. Cyber-activists say the crackdown goes to absurd lengths, even targeting Bitly, the popular site for shortening Web addresses to make it easier to send them as links via Twitter and other social media. For more than two weeks, access to the service has been partially censored by several Internet service providers in Venezuela, apparently because Bitly was being used to evade blocks put on currency-tracking websites. The New York company says such restrictions have only previously been seen in China, which has one of the worst […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Venezuela cyber crackdown ensnares Web’s Bitly

Venezuelans have been scrambling for dollars for weeks, taking refuge in the greenback as their own currency is in free fall. Rather than address the economic imbalances behind the bolivar’s plunge, the government is going after the bearers of the bad news – it’s taking down websites people use to track exchange rates on the black market. Cyber-activists say the crackdown goes to absurd lengths, even targeting Bitly, the popular site for shortening Web addresses to make it easier to send them as links via Twitter and other social media. For more than two weeks, access to the service has been partially censored by several Internet service providers in Venezuela, apparently because Bitly was being used to evade blocks put on currency-tracking websites. The New York company says such restrictions have only previously been seen in China, which has one of the worst […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China leaders to set policy, reform priorities for 2014

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s leaders are expected to gather at a closed-door meeting next week to set policy and reform priorities for 2014, sources with government think tanks said, following a party meeting that laid out a bold reform agenda for the next decade. The annual Central Economic Work Conference will bring together top party leaders, ministers and provincial officials to discuss economic targets, including the rate of economic growth, inflation and money supply for the year ahead. Analysts and investors expect the government to spell out detailed reform plans for next year, after a plenum of the Communist Party’s Central Committee charted the course of sweeping economic and social changes. Top leaders are likely to held a meeting around the same time on urbanization to issue detailed plans on how to proceed with the much debated program without fanning a renewed local spending frenzy, according to the sources. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Japan's Tepco to start up 1.6 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity mid-Dec

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company is eyeing the commercial startup of 1.6 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity around mid-December, a company official said Thursday. Tepco expects to start up the 1-GW No. 2 coal-fired unit at the Hitachinaka power plant in eastern Japan mid-December. It began commercial operation of the 600-MW No. 6 coal-fired unit at the Hirono thermal power plant on Tuesday, the official said. The utility’s oil demand for power generation fell this year following successful test runs in April at the two coal-fired plants at Hitachinaka and Hirono. Another 1 GW of output was added following the complete restart of Tohoku Electric’s earthquake-hit 2 GW Haramachi coal-fired power plant in the northeast, where Tepco has rights to half of the total production in fiscal 2013-2014 (April-March). In December, Tepco plans to buy around 600,000 kiloliters (122,000 b/d) of crude […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Japan’s Tepco to start up 1.6 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity mid-Dec

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Company is eyeing the commercial startup of 1.6 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity around mid-December, a company official said Thursday. Tepco expects to start up the 1-GW No. 2 coal-fired unit at the Hitachinaka power plant in eastern Japan mid-December. It began commercial operation of the 600-MW No. 6 coal-fired unit at the Hirono thermal power plant on Tuesday, the official said. The utility’s oil demand for power generation fell this year following successful test runs in April at the two coal-fired plants at Hitachinaka and Hirono. Another 1 GW of output was added following the complete restart of Tohoku Electric’s earthquake-hit 2 GW Haramachi coal-fired power plant in the northeast, where Tepco has rights to half of the total production in fiscal 2013-2014 (April-March). In December, Tepco plans to buy around 600,000 kiloliters (122,000 b/d) of crude […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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India needs $2.1 trillion investment for energy: IEA

India’s energy demand will double by 2035 on back of economic growth and increased population, the head of the International Energy Agency predicted. “When we look at India, we see that in 2035, India will be the largest importer of coal, will be the second [largest] importer of oil after China and will be No. 4 in importing gas after [the] European Union, China and Japan,” IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of the Eighth Asia Gas Partnership Summit in New Delhi Wednesday, Press Trust of India reported. Although India’s energy demand will double, its per capita consumption will still be a fourth of the OECD average, she said. Van der Hoeven said India would need $2.1 trillion investment in its energy sector by 2035. Speaking Tuesday at the opening of the summit, Indian Prime Minister […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Pipeline On Wheels: Trains Are Winning Big Off US Oil

So far this year, 60 percent of all oil produced in North Dakota left the state by rail. One economist says there aren’t enough oil tankers to fill the demand. AP The oil boom in the United States is creating another boom — for the railroad industry. So far this year, in North Dakota alone, 140 million barrels of oil have left on trains. Shipments of crude oil by rail are up almost 50 percent over last year — and this upward trend is expected to continue. A visit to the world-famous Tehachapi Loop, part of a winding mountain pass in Southern California, demonstrates the scale and reach of the oil boom in the middle of the country. As a train full of oil tanker cars rumbles past, it’s […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple