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Kerry Implores Indonesia on Climate Change Peril

Kerry on Climate Change On Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry delivered remarks on climate change to an audience of students in Jakarta, Indonesia. He accused climate change deniers of burying their heads in the sand. JAKARTA, Indonesia — Secretary of State John Kerry urged Indonesia on Sunday to take steps to combat climate change, warning that failure to act would jeopardize the nation’s resources and damage its economy. Warming seas, he said, could deal a severe blow to Indonesia’s fishing industry, while powerful storms could buffet the country and rising seas may put much of Jakarta, the capital, under water. “This city, this country, this region is really on the front lines of climate change,” Mr. Kerry said in a speech . “It’s not an exaggeration to say to you that your entire way of life that you live and love is at risk.” Mr. Kerry, who has […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bakken Update, Big Drop in December

North Dakota has published the latest production numbers. ND Monthly Oil Production Statistics (All North Dakota) ND Monthly Bakken* Oil Production Statistics (Bakken Only)   Bakken production fell 48,395 bp/d to 862,389 bp/d and all North Dakota production fell 53,226 bp/d to 923,227 bp/d. That was after Bakken November production had been revised up by 2,908 bp/d and North Dakota November production was revised up by 3,173 bp/d. From the Director’s Cut <i>The drilling rig count was up from Nov to Dec, but the number of well completions dropped from 138 to 119. Days from spud to initial production increased 18 days to 132. Investor confidence appears to be growing, but there is still some concerns about the uncertainty surrounding federal policies on taxation and hydraulic fracturing regulation, but the big story is the December weather. Low temperatures of 21 to 31 degrees […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Despite Leaky Methane, is Natural Gas is Still Worth the Switch?

A rig drills for natural gas at a hydraulic fracturing site owned by EQT Corp. located atop the Marcellus shale rock formation in Pennsylvania. Bloomberg The U.S. is in a golden age for natural gas . Will leaky infrastructure bring it to an end? A new report, issued today in Science , is the latest to tackle the difficult issue of how much gas – and its primary ingredient, methane – leaks into the atmosphere. This may seem a bit arcane, but it’s a critical issue for the future of the energy industry and the transportation sector as well. Here’s a quick rundown: Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, more potent than carbon dioxide. Natural gas has been on a roll in the past decade, as hydraulic fracturing has turned the U.S. from an energy pauper into a prince. Natural gas has grabbed market share from coal […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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New Ohio shale gas well results show Utica fairway moving south

Magnum Hunter Resources’ Friday announcement of a prolific Utica Shale gas well in Monroe County, Ohio, highlights the migration of Utica drilling south out of its original core in Carroll County. Houston-based Magnum Hunter said its first dry gas well off the Stalder #3 pad was placed into production this week with a peak rate of 32,500 Mcf/d. The pad could eventually hold 18 wells, Magnum Hunter said. Analysts at energy investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt on Friday crowed about the "huge" well. "Well still cleaning up frack water and company believes sales rate will likely increase over the next few days. Stalder #3 drilled to a vertical depth of roughly 10,600 feet with a 5,000 feet lateral fracked with 20 stages," TPH said. The Stalder well moves the dry gas fairway of the Utica further east towards West Virginia, TPH said, and was […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fracking's water use sets up fight with cities and farmers

It’s no secret that hydraulic fracturing in the production of oil and natural gas uses enormous amounts of water. A single well requires between 2 and 10 million gallons of water — mixed with sand and chemicals — to crack rocks deep underground and release oil or natural gas. As a rule of thumb, it takes 1,000 truck trips to complete one hydraulically fractured well. Since shortly after World War II, hydraulic fracturing — known as fracking — has been used in the drilling of more than 1 million wells across the United States, and with the surge in oil and gas production in recent years, that has added up to a lot of water. Fracking is being done in places — such as Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Pennsylvania — where water resources are stretched thin due to drought. In a recently published report on water scarcity, Ceres, a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Fracking’s water use sets up fight with cities and farmers

It’s no secret that hydraulic fracturing in the production of oil and natural gas uses enormous amounts of water. A single well requires between 2 and 10 million gallons of water — mixed with sand and chemicals — to crack rocks deep underground and release oil or natural gas. As a rule of thumb, it takes 1,000 truck trips to complete one hydraulically fractured well. Since shortly after World War II, hydraulic fracturing — known as fracking — has been used in the drilling of more than 1 million wells across the United States, and with the surge in oil and gas production in recent years, that has added up to a lot of water. Fracking is being done in places — such as Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Pennsylvania — where water resources are stretched thin due to drought. In a recently published report on water scarcity, Ceres, a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Is This Already the End for Natural Gas Vehicles?

A joint study, published in the journal Science on Friday has revealed that natural gas as a transportation fuel provides no net benefit to the climate, when compared with diesel. The report, written by numerous researchers from some of the United States’ most prestigious universities, as well as NOAA and the Department of Energy, flies in the face of what most of us have come to believe about “clean-burning” natural gas. This could yield big problems for companies like Clean Energy Fuels and Westport Innovations that are carving out their niche in the space. Let’s take a closer look. A truck fills up on natural gas at a Clean Energy station. Photo Credit: Clean Energy Fuels.   First and foremost, the scientists aren’t disputing that natural gas burns cleaner than diesel. That remains absolutely true, as natural gas, or methane, produces 30% less […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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America’s leaky natural gas system – Peak Oil – Climate Change – Global Warming

The first thorough comparison of evidence for natural gas system leaks confirms that organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have underestimated U.S. methane emissions generally, as well as those from the natural gas industry specifically. Natural gas consists predominantly of methane. Even small leaks from the natural gas system are important because methane is a potent greenhouse gas – about 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. A study, “Methane Leakage from North American Natural Gas Systems,” published in the Feb. 14 issue of the journal  Science , synthesizes diverse findings from more than 200 studies ranging in scope from local gas processing plants to total emissions from the United States and Canada. “People who go out and actually measure methane pretty consistently find more emissions than we expect,” said the lead author of the new analysis, Adam Brandt, an assistant professor of energy resources engineering at Stanford […]

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UK floods set to continue as more rain hits

The devastating UK floods are set to continue as more heavy rain hits already saturated ground. The Met Office has issued a yellow "be aware" warning for rain in south-west England and there are 16 severe flood warnings in southern England. However, the situation in the worst-hit areas of the Thames is expected to improve this week. David Cameron described the floods as a "tragedy" and warned people to prepare for more bad weather this week. Persistent rain Up to 20mm (0.8in) of rain is forecast in south-west England on Monday. The BBC Weather Centre said this would not normally cause too many problems but the Met Office warning was in place because of the saturated ground. There are also concerns about south Wales. There is also a yellow severe weather warning for ice in northern Scotland […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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The Gravitational Pull of Planet Carbon

Listening to President Obama’s State of the Union address, it would have been easy to conclude that we were slowly but surely gaining in the war on climate change.  “Our energy policy is creating jobs and leading to a cleaner, safer planet,” the president said.  “Over the past eight years, the United States has reduced our total carbon pollution more than any other nation on Earth.”  Indeed, it’s true that in recent years, largely thanks to the dampening effects of the Great Recession, U.S. carbon emissions were in decline (though they grew by 2% in 2013).  Still, whatever the president may claim, we’re not heading toward a “cleaner, safer planet.”  If anything, we’re heading toward a dirtier, more dangerous world.  A series of recent developments highlight the way we are losing ground in the epic struggle to slow global warming.  This has not been for lack of effort.  Around […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple