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The Purposely Confusing World of Energy Politics

Life often presents us with paradoxes, but seldom so blatant or consequential as the following. Read this sentence slowly: Today it is especially difficult for most people to understand our perilous global energy situation, precisely because it has never been more important to do so. Got that? No? Okay, let me explain. I must begin by briefly retracing developments in a seemingly unrelated field—climate science. But a funny thing happened along the way. Clearly, if the climate is changing rapidly and dramatically as a result of human action, and if climate change (of the scale and speed that’s anticipated) is likely to undermine ecosystems and economies, then it stands to reason that humans should stop emitting so much CO2. In practical effect, this would mean dramatically reducing our burning of fossil fuels—the main drivers of economic growth since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. From a policy standpoint, climate […]

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Tech Talk – The BP Energy Outlook 2035

BP begins its new forecast for the energy future with the statement: We project that by 2035 the US will be energy self-sufficient while maintaining its position as the world’s top liquids and natural gas producer. This illustrates the optimism which BP are projecting in their image of future production. But it carries with it a lot of inherent assumptions, some of which are relatively easy to identify in the summary graphic presentation that accompanied the initial presentation of the new report. Perhaps the most illustrative of their optimism is this plot, which shows the increasingly decoupled changes in energy supply relative to projected increases in GDP. Figure 1. The reducing dependence on Energy growth as a control on GDP. (All figures are from the new BP Energy Outlook for 2035 ) Each year there […]

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The Golden Age of Gas… Possibly: An Interview With The IEA

Page added on February 11, 2014 The potential for a golden age of gas comes along with a big “if” regarding environmental and social impact. The International Energy Agency (IEA)—the “global energy authority”–believes that this age of gas can be golden, and that unconventional gas can be produced in an environmentally acceptable way. In an exclusive interview with Oilprice.com, IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven , discusses: The potential for a golden age of gas What will the “age” means for renewables What it means for humanity The challenges of renewable investment and technology How the US shale boom is reshaping the global economy Nuclear’s contribution to energy security What is holding back Europe’s energy markets The next big shale venues beyond 2020 The reality behind “fire ice” Condensate and the crude export ban The most critical energy issue facing the world today Interview by. James Stafford of […]

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Investors Monitoring U.S. Oil Inventory Levels

Crude-oil futures are mostly flat in Asian trading hours Tuesday as investors monitor the status of U.S. oil inventory levels, global demand-supply balances and economic growth indicators. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in March traded at $100.05 a barrel at 0554 GMT, down $0.01 in the Globex electronic session. March Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.05 to $108.68 a barrel. Nymex West Texas Intermediate crude settled at its highest level this year in overnight floor trade after rising for five straight sessions. U.S. oil markets are supported by strong heating oil demand this winter and expectations that oil inventories at the oil delivery hub of Cushing, Okla. fell again last week after the easing of pipeline bottlenecks. The weekly oil inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute, a trade body, is due later in the trading day. "While declining […]

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WTI Trades Near Six-Week High as U.S. Fuel Supplies Seen Falling

West Texas Intermediate crude traded near a six-week high amid speculation that U.S. distillate stockpiles declined as cold weather boosted demand for heating fuels in the world’s biggest oil consumer. Futures were little changed in New York after advancing for a fifth day yesterday. Distillate fuels , a category that includes heating oil and diesel, probably shrank by 2.13 million barrels last week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before an Energy Information Administration report tomorrow. A winter storm may spread snow and sleet across the nation’s south, the U.S. National Weather Service said. WTI for March delivery was at $99.94 a barrel, down 12 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:43 a.m. Sydney time. The contract rose 18 cents to $100.06 yesterday, the highest settlement since Dec. 27. The volume of all futures traded was about 78 percent below the 100-day average. Prices […]

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Natural-Gas Futures Fall for Fourth Straight Session

-Natural-gas futures fell for a fourth straight session on expectations that the weather would turn milder later this month, reducing the need for gas-fueled heating. Signs of diminishing demand from power generators as they switch to less-expensive coal also knocked natural-gas futures lower, an analyst said. It is a turnaround for the natural-gas market, which had benefited from rising demand for the fuel amid a brutally cold winter. Natural gas for March delivery fell 19.6 cents, or 4.1%, to $4.579 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest settlement since Jan. 21. Futures are down nearly 15% since Feb. 4. Kyle Cooper, managing director of research at IAF Advisors, attributed the slide to moderating temperature forecasts and tepid demand from power generators. […]

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Iran’s Islamic republic at 35: Poised for change and a less isolated existence

Thirty-five years after the founding of its Islamic republic, Iran is in the midst of a transformative period, with signs that its relations with the United States are warming in a way that was hardly imaginable when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned here from exile in February 1979. On Tuesday, the Islamic state is expected to mark its anniversary, as it does every year, with massive public rallies and speeches from top officials. But the speech by President Hassan Rouhani is likely to carry a starkly different tone from the defiant addresses delivered by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his eight years as president. “Regardless of […]

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Suicide Bomb Trainer in Iraq Accidentally Blows Up His Class

If there were such a thing, it would probably be rule No. 1 in the teaching manual for instructors of aspiring suicide bombers: Don’t give lessons with live explosives. In what represented a cautionary tale for terrorist teachers, and a cause of dark humor for ordinary Iraqis, a commander at a secluded terrorist training camp north of Baghdad unwittingly used a belt packed with explosives while conducting a demonstration early Monday for a group of militants, killing himself and 21 other members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, army and police officials said. Iraqi citizens have long been accustomed to daily attacks on public markets, mosques, funerals and even children’s soccer games, so they saw the story of the fumbling militants as a dark — and delicious — kind of poetic justice, especially coming amid a protracted surge of violence led by the terrorist group, […]

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Officials: Gunmen kill 15 troops in northern Iraq

Iraqi officials say militants have killed 15 troops in an attack overnight on military barracks in a remote area in the country’s north. Police officers said on Tuesday that an unknown number of gunmen attacked the barracks in Ayn al-Jahish village, outside the northern city of Mosul late the previous night. A medical official says eight of the soldiers were beheaded while the others were killed by gunfire. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to media. Mosul is a former insurgent stronghold, located about 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad. The brazen attack comes amid a surge in violence to levels unseen in Iraq since 2008. It’s been a most serious challenge to the Shiite-led government’s efforts to achieve stability. © 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or […]

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Syrian Regime Loyalists Seethe Over U.N. Aid Operation for Rebel Area

HOMS, Syria—Regime loyalists here voiced fury over a United Nations humanitarian relief mission for a rebel-held enclave in their city, accusing the organization of bias against minorities that support President Bashar al-Assad. The U.N. said Monday that it was extending the relief mission for the old quarter of Homs for three more days. It has already evacuated more than 1,000 people and delivered desperately needed food while its convoys came under mortar and sniper fire on their way into the besieged enclave. At least 11 people have been killed in violence around the operation since it began on Friday, the U.N. said. Members of the Mr. Assad’s Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shiite Islam and a minority in Syria that dominates the regime, accused the U.N. of being far more concerned about taking in food and medicine for rebels and civilians than determining the whereabouts of some 740 missing […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple