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How To Take Apart Fukushima’s 3 Melted-Down Reactors

A radiation-proof superhero could make sense of Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in an afternoon. Our champion would pick through the rubble to reactor 1, slosh through the pooled water inside the building, lift the massive steel dome of the protective containment vessel, and peek into the pressure vessel that holds the nuclear fuel. A dive to the bottom would reveal the debris of the meltdown: a hardened blob of metals with fat strands of radioactive goop dripping through holes in the pressure vessel to the floor of the containment vessel below. Then, with a clear understanding of the situation, the superhero could figure out how to clean up this mess. Unfortunately, mere mortals can’t get anywhere near that pressure vessel, and Japan’s top nuclear experts thus have only the vaguest idea of where […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Natural Gas Inventories are Headed Toward Zero

Gas in Underground Storage This winter has been one of the coldest on record. It’s been the coldest winter in at least 30 years, and I saw a report today that there is a chance that this will be Chicago’s coldest winter on record. Presently it is the 3rd coldest on record for Chicago, but another blast of cold air is just moving into the Midwest and East Coast. Natural gas is a major energy source for heating homes, and prices have been spiking periodically in recent weeks as the weekly draws on natural gas inventories are higher than normal. Natural gas consumption in the US is highly seasonal, so producers use a system of underground pressurized storage that builds inventories until mid-fall, which are then depleted through the winter. Natural gas can be stored in depleted oil or gas reservoirs, in natural aquifers, or in salt caverns. The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EIA’s Petroleum Supply Monthly by State, Texas Reporting Problems

Texas + North Dakota The EIA releases two monthly petroleum data sets for US oil production. The Monthly Energy Review  which gives the US production and consumption of all forms of energy, oil, natural gas, coal and electricity.  The other, the  Petroleum Supply Monthly  deals only with petroleum but gives every possible statistic, production, refining, export and import from every state and district. Concerning total US crude oil production the two should agree but they don’t. From December 2011 back they have the exact same production numbers but the near months differ greatly. I have found that the latter, the Petroleum Supply Monthly is the most accurate. The Monthly Energy Review usually changes their numbers to match the Petroleum Supply Monthly but both revise their numbers as more accurate numbers come in. They both are published the last week of the month but  the M.E.R is always a month ahead […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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In a Host of Small Sources, Scientists See Energy Windfall

The emerging field of “energy scavenging” is drawing on a wide array of untapped energy sources­ — including radio waves, vibrations created by moving objects, and waste heat from computers or car exhaust systems — to generate electricity and boost efficiency. Computers feasting on their own exhaust heat. Super-efficient solar panels snaring lost thermal energy and recycling it into electricity. Personal electronics powered by stray microwaves or vibration-capturing clothing. Cellphones charged with a user’s footsteps. These and more innovations may be possible with free, green energy that is now going to waste. Ubiquitous sources like radio waves, vibration and pressure created by moving objects, heat radiating from machines and even our bodies — all have the potential to produce usable electric power. Until recently, ambient energy was largely squandered because of a lack of ways to efficiently exploit it. Now, advances in materials and engineering are […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Bakken Oil Rail Slows, Regulators Deny Terminal Closures

BOil shipments by rail from the booming Bakken have slowed over the past two days, data showed, but a US regulator knocked down rumors that some terminals have been shut down due to new rules. NEW YORK/WASHINGTON, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Oil shipments by rail from the booming Bakken shale in North Dakota have slowed over the past two days, data showed on Friday, but a U.S. regulator knocked down rumors that some terminals have been shut down due to new rules. Oil traders are on edge over concerns that an emergency order from the U.S. Department of Transportation this week requiring shippers to test all crude before it is carried by train could cut into deliveries of Bakken crude, as much as 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) of which is shipped […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Devon completes $6 billion purchase of Eagle Ford assets

Devon Energy Corp. , Oklahoma City, has completed its $6 billion purchase of 82,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford play from Woodlands, Tex.-based GeoSouthern Energy more than 3 months after the agreement was reported ( OGJ online, Nov. 20, 2013 ). The assets, in DeWitt and Lavaca counties in Texas, are part of Devon’s plan to invest $1.1 billion in the Eagle Ford this year while drilling more than 200 wells. The company’s net production in the play for the remainder of the year is expected to average between 70,000-80,000 boe/d. Devon previously said it expects the assets to expand at a compound growth rate of 25%/year over the next several years, reaching a peak production rate of 140,000 boe/d.

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US DOE OKs FTA application for ConocoPhillips' Alaska LNG project

The US Department of Energy has approved an application by ConocoPhillips to ship the equivalent of 40 Bcf of natural gas as liquefied natural gas over a two-year period from its plant on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage to countries which have free trade agreements with the US. The approval, however, is seen largely as a technicality since ConocoPhillips is expected to target Japan, a country which does not have a free trade agreement with the US, for the LNG from the Alaskan facility. A separate application from ConocoPhillips to ship to non-FTA countries, such as Japan, is still pending before DOE. LNG market sources said that while the approval was promising, it would take an approval for exports to non-FTA economies like Japan to have an impact on pricing. However, market participants noted that South Korea was an FTA partner, and could […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US DOE OKs FTA application for ConocoPhillips’ Alaska LNG project

The US Department of Energy has approved an application by ConocoPhillips to ship the equivalent of 40 Bcf of natural gas as liquefied natural gas over a two-year period from its plant on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage to countries which have free trade agreements with the US. The approval, however, is seen largely as a technicality since ConocoPhillips is expected to target Japan, a country which does not have a free trade agreement with the US, for the LNG from the Alaskan facility. A separate application from ConocoPhillips to ship to non-FTA countries, such as Japan, is still pending before DOE. LNG market sources said that while the approval was promising, it would take an approval for exports to non-FTA economies like Japan to have an impact on pricing. However, market participants noted that South Korea was an FTA partner, and could […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Chesapeake Energy to Sell $520 Million in Assets to Exterran, Access Midstream

Natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) said it reached agreements to sell its midstream compression assets to Exterran Partners LP (EXLP) and Access Midstream Partners LP (ACMP) for a total of $520 million to streamline its operations. Exterran Partners and owner Exterran Holdings Inc. (EXH) said Friday they agreed to acquire 334 compression units from Chesapeake–servicing gathering systems in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming–for about $360 million to continue expanding the contract operations business. The company said the acquisition is expected to add to its distributable cash flow, but may not increase its distribution per unit. Meanwhile, Access said it will purchase 103 compression units that service gathering systems in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia for $160 million to add more natural gas components to its business. The natural gas operator said it expects the deal to immediately add to its distributable cash flow. […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple