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Shell keeps Alaskan arctic options open

"We continue to take a methodical approach to this exploration phase and will only proceed with a program that meets the conditions necessary to proceed safely and responsibly," a spokesman said in a statement emailed to UPI. The U.S. Coast Guard in April published a 152-page report on Shell’s operations in Alaska . Shell’s drillship Kulluk struck ground off the Alaskan coast in 2012, and the Coast Guard blamed harsh winter conditions and the company’s efforts to escape Alaskan tax laws for the incident. Kulluk’s grounding off the Alaskan coast followed a 2012 exploration season in the arctic waters of Alaska that was complicated by equipment failures. The company in January said it was suspending its efforts to explore Alaskan waters because of costs and court challenges to its exploration campaign. Shell said it submitted revisions to an already-approved plan for the Chukchi Sea to the Bureau of Ocean […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. oil pipeline output increasing

The U.S. Department of Transportation updated its freight numbers for commodities traded under the U.S. North American Free Trade Agreement. The value of commodities moving through pipelines in June increased 35.2 percent, the largest percentage of any mode of transportation. "This increase is due, in part, to exports of crude oil by pipeline from the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana," the department said Thursday. The North Dakota Industrial Commission oil production in June, the last full month for which data are available, was 1.09 million barrels per day, a record for the state and a 4.8 percent increase from the previous month. Nearly all of the oil produced in North Dakota comes from the Bakken and Three Forks area. Total U.S. oil production has increased to the point that there’s not enough pipeline capacity to handle the glut. The U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of […]

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A New Kind of Power From Salt Water

Water is an ancient power source, one usually exploited by harnessing its flow. For decades, though, scientists have been working on another kind of water power—one relying on salt. Yarek Waszul This technique exploits the natural process of osmosis. When fresh water is separated from salt water by a selective membrane, pure water from the fresh side will pass through, leaving the salts behind. The rising water level on the salty side, kept under moderate pressure, can then be siphoned off to run a turbine. This approach is ideal for places where fresh water and salt water come together—where a river meets the sea, for instance. The technology is appealing because it is clean, renewable and reliable. The problem is cost: It takes a vast membrane to obtain any significant amount of electricity. But now researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd University of […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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U.S. Utilities Push the Electric Car

As utilities across the U.S. grapple with stagnant electricity sales, many see opportunity in the fledgling need for electric-car charging stations. But some companies’ tactics are spurring complaints from consumer advocates. Electricity companies are asking permission to let them tack on fees to customer bills to fund pilot projects for building networks of charging stations. Critics say the requests are unfair because they would make all customers pay the high cost of experimental equipment even though it would benefit only a few—often affluent—people. In San Diego, Sempra Energy ‘s power utility wants to install 5,500 electric-car chargers at hundreds of office parks, apartment buildings and condominium complexes at a cost of $100 million. The company says convenient, easy-to-use charging stations will encourage more Californians to adopt electric cars, improving air quality for everyone. The utility wants to add a surcharge to all San Diego customers’ bills. The Utility Reform […]

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U.S. retail gasoline prices fall as Labor Day approaches

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update The U.S. average retail price for regular gasoline was $3.45/gallon (gal) on August 25, the lowest price on the Monday before Labor Day since 2010. The average price at the pump is now $0.25/gal lower than it was at the end of June. Lower North Sea Brent crude oil prices are the main driver of the decline in gasoline prices; the current Brent price is lower than it was last month, and lower than it was on Labor Day weekend last year. The recent decline in gasoline prices largely reflects changes in crude oil prices. In June of this year, the Brent spot price reached its year-to-date high of $115/barrel (bbl), then fell to $102/bbl on August 22. Current Brent prices are below their August average level over the past three years, which ranged between $110/bbl and $113/bbl. Crude […]

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Pennsylvania says 243 private water wells contaminated by gas drilling since 2007

More than 200 private drinking water wells have been contaminated by natural gas drilling activity in Pennsylvania since 2007, according to documents released late Thursday by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP released a list of 243 well contamination complaints that led to investigations and, in most cases, some form of resolution. The number of complaints amounts to 2.8% of the 7,536 unconventional wells drilled since 2009. Between 2009 and 2010, during the land rush to the Marcellus, water complaints nearly doubled from 34 in 2009 to 61 in 2010, the record shows. About half drinking water wells were damaged by conventional drilling and half by unconventional, or horizontal, drilling, DEP Deputy Secretary for Oil and Gas Management Scott Perry said in a statement. Complaints declined 41% in 2011 to 36 contaminated wells and remained at that level until dropping again this year to 1.3% of the […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Who’s Got Liquids? plus Further to the Bakken

This is another Guest Post by David Archibald Who’s Got Liquids? An article by Canadian consultant Mike Priaro in the 7th July, 2014 edition of Oil andGas Journal, “Grosmont carbonate formation increases Alberta’s bitumen reserves”, included the following tables: David 1 Mr Priaro’s estimate of Canada’s recoverable bitumen is 818 billion barrels. Almost all of that is in Alberta. Combined with their coal resources, Alberta has the biggest fossil fuel resource on the planet. I have updated my estimate of what some of the major countries have in the way of fossil fuels in this table: David 2 The highest value fuels are those that can be used as liquids in transport. High quality coal produces 2.2 barrels of liquids through a FT plant. In the following graphic I have used a factor of 2x to convert coal to its oil equivalent. Six thousand cubic feet of gas has the […]

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BHI: US rig count recoups last week’s losses, jumps to 1,914

The US drilling rig count jumped 18 units to reach 1,914 rigs working, gaining back the 17 units it lost last week plus one, during the week ended Aug. 29, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. Land rigs, which lost 19 units a week ago, gained 16 back to total 1,838. Offshore rigs were up 2 units to 66. Rigs drilling in inland waters were untouched from a week ago at 10. Oil rigs increased 11 units to 1,575 while gas rigs increased 8 units to 338. Rigs considered unclassified dropped a unit for the second straight week, and now only 1 unit remains. Horizontal drilling rigs were up 9 units to 1,330, more than recouping last week’s 8-unit loss. Directional drilling rigs edged up a unit to 210. For the second consecutive week Canada reported a 4-unit gain to its rig count. A 9-unit jump in gas rigs to 178 […]

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EU wants interim solution to gas crisis

Russian energy company Gazprom this year cut gas supplies to Ukraine, citing mounting debt. Ukraine, for its part, has complained about the terms of its contract and is waiting for a ruling from international arbiters. Oettinger met in Moscow with Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak to discuss finding an interim price mechanism that’s fair, ensuring all transit obligations are met and negotiating a repayment plan for unpaid gas debt. "Ukraine has to pay an account for the gas to be delivered in the months to come," he said in a statement. Europe gets about a quarter of its gas needs met by Russia, though most of that runs through the Soviet-era transit network in Ukraine. Ongoing crises in Ukraine have put European energy security at risk. "Our main goal is to secure gas supply to the European Union and its citizens, but also to the citizens in Russia, Ukraine, […]

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British shale company Cuadrilla wins in court

A court in Manchester passed an interim measure preventing trespassing on land secured by the company for shale natural gas exploration. Francis Egan, the company’s chief executive officer, said the injunction was a victory in its controversial campaign in the country. "We hope the court’s ruling will help deter this kind of unlawful behavior in the future," he said in a statement Thursday. Cuadrilla last year witnessed rowdy demonstrations in the southern British village of Balcombe. The company’s exploratory drilling program led demonstrators to believe hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, would be next for the site. Local police last year said they were frustrated with "the criminal activities" of some of the protest groups. The British government says shale resources could ensure energy security for a country where imports will account for more than half of the country’s demands in the coming decades. Advocacy groups have expressed concern that some […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple