Big Oil set to pounce in Alberta: expert

More liberal U.S. rules on measuring oil reserves will be the catalyst for an international takeover binge in Alberta’s oil sands, says a top strategist at Bank of Montreal. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is now deciding whether to modernize rules dating from the late 1970s that many in the oil industry criticize as […]

Arab oil producers to increase production: OAPEC

Oil-producing Arab states plan to raise their production from 32.2 percent of the world oil market to between 38 and 40 percent by 2010, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) said on Saturday. OAPEC said in a monthly bullet in that in light of global market developments, oil consumers and international companies look […]

U.S. split on nuclear energy for Iran, North Korea

Confronting brewing nuclear crises with Iran and North Korea, the United States has taken opposite positions in each case over the question of peaceful atomic energy. The Bush administration has endorsed a European Union proposal — rejected on Saturday by Tehran — that includes a guarantee of civilian nuclear power for Iran in return for […]

PM stresses need to build energy security

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday stressed the need for India to diversify its sources of energy, with greater focus on nuclear sources, while pursuing a rational energy pricing policy. “Energy security is a national priority,” said the prime minister chairing the first meeting of the newly created Energy Coordination Committee (ECC) to chalk policy options […]

Chemist Tries to Solve World’s Energy Woes

Daniel Nocera arrives at his office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology by 7 a.m., goes home 13 hours later – where he often reads papers or e-mails students much of the night – and returns to his labs on weekends. Vacations? None, really, unless you count chemistry conferences. After all, trying to save the […]

U.S. Oil Giant Poised to Quit North Sea

AMERICAN oil major Kerr-McGee is selling its entire UK portfolio for $3bn (The Business Online

Problems In The Solar Industry

The latest edition of the Watt Weekly Podcast has an interview with Sass Peress, the CEO of ICP Solar, a solar power manufacturing company in Montreal Canada. On the status of the solar industry, Peress said that the growth is huge because of a “giant vacuum sucking sounds coming nout of Germany and Japan for every single solar cell being produced” and California may soon become the same. This has left manufacturers scrambling to catch up to the demand but there is a disfunction in the supply chain with an overcapacity in everything except for the silicon feedsotck. The big problem is that the “solar industry is the poor cousin of the microchip industry”, having to buy the leftover silicon that microchips couldn’t use because the grade wasn’t high enough. This has resulted in a 5% per year increase in the cost of solar cells rather than a steady 5% per year decrease in solar panel costs previously sustained by the industry. Another serious problem is that some companies are grossly overstating their maximum power outputs, sometimes by over 50% and this is making some consumers, especially in Kenya (interestingly enough), wary of investing in solar power.

Chevron buys final stake in Louisiana pipeline

On Friday, Chevron Corp. took a step in growing its natural gas business, buying the last 40 percent of Bridgeline Holdings LP from Targa Resources Inc. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed. Bridgeline manages and operates an integrated intrastate natural gas pipeline and storage system in southern Louisiana along the Mississippi River corridor It […]

Iran won’t be intimidated, new president says

Iran’s new President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday the Islamic Republic, facing intense pressure from the West over its nuclear ambitions, would not be intimidated.Taking the oath of office in parliament following his stunning June election win, the former Tehran mayor said his priority would be to tackle unemployment and his foreign policy would seek […]

Jailed Russian oil tycoon ’sure he will be cleared’

THE jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment in a case many observers say was motivated by political revenge, said yesterday that he believes the sentence will be overturned. However, Khodorkovsky, who has been behind bars since his arrest in October 2003, said he believed the appeal process could take […]

Iran says EU nuclear proposals unacceptable

Iran said on Saturday the European Union’s proposals for incentives in return for a suspension of Iranian nuclear fuel work were unacceptable. “The Europeans’ submitted proposals regarding the nuclear case are not acceptable for Iran,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi as saying. “The proposals are unnacceptable because Iran’s […]

Court Rejects Effort to Halt Pollution Rules

Two federal appeals court judges on Friday rejected an effort by environmental groups to block the Bush administration from carrying out regulations on power plants that emit mercury pollution. Without comment, Judges David B. Sentelle and Janice Rogers Brown, both of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, denied a […]

Shortages Stifle a Boom Time for the Solar Industry

With a bill in California that aims to put solar power in half of new homes within 13 years, and with installation incentives in the federal energy legislation passed last week, the future of solar energy in the United States would seem all the brighter. But the future may have to wait, if only a […]

Planes go greener by shifting altitude

Aircraft could reduce their impact on global warming just by making small changes in altitude. The streams of water vapour and ice particles that form behind an aircraft, called contrails, are known to create cirrus clouds. These clouds can trap heat radiating from the Earth’s surface and thus add to global warming. New Scientist

Opec oil output highest since ’79

Opec oil production rose 290,000 barrels per day in July to the highest level since December 1979 as Iraq boosted exports and the UAE restored output at oilfields after maintenance, a Reuters survey showed. Record crude oil prices have encouraged the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to push output to near 26-year highs. But […]

Energy investments lure hordes of newcomers

The search for the best return on investment has led hordes of big Wall Street players into energy markets, a trend that shows no signs of abating as a rally in oil prices pushes ahead. Investors are using various means of turning the high price of oil to their advantage. Some are taking positions in […]

EU firms enjoy US spending spree

The volume of US companies being taken over by their European rivals is now nearing its highest level in four years, according to a financial report. So far this year businesses in Europe have spent $47.2bn (BBC

Transcript of Simmons Q&A at Washington Post

In his recently published book “Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy,” author Matthew Simmons argues that Saudi Arabia will in coming decades be unable to maintain its current level of oil production, with large-economic repercussions. Simmons also examines the political and social climate of the nation and its […]

Ireland’s Future and the Impact of Increasing Energy Prices

FEASTA, The Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability have published work on four possible scenarios for Ireland in light of Peak Oil, asking: Will oil prices continue to rise or is this just a spike? Are we running out of oil? When will the supply of oil peak? What will happen then? How can we […]

Suncor Energy finds no natural gas at Montana Rocky Mountain site

Natural gas exploration near Helena revealed no gas and Canada’s Suncor Energy Inc., which exercised mineral rights owned by the family of Montana’s senior U.S. senator, is preparing to remove equipment from the site. An environmental group said the news strengthens the case against petroleum exploration in Montana’s environmentally sensitive Rocky Mountain Front, where the […]

Indian team to visit China to explore energy cooperation

India would look at joining hands with China for acquiring oil and gas properties in third countries, particularly in the Caspian region, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America, the Additional Secretary (International Cooperation), in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Talmiz Ahmad, said here on Friday. Till now the two countries have been […]

Fusion Power

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) — which aims to prove the commercial viability of fusion power — is slated to be built in France by 2016. Here’s how it will work: Two hydrogen isotopes–deuterium and tritium–are heated in a doughnut-shaped chamber to more than 100 million degrees Centigrade, at which point they form a […]

Environmentalists See Hope in Exxon CEO Change

Environmental groups expressed guarded optimism Thursday that the management succession at Exxon Mobil Corp. may lead the oil company to taking a proactive role in protecting the planet. But the fact that the heir apparent has the full support of the financial community, which expects him to run the company in the same way as […]

Portuguese Firefighters Struggle to Contain Wildfires

Strong winds and sweltering temperatures fueled some 20 wildfires across drought-stricken Portugal on Thursday as the number of firefighters on duty nearly doubled compared to the previous day, authorities said. The day began with 10 major blazes and the number doubled by mid-afternoon as temperatures soared above 40 C (104 F). Nearly 1,600 firefighters tackled […]

Iran says EU offers to back oil pipeline from C.Asia

Iran said on Friday the European Union had offered to back it as the main oil transit route from Central Asia to tempt Tehran to freeze its nuclear fuel work, but a summary of the EU’s proposals contained no such offer. Iran, home to the world’s second largest oil and gas reserves, has long promoted […]

Friedman and Bearman’s Takes on the Energy Bill…

A couple of interesting takes by Friedman and Bearman on the recent energy bill are out there today. Let’s talk about them a bit…

More after the jump at The Oil Drum.

Cocktail of Concerns Pushes Crude to New Highs

Crude oil futures hit another record high this week on a series of factors including the death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, a coup in Mauritania, the death of SudanFinancial Times

Solar energy project at Weizmann Institute promises to advance use of hydrogen f

Hydrogen, the most plentiful element in the universe, is an attractive candidate for becoming a pollution-free fuel of the future. However, nearly all hydrogen used today is produced by means of expensive processes that require combustion of polluting fossil fuels. Moreover, storing and transporting hydrogen is extremely difficult and costly. The new solar technology tackles […]

New Cost Tool Helps Fleet Managers Evaluate Hybrid Vehicles

Golden, Colo. i-Newswire.com

Big Oil warns of coming energy crunch

International oil companies have advertising campaigns warning that the world is running out of oil and calling on the public to help the industry do something about it. Most of the executives of the world’s five largest energy groups generally maintain that oil projects are viable with the price at which they test a project’s […]

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