China’s Shale Gas Development Potential

China’s potential in shale gas production is nearly as staggering as its potential growth in demand for natural gas. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that China possesses by far the world’s largest reserves of technically recoverable shale gas. Although China’s shale gas industry is not as advanced as the United States’, it could be the most advanced outside of North America. China’s […]

Iranian Nuke Sites Hit with ‘Sabotage’

Iranian officials revealed on Monday that several “new acts of sabotage” had taken place at its controversial Arak nuclear reactor facility and that other so-called “enemy plots” had been carried out at separate key nuclear sites. Iranian security forces told the country’s state-run press early Monday that these “new acts of sabotage” had been discovered […]

Psychological Trigger Points For Crude Oil Demand Destruction

I’ve talked about demand destruction before in this blog. Demand destruction occurs when the marginal benefit of using more crude oil exceeds the marginal cost for people. Essentially, when oil prices go too high, people use less oil. On a personal level, this means that people may drive fewer miles by staying closer to home […]

Taking the Permaculture Path to Community Resilience

What permaculturalists are doing is the most important activity that any group is doing on the planet. We don’t know what the details of a truly sustainable future are going to be like, but we need options, we need people experimenting in all kinds of ways and permaculturalists are one of the critical groups doing […]

Iter construction gathers momentum

Contracts for the construction of seven key buildings, plus a contract for the power supply for a plasma heating system, and progress on the manufacture of a major component signal an acceleration in the international Iter fusion reactor project. The clean room at ASG’s La Spezia plant, where Iter’s toroidal coils will be wound. A prototype of the […]

Northeasterners turn to burning wood for power

Americans living in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S. are increasingly turning to a source of heat favored by humans for thousands of years: wood. More and more people are using wood as their main source of heat as opposed to heating oil and kerosene. The Energy Information Administration reports that, “All nine states in the […]

Innovating for an Uncertain Energy Future: Interview with Siemens Energy CEO Randy Zwirn

A lot can change in the energy sector over the span of a decade. Just ask Randy Zwirn. As President and CEO of Siemens Energy, Inc. and CEO of the Energy Service Division of Siemens AG, Zwirn has to peer into the future every day as he manages the decade-long development cycles typical of the company’s new […]

New York, Bakken and crude oil by rail: where is the love?

The crude-by-rail industry is not feeling so much of the “love” in New York’s “I Love New York” slogan these days. Governor Cuomo has put a target on the backs of those moving Bakken oil in particular, which some recent tests have shown has the volatility of gasoline. That spells trouble for the crude, more of […]

How do ex-Saudi Aramco geologist Dr Husseini’s oil price spike predictions of USD 140 by 2016-17 stack up?

In an interview with ASPO USA in January 2014 Ex-Saudi Aramco geologist Dr. Sadad-Al-Husseini predicted oil price spikes of $140 by 2016/17. This post shows some graphs explaining why this could happen. Husseini: My base oil price forecast in 2012 dollars still ranges between $105 and $120/barrel Brent with a volatility floor of $ 95/barrel and […]

GS E&C develops natural gas liquefaction process

GS E&C, one of South Korea’s largest builders, said Tuesday that it has developed an in-house natural gas liquefaction process plant. The builder, which began joint research with state-run Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) in 2008, said its test bed plant located in Incheon, west of Seoul, has successfully produced liquefied natural gas (LNG). “The plant […]

Orlov: The Madness of President Putin

Of all the various interpretations Western leaders and commentators have offered for why the president of the Russian Federation has responded the way he has to the events in Ukraine over the course of February and March of 2014—in refusing to acquiesce to the installation of a neo-fascist regime in Kiev, and in upholding the […]

Machinery of an Energy Dream

Fusion, the process that powers the sun, is the forever dream of energy scientists — safe, nonpolluting and almost boundless. Even here at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where the primary focus of fusion work involves nuclear weapons, many scientists talk poetically about how it could end the world’s addiction to fossil fuels. “It’s the dream […]

The true cost of asparagus

The first tender spears of asparagus are always a welcome sight at the farmers market, a sign that spring is on its way. But some of that seasonal excitement is fading, now that bunches can be found on grocery store shelves throughout the winter. “Asparagus has become available year round, whereas before it was just a […]

Crude Plummeted as Sanctions against Russia Unlikely Affect Supply

Commodities gave up previous gains and end the day in red as there were few breakthroughs after the Crimean referendum result showed that the majority of voters favor joining Russia. Crude oil prices declined with the front-month WTI contract losing -0.82% and the Brent crude contract tumbling -2.16%. Gold also lost ground as investors took […]

Natural gas to outpace all energy sources until 2035

Natural gas is expected to be the fastest growing energy source until 2035 as the global energy consumption is likely to grow by an average 1.9 per cent per year, according to a report. “Between 2012 and 2035, natural gas demand is expected to grow by an average 1.9 per cent per year, outpacing all […]

Heinberg: Peak Oil And How To See The Bigger Picture

Richard Heinberg explaining everything that you need to know about Peak Oil and how to prepare for it, because we are already deep in Peak Oil time

Tech Talk – Of wood, coal, the UK and Bangladesh

Ice and snow have returned to the central part of Missouri, so the warm heat from the tile stove is again keeping us comfortable. For many folk, however, this is not an option and they rely on a centralized power station to supply the electricity that is a fundamental part of current Western life. Yet […]

Solar Power More Economical Than Natural Gas, Coal, Nuclear In Texas

Austin Energy is going to pay under 5 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity from 2 new solar power plants, Cleantechnica has reported. This is a couple of cents less than it estimates it could have paid for electricity from a natural gas plant (7 cents), 5 cents less than from a coal-fired power plant […]

Not Into Fracking? Try Nuclear Waste

The U.S. shale oil-and-gas boom has something for everybody. Jobs! Community outrage! Cheap fuel! Financial intrigue! Geopolitical leverage! Dirty water! Really, the only thing nobody’s tried to work in is nuclear waste. Until now. The very characteristics that make shale oil and gas difficult to extract — they’re sealed in hard-to-reach rock — are the […]

Exploring the “why” behind extreme energy

For eight months I’ve been travelling around England and Wales talking about ‘unconventional gas’ – shale gas[1], coal-bed methane[2] and underground coal gasification[3], which the media often erroneously conflate as ‘fracking’[4]. This intensive period of work began last June, and continued into 2014 to meet the continued requests for talks. In particular I’ve tried to […]

Crowd Control: Political revolt and the accumulation of more

In case of rain, the revolution will take place in the hall. — Erwin Chargaff For the last several years, the word “revolution” has been hanging around backstage on the national television talk-show circuit waiting for somebody, anybody — visionary poet, unemployed automobile worker, late-night comedian — to cue its appearance on camera. I picture […]

Will Shale Oil Growth Lead to New US Refineries?

The revival of US oil production is spurring new investments in refineries, including the restart or new construction of small refineries near these resources. How well such investments perform will depend on both the longevity of shale oil production and policies concerning its export. An article on the revival of some mothballed US oil refineries and […]

Coal, gas or nuclear? Power-hungry South Africa must decide now

On paper, South Africa’s long-term energy plans look solid, with coal, nuclear, gas and renewables all viable options. But none are likely to prevent potentially crippling future power crunches in Africa’s biggest economy unless a decision is made soon on when and how to add capacity to the grid. South Africa’s failure to invest in […]

Iran pursuing banned items for nuclear, missile work

Iran has pursued a longstanding effort to buy banned components for its nuclear and missile programs in recent months, a U.S. official said on Sunday, a period when it struck an interim deal with major powers to limit its disputed atomic activity. Vann Van Diepen, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and […]

Oil drilling causing Oklahoma quakes; what will fracking do in Nevada?

Fracking, or drilling for oil by hydraulic fracturing, is coming to Nevada. The Houston-based Noble Energy has 10 permits on file with the Nevada Division of Minerals for mining oil using the technique. The division holds a public hearing Monday at 10 a.m. in Carson City to review new rules for hydraulic fracturing in the […]

The Short Logic of Population Proponents Ignore Real Consequences

Desperately poor Africans have developed a new tactic to break into Western Europe. They are rushing the border of Spain in groups of 1,000 or more, overwhelming Spanish border agents. Italy, meanwhile, has asked for help in dealing with the hordes of illegal immigrants washing up on the shores of Sicily. Australia, under continuous invasion […]

Peak Oil: The Military Seems Concerned … Just Sayin’

An observation worth noting … and pondering, from Dr. Nafeez Ahmed (quoting Lieutenant Colonel Daniel L. Davis): ‘A lot of high-ranking officials are starting to ask exactly these hard questions about the sustainability of the current energy system. You’ve got to remember that for the military, it doesn’t matter what you want to do. What […]

NASA study: Over-population, depleting resources and wealth distribution

  Civilisation could be facing collapse within the next few decades as a result of rising global population,. depleting resources and economic divide. Source: ThinkStock LOVING life? Well, lap it up because the days of driving around in comfy cars, feasting on fancy food and enjoying an aircon-cooled civilised existence could be numbered. With rising […]

Net vs. gross energy: Is it wise to be complacent?

Everyone knows that when a potential employer makes a job offer, the salary or wage he or she proposes isn’t what you’ll be taking home. What you’ll take home is your net pay. The number the employer offers you is your gross pay, and that’s just what it says on your pay stub. It’s not […]

Orlov: Is anyone really in control in Ukraine?

[While everyone is concentrating on the referendum in Crimea, let’s not lose sight of what’s happening in the rest of (formerly independent) Ukraine. As we already know, the government in Kiev is dead broke; the aid that is forthcoming from the US is barely enough to cover its debt to Russia’s Gazprom, for natural gas. […]

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