A European country like Germany may have embarked on an energy transformation away from fossil fuels - with major German energy companies like RWE following suit - worldwide there is no such trend, notes US energy expert and author Michael T. Klare. On the contrary, countries and companies, particularly in the US, are euphoric about all the new "unconventional" oil and gas coming on the market. "What we're seeing is a sea change in elite thinking … [Read more...]
Interview Tony Hayward: “Kurdistan is a good place to be”
For independent oil companies, getting their hands on new exploration acreage where both technical risk and political risk are low is an illusion, says Tony Hayward, former BP chief and current CEO of the independent Anglo-Turkish oil and gas producer Genel Energy, in an interview with James Stafford of Oilprice.com. Exploring for oil and gas in new frontiers is all about striking the right balance between geological potential and political risk. … [Read more...]
Interview Tyler Cowen: “The shale boom? It’s just getting started”
The shale boom in the US is only just beginning to affect the global economy, says famous US economist and New York Times best-selling author Tyler Cowen in an interview with James Stafford of Oilprice.com. The only question, says Cowen, is who will be the next to latch on to this revolution. Photo: shale oil production in Estonia, by WaronError1 … [Read more...]
European-Russian gas partnership threatens to unravel
As the areas of potential conflict are multiplying, the EU and Russia seem to be blundering into an increasingly fractious energy relationship that threatens to hurt both sides. Russia’s policies are even risking the whole future of gas in the European energy market, argues Frank Umbach, Associate Director at the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS), King's College, London. Umbach, who also works for the Centre for European … [Read more...]
Egypt for Sale
The Egyptian “street” has exchanged the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood for that of the military, putting them back to square one. What the Egyptians fail to see, writes the Canadian foreign policy expert Felix Imonti, is that the military is a major source of the poverty they are suffering from. The military controls the Egyptian economy and shuts out the majority of the population from participating in it. The generals get away with this because … [Read more...]
World Energy in 2040: Our fossil-fueled future
What sort of fabulous new energy systems will the world possess in 2040? Which fuels will supply the bulk of our energy needs? And how will that change the global energy equation, international politics, and the planet’s health? If the experts at the U.S. Department of Energy are right, the startling “new” fuels of 2040 will be oil, coal, and natural gas -- and we will find ourselves on a baking, painfully uncomfortable planet. Famous energy … [Read more...]
The coming oil price clash – and what it will mean for our economies
Peak oil is dead, we all know that by now. Or is it? Oil prices are certainly not coming down despite years of recession and stagnant demand in OECD countries. According to Gail Tverberg, who runs the blog Our Finite World, prices are so high because oil exporters need ever more money to fund their expenditures. The problem is that oil importers increasingly cannot afford those prices anymore: they are disguising the effect of high oil prices by … [Read more...]
Fracking? It will happen – so let’s at least do it very, very carefully
To frack or not to frack? That is the question being asked now in many European countries. The US has over a decade of experience with fracking. Allan Hoffman, long-time energy expert at the US Department of Energy who started his own blog upon his retirement last year, has mixed feelings about the blessings of shale gas and shale oil. Weighing the pros and cons, he concludes that fracking is probably too lucrative to be stopped, but at least it … [Read more...]
Natural gas as “coal killer”
Natural gas is a coal killer and renewable energy booster. That at any rate is the major conclusion of the Breakthrough Institute, an influential, independent US think tank, in a recent report. We have provided a short summary for you. Photo: Greenpeace Italy … [Read more...]
Interview geologist David Hughes: shale oil just a brief reprieve
Europe is looking with envy at the US shale revolution. UK Prime Minister David Cameron recently even said he was "pretty jealous" of the US, saying that the “huge benefits” of shale gas outweigh any “very minor change” to the landscape. In the US, however, the debate has moved ahead: although the economic benefits of the shale revolution are undeniable, the question is how long the shale oil and gas boom can last. Critical observers expect peak … [Read more...]
The Third Carbon Age
Most of us believe (or want to believe) that the second carbon era, the Age of Oil, will soon be superseded by the Age of Renewables, just as oil had long since superseded the Age of Coal.  But according to Michael Klare, professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College, and the author, most recently, of The Race for What’s Left, this is an illusion. In reality, the energy industry is pouring its historic profits into new … [Read more...]
Virunga: The real price of energy
In 2010, the Congolese Government of Kinshasa granted concessions to European companies to exploit oil near the border with Uganda. Exploration is only starting now in a context of civil war. But the area includes one of the world’s most exceptional nature reserves: Virunga National Park. Energy versus wildlife: the same story once again. The EU is financing a cost-benefit analysis to decide on a way ahead, but one conclusion is already clear: … [Read more...]
European shale gas: miracle or mirage?
Nick Grealy, energy consultant and proponent of shale gas, reflects on the battle for public perception of shale gas. A key problem, he says, is the speed of the change that has taken place. It has surprised many people. In fact, many people still fool themselves into thinking it can’t happen in Europe” . But according to Grealy, a European shale gas revolution is inevitable. Photo: drilling rig in Marcellus play in US (by wcn247) … [Read more...]
EIB cleans up its energy lending policy
The European Investment Bank (EIB) intends to place stricter CO2 emission standards on coal power plants that it finances, but not as strict as the standards president Obama recently proposed in the US. The EIB is also considering investing in shale gas projects, according to a draft of its new energy lending policy. NGOs accuse the EIB of a “missed opportunity to politically reject coal”. With the EBRD and World Bank also mulling new investment … [Read more...]
How to profit from rising energy prices in Russia
Russia offers great potential for European companies to invest in energy efficiency, renewable energy and electricity production, writes Alexander Gusev of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik). Rising prices in Russia stimulate energy-saving programs by companies and increase the populatiry of decentralized generation. But major problems, such as an incomplete legal basis and bureaucracy, … [Read more...]
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