The energy world is changing fast. Investments into renewable energy are outpacing investments into conventional energy. The incumbents, unused to this pace of change and tied down by large asset bases and long-term investment strategies, are struggling. But they are not the only ones. The disruptors are also finding it difficult to build new energy businesses. In fact, many of the companies that will in the end be able to benefit from the energy … [Read more...]
What happens when demand for oil peaks?
A gradual move away from oil, will have many benefits for the global economy, write Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability at the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, and Jeroen van der Veer, former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell. According to Myers Jaffe and Van der Veer, a diminished role for oil means markets will become more stable and costly price subsidies can be reduced. The authors, both members of the new … [Read more...]
Saudi Arabia needs realism – not a 2030 vision
The recently published economic reform plan for Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030, is completely unrealistic, writes ex-Shell geoscientist Jilles van den Beukel.  He argues that it should be seen in the light of Mohammed bin Salman’s grab for power. The deputy crown prince, the King's favourite and de facto ruler of the country, has a limited time span to solidify his power base, given the frail health of his father. Van den Beukel argues that only … [Read more...]
Bakken shows: US tight oil production is up against its limits
Geology, drilling efficiency and increased focus on the best producing areas have all contributed to the dramatic increase in drilling productivity over the last 10 years in the Bakken, argue Jilles van den Beukel (ex-Principal Geoscientist with Shell) and Enno Peters. The contribution from technology is much smaller; for a given well location the well productivity has hardly improved. This has important implications: Van den Beukel and Peters … [Read more...]
Capacity mechanisms: DG Competition and DG Energy clash over future of EU energy market
EU member states are setting up capacity mechanisms that may be unnecessary, expensive and badly designed. This is the conclusion of the European Commission's Competition Directorate in the interim report of its first ever “sector enquiry” into capacity mechanisms as a form of state aid for electricity producers. But the report shows that DG Competition has a different view than DG Energy about the future of the EU's energy market design, writes … [Read more...]
To end windfall profits EU should limit free allocation of CO2 allowances to industry
EU member states intend to continue giving European manufacturers free CO2 allowances, even though this will hand them windfall profits, and will not motivate them to reduce CO2 emissions, writes Emil Dimantchev,  senior carbon market analyst at Thomson Reuters. Dimantchev calls on the European Commission to start a discussion with stakeholders and lawmakers from the European Parliament and member states to find a compromise ensuring that … [Read more...]
New paradigms for the nuclear energy sector
A wave of innovation is sweeping across the nuclear sector – so much so that it is difficult for financiers to pick winners at this stage. But the biggest innovation in nuclear energy may come in the form of a new investment paradigm that involves private investors much more than in the past, writes specialised nuclear energy reporter Dan Yurman. Article courtesy of World Energy Focus. … [Read more...]
Elena Bou, KIC InnoEnergy: “If we want our energy companies to succeed, we need one European market”
We are at the beginning of a new era of innovation in the European energy sector. Energy companies will be opening up to new collaborations, investing in startups, creating new technologies and developing new business models that will be much more service and customer oriented. That’s the conviction of Elena Bou, Innovation Director at KIC InnoEnergy, an EU-wide company investing in renewable energy technology. What worries Bou is the … [Read more...]
Globalisation of the gas market: it has been going on longer than you think
The general view among analysts is that gas prices in North America, Europa and Asia diverged in the period 2005-2014. This was always a bit odd, since regional markets were becoming more interconnected in those years through increased LNG trade, increased market related pricing and gas hub development. Now it turns out that, according to new research from Floris Merison at the Energy Delta Institute, the conventional view of price divergence is … [Read more...]
Debacle at Doha – the collapse of the old Oil OrderÂ
The failure of the world’s biggest oil producers to agree on an output freeze at their recent meeting in Doha, Qatar, was more than a geopolitical incident, writes energy author Michael T. Klare. The Doha debacle shows that the world of ever-increasing oil demand that we have come to known over the last decades is no more. From now on, suppliers will fight each other for ever diminishing market shares. Courtesy of TomDispatch. … [Read more...]
Saudi Arabia releases ambitious plan to diversify economy
On Monday, Saudi Arabia released a blueprint for the future, a plan for the Kingdom that could alter the course of its history. The "Vision for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" could radically transform Saudi Aramco, the Saudi economy, and the country's social structure, reports Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com. … [Read more...]
How to scale up renewables in 10 steps: a quick guide for policymakers
After the signing of the Paris Agreement, governments of both developed and developing countries must design and implement policy instruments to drastically scale up the use of renewables in the energy sector, write Jan Frederik Braun and Nicole de Paula. The authors provide a quick guide to effective policymaking for renewable energy and explain why they are optimistic about the future. … [Read more...]
Russia: a global energy powerhouse that’s much more than a petro-state
Russia is not what you think. Most discussion about its energy influence has focused on oil and gas, particularly gas, and Russia and is routinely described, as a petro-state. But this is only partly accurate, writes Scott L Montgomery, Lecturer at the University of Washington. According to Montgomery, Russia has been building an altogether new kind of energy state, one with more global influence than even OPEC. This has profound implications for … [Read more...]
EU expects large nuclear new-build programme despite escalating costs
The European Commission estimates that nearly three quarters of a trillion Euros will need to be spent on nuclear power over the next decades to enable it to maintain a market share of about one-fifth of the EU electricity mix in 2050. At the same time it notes that the cost of building new nuclear plants has risen 50% in the last decade. Critics say the Commission is too optimistic and has not analysed what the advent of renewables and changing … [Read more...]
Why the UK Green Deal failed and why it needs a replacement
The National Audit Office in the UK has concluded that the Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) ÂŁ240 million Green Deal has achieved virtually nothing. David Thorpe, independent consultant and author of several books on energy efficiency in buildings, explains what went wrong. He compares the British approach with the successful German scheme and argues that a new scheme is urgently needed. … [Read more...]
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