Abu Dhabi likes to see itself as a global capital of renewable energy – but its ventures into sustainability are built on oil riches, which the country is not prepared to give up. Hypocritical? Perhaps, but it’s a hypocrisy shared by the rest of the world. Most countries and companies are pursuing an energy transformation which at the same time they are kicking down the road. And yet, writes Energy Post editor Karel Beckman in a reflective essay … [Read more...]
How the Iraqi oil surge will change the global energy landscape
Iraq is returning to an energy market which is radically different than the one it was forced to leave years ago, and its OPEC partners now also have a different view on Iraq’s participation. A new paper by Sammy Six and Lucia van Geuns of the Clingendael International Energy Programme (CIEP) assesses how current market developments impact the strategic position of Iraq - and vice versa: how Iraq is likely to impact the global oil market. The … [Read more...]
Exclusive report – Boeing reveals “the biggest breakthrough in biofuels ever”
Oil companies watch out. Biofuels are on the verge of a breakthrough that will transform the oil market. Not only that: it will also green the planet. In an exclusive interview with CleanTechnica.com and Energy Post, Darrin L. Morgan, Director Sustainable Aviation Fuels and Environmental Strategy at Boeing, reveals that researchers at the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi, funded by Boeing, Honeywell and Etihad Airways, may have achieved "the biggest … [Read more...]
Brussels confines climate policy to emission reduction and emission trading
The European Commission’s 2030 climate and energy package unveiled on 22January confines itself to two main proposals: a 40% binding greenhouse gas emission reduction target and legislative reform of the EU Emission Trading Scheme. Significantly, it does not include post-2020 national renewable energy targets or new energy efficiency targets. It also drops the fuel quality directive which underpins the use of biofuels in the transport sector. The … [Read more...]
Worldwatch Institute report reveals extent of global energy subsidies
Efforts by a variety of organizations to quantify global support for fossil fuels have generated estimates that range from $523 billion to over $1.9 trillion, depending on the calculation and what measures are included. What is clear is that the level of support has rebounded to 2008 levels following a dip in 2009-10 during the global financial crisis, writes Worldwatch Research Fellow Philipp Tagwerker in the Institute's latest Vital Signs … [Read more...]
BP: “Optimistic for the world’s energy future”
The good news from the BP Energy Outlook 2035, presented on 15 January, is that there will be no problem meeting the world’s energy demand over the next two decades. When it comes to availability of energy, “there is no problem”, said BP’s Group Chief Economist Christof RĂĽhl at the presentation of the report in London. BP’s CEO Bob Dudley said BP is “optimistic for the world’s energy future”. The fourth edition of BP’s annual  Energy Outlook … [Read more...]
Peak oil is dead. Long live peak oil!
Peak oil theory has been replaced with a new theory that might be called “techno-dynamism”. It holds that there is no limit to the amount of oil as long as the industry can apply its technological wizardry to oil production. However, there are three problems with this theory: technology costs keep going up, political and environmental risk keeps mounting, and climate policies will suppress demand which will in turn discourage invesment. The … [Read more...]
The five global implications of shale oil and gas
Much has been said about the shale (oil and gas) revolution, but according to Christof RĂĽhl, Group Chief Economist and Vice-President of BP, its real implications have yet to sink in. He points out, for example, that no detailed assessment has been made yet of its macro-economic impacts. In this wide-ranging analysis, RĂĽhl – one of the world’s most influential energy economists – discusses some of the major implications of shale. He notes that as … [Read more...]
Gazprom: “We are the pioneers of the Arctic”
Russia's first Arctic offshore field Prirazlomnoye, where Greenpeace activists were arrested in September after a high seas clash with Russian authorities, has started production of oil, the Moscow Times reported last Friday based on information from Gazprom. "We became the pioneers of Russia's Arctic development," Gazprom's chief executive officer Alexei Miller said in a statement. President  Vladimir Putin has said Russia's Arctic offshore … [Read more...]
How Ankara is pushing Arbil and Baghdad to an oil deal that will change the global energy market
Iraqi-Kurdistan is on the verge of becoming one of the world’s major oil exporters. Second only to the shale revolution in the United States, the oil and gas explorations there have the potential to change the global (and European) energy landscape. The only shadow hanging over this prospect is the political strife between the Kurdish Regional Government in Arbil and the central Iraqi government in Baghdad. But recently the likelihood of a … [Read more...]
Give Iran a chance to be tested
The interim-deal with Iran should be given a fair chance, argues Friedbert PflĂĽger, Director of the European Centre for Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS). The world economy would benefit if Iranian oil and gas exports could be restored. The climate would benefit if the massive flaring of gas in Iran and the prevailing energy inefficiency could be reduced and renewable energy investments stimulated. … [Read more...]
Egypt marches to a Saudi drummer
Saudi Arabia's foreign policy is primarily directed at two enemies: Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Saudis, writes foreign policy analyst Felix Imonti, are now planning to merge numerous fighting units in and outside of Syria into an Army of Mohammed. But where to base it? The obvious choice, says Imonti, is Egypt, now that the pro-Saudi Egyptian army has ousted the Muslim Brotherood. … [Read more...]
Exclusive interview IEA-Director Maria van der Hoeven: “We cannot rule out new revolutions”
In its new World Energy Outlook (WEO), the IEA is cautious about the prospects of unconventional oil and gas outside the US. As regards shale gas, it notes that “uncertainty remains over the quality, the costs and public acceptance.” Yet in an interview with Energy Post, IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven notes that “the gas is there. All geologists are agreed on that.” Moreover, “there may be other surprises in store, for example with … [Read more...]
IEA in World Energy Outlook: no oil abundance in sight
Technology and high prices are opening up new oil resources, but this does not mean the world is on the verge of an era of oil abundance, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 2013 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO-2013). Although rising oil output from North America and Brazil reduces the role of OPEC countries in quenching the world’s thirst for oil over the next decade, the Middle East – the only large source of low-cost … [Read more...]
Why an EU-US trade deal matters for the energy sector
This week the second round of negotiations for an EU-US free trade agreement is taking place. Energy has not been making headlines in the context of these talks, but a TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) will have far-reaching implications for the energy sector, e.g. with regard to oil sands, LNG and shale gas. NGO’s worry that the TTIP will give big business the chance to undermine Europe’s environmental legislation. Sonja van … [Read more...]
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