Concerns about energy security have shot to the top of the political agenda in Europe. But the US has no intention of letting the EU down. “The United States will be working with the EU to develop a plan for the mid- to long-term evolution of a more energy-secure future”, said US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz at a conference of the Atlantic Council in Istanbul. At this summit, top US officials and energy experts showed themselves surprisingly … [Read more...]
Cheaper and environmentally-safe: the future of Polish shale?
The Polish shale gas sector has met with serious setbacks in recent years, both as a result of disappointing drilling results and disappointing legislation. However, the Polish government will introduce a new hydrocarbon bill that should make drilling more attractive. What is more, a Polish research consortium has developed a new, much cheaper and much more environmentally friendly method of extraction. … [Read more...]
A trip to Kuwait on the prairie: life inside the US oil boom
Today we have an unusual article for you: a first-hand report about daily life in oil boom state North Dakota written by journalist Laura Gottesdiener. This is not perhaps about energy as such – but it is about some of the “external costs” carried by one source of energy production. And it’s a fascinating read! We can publish this article thanks to our cooperation with Tomdispatch.com, where it first appeared. … [Read more...]
In defence of TTIP: Good for the economy – and for the climate
The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States may deliver significant benefits not just in terms of greater economic competitiveness, but also as regards energy security and even environmental sustainability, writes Carlo Stagnaro, senior fellow at the Italian think tank Istituto Bruno Leoni and advisor to Italy’s Minister for Economic Development. According … [Read more...]
Oil is back – how Obama went from climate president to drill-baby-drill commander
Just a few years ago, president Obama promised he would reduce America’s dependence on oil. Now, energy expert Michael Klare points out, his administration is doing everything possible to boost oil production: opening up the waters off the Eastern seaboard to exploration, ramping up sales of leases for oil and gas drilling, expanding drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, even speeding up the processing of drilling permits. The results are visible: … [Read more...]
The EU’s drive for free energy trade in the TTIP endangers action on climate change
With the EU seeking to  diversify its energy sources and US companies eager to export their "unconventional” oil and gas riches, energy has become a major focus of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), about which the two blocs are negotiating. The EU is eager for the US to remove any barriers to the export of its natural gas and crude oil, as is clear from a leaked EU proposal. However, this drive for unrestrained fossil … [Read more...]
US Energy Information Administration: Energy reform could increase Mexico’s long-term oil production by 75%
On August 11, Mexico's president signed into law legislation that will open its oil and natural gas markets to foreign direct investment, effectively ending the 75-year-old monopoly of state-owned PetrĂłleos Mexicanos (Pemex). These laws, which follow previously adopted changes in Mexico's constitution to eliminate provisions that prohibited direct foreign investment in that nation's oil and natural gas sector, are likely to have major … [Read more...]
New report Carbon Tracker: Top 20 high-cost oil projects risk wasting $91 bln of investor cash
The Carbon Tracker Initiative (CTI) has come out with a new report highlighting some of the world’s most expensive future oil projects, which the biggest publicly listed oil companies are considering for development. Some of these projects require prices far exceeding today’s levels, and risk wasting $91 billion of investor cash over the next decade if taken into production. The projects are suggested as prime candidates for … [Read more...]
Wishful thinking about natural gas: why fossil fuels can’t solve the problems created by fossil fuels
Natural gas is touted as a great success story in the US, not just by industry but also by the Obama administration and even by many environmentalists. The gas boom is supposed to have led to lower greenhouse gas emissions and to help pave the way to a greener future. But according to Harvard historian of science Naomi Oreskes, this is wishful thinking. There is no evidence that higher gas use has led to lower emissions and there is every reason … [Read more...]
US energy independence: fact or fiction?
What do you get when you speak with four American investment analysts about the prospects of US gas and oil production, the sustainability of fracking, the risks of the crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the potential of nuclear energy and renewables? You get four different, but outspoken opinions, from people with different  perspectives on the world than what you usually find in Europe. A four-way interview by J.T. Long for The Energy … [Read more...]
Russian energy sector will cease to be engine of growth
The contribution of the energy sector to Russian GDP will decrease by nearly 50% over the coming decades. Although energy will continue to provide an important foundation to the Russian economy, it will cease to be an engine of growth. That is the main conclusion of Global and Russian Energy Outlook to 2040, recently published the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Analytical Centre of the Government of Russia. … [Read more...]
IEA: unconventional oil revolution to spread beyond US
The unconventional supply revolution that has redrawn the global oil map will likely expand beyond North America before the end of the decade, the International Energy Agency (IEA) says in its annual five-year oil market outlook released on 17 June. The report also sees global oil demand growth slowing, OPEC capacity growth facing headwinds, and growing regional imbalances in gasoline and diesel markets. The IEA’s Medium-Term Oil Market Report … [Read more...]
Shale gas: what it could really mean for Europe
The Ukrainian crisis has revitalized discussions in Europe about the role shale gas could play in the European energy mix and to enhance security of supply. Opinions  on this are very polarized. Whereas optimists declare that Europe could start commercial production in 2020, the pessimists insist that shale gas will never be profitable in Europe. According to Alexander Gusev, the real picture is not black-and-white. Cutting through the confusion … [Read more...]
IEA: Golden age of gas comes to China
Driven by booming demand, the "Golden Age" of natural gas that is now firmly established in North America will expand to China over the next five years, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its 2014Â Medium-Term Gas Market Report released today. The projected near-doubling of Chinese gas demand through 2019 compensates for a slight slowdown in growth in many other areas of the world, the report said. The annual report, which gives a … [Read more...]
The Trillion-Dollar Question: Is Big Oil over-investing in high-cost projects?
Mark Fulton and Reid Capalino of the Carbon Tracker Initiative – the NGO that originated the concept of “stranded assets”and “the carbon bubble” – explain the risks oil companies are taking by investing in oil and gas projects in an increasingly carbon-constrained world. … [Read more...]
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