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Forecasters are predicting three major storms in the Atlantic for this hurricane season, which begins tomorrow. With companies operating more than 4,000 oil and gas assets in the Gulf, from unmanned to large manned rigs, a major storm sweeping through the Gulf could disrupt supplies for days. Furthermore, If a... Read more →
CNN report on current status of grisly Khobar attacks by Al Qaeda. Tuesday should be an interesting day on the oil futures market. Saudi Arabia is supposed to be the swing producer, able to fill the gap between supply and demand in times of crisis. If (or when, according to... Read more →
It may sound counterintuitive, but here it is, from the Tehran Times. Unbridled and unconstrained gasoline consumption in the country and growing fuel imports at exorbitant prices constitute a big challenge to the Islamic Republic. According to estimates, the budget allocation for fuel imports in the current calendar year (started... Read more →
The Toronto Star reports that BIOX Corporation is planning to announce a new biodiesel plant that can produce 60 million liters per year. The new biodiesel facility will use Bioxs unique cost-cutting conversion technology initially developed by David Boocock, a now-retired professor of chemical engineering from the University of Toronto.... Read more →
The Daily Telegraph and the Scotsman provide some detail on the attack this morning that left at least five foreign workers and a child dead in the Saudi city of Khobar on Saturday morning. The dead reportedly include an American, a Briton and three Filipinos. The gunmen also seized a... Read more →
GM is delivering the first of the 235 hybrid-diesel buses for the Seattle fleet (earlier post). The 60-foot mass-transit vehicles, which are more expensive than standard diesel buses, deliver up to 60 percent greater fuel economy and can reduce emissions by as much as 90 percent, GM said. The $645,000... Read more →
The European Union (EU) is involving India at a strategic level in the 20 billion euro research and technology development (RTD) program. The budget of the EU RTD programme will increase to 40 billion euros for a four-year period from 2006-2010. EU-India science and technology agreements first joint committee meeting... Read more →
The Army showed a dozen alternative energy vehicle prototypes during a four-day symposium exploring clean energy sources for and from Alaska. The Army hopes the vehicles will reduce its fuel consumption on the battlefield, and other military branches are watching closely. In fact, the Air Force has assigned a representative... Read more →
In addition to the agreements China and Brazil struck earlier this week about investment and support in the oil industry, the two are now in discussion over jointly exploring deep-sea oil and gas reserves in the South China Sea. Petrobras is experienced in deep-sea oil and gas exploration and development,... Read more →
At HYFORUM in Beijing this week, Volkswagen restated its emphasis on clean, synthetic fuels ((Gas-to-Liquid (GTL); Coal-to-Liquid (CTL); Biomass-to-Liquid (BTL)) as a transition to hydrogen down the road. Along with it comes another clear statement from an automaker about the risk of oil dependence. Concentrating on oil as a primary... Read more →
Hydrogen receives a lot of airtime as the annointed energy carrier of the future, but there are other possibilities that could go into our future energy mix—one of them being Dimethyl Ether (DME). DME is a clean burning (completely sootless) synthetic fuel that can substitute for conventional diesel, liquified petroleum... Read more →
Apparently the price of gasoline is not yet high enough to force a radical change in buying patterns. The Detroit Free Press reports on J.D. Power and Associates forecast for May autosales: Research firm J.D. Power and Associates is projecting that May sales will be 11 percent higher than they... Read more →
The Indian government has established a national hydrogen energy board to prepare a national hydrogen energy road map. Read more →
Also from the UNH Biodiesel Group, a very helpful comparison of fuels, comparing gasoline, petroleum diesel, biodiesel, H2 fuel cell, and both diesel and gasoline hybrids. The fuel pricing is clearly a little out of date (less than $2.00 per gallon of gasoline.) (Click to enlarge.) The referenced link in... Read more →
Via Slashdot, from the UNH Biodiesel Group comes an interesting theoretical analysis of large-scale biodiesel production using algae as a feedstock. There is a first pass at calculating the total land mass required to produce enough biodiesel to satisfy all transporation fuel requirements (11,000 square miles). What potentially makes this... Read more →
Rising global oil prices are in part due to Chinas surging import needs to fuel economic growth and car ownership, a new report by Morgan Stanley says. Chinas oil demand is now growing three times faster than during a power surge in the 1990s, said the reports author Andy Xie,... Read more →
The South Korean government announced a $544 million push to develop new automotive technologies in an effort to become the worlds fourth-strongest car manufacturing country. Efforts will include hybrids, fuel cell vehicles and intelligent automobiles. Read more →
The Chinese Ministry of Science and technology (MST) announced at HYFORUM in Beijing that China is buying three DaimlerChrysler hydrogen fuel cell Citaro buses by next September, according to Xinhuanet. China is formulating its energy strategy for the next two decades and hydrogen energy -- as a kind of clean,... Read more →
Travelmatters is a new website with some great tools: an emissions calculator and regional emissions maps. The calculator is a worthwhile exercise -- it factors in the year, make and model of your car, mileage traveled, any mass transit taken (including those running on alternative fuels), air travel, and so... Read more →
The Saudi proposal to increase official OPEC production apparently has jolted other OPEC members. Whats going on? What are the factors in this? Factor 1: Acceptable Price. One of the undercurrents of the discussion over supply and price is the belief that there is an acceptable price per barrel that,... Read more →
FISITA -- the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies -- is holding its annual conference and exhibition this week in Barcelona. As a major international technology event, it provides a good window into the thinking and direction of the auto industry, from academic research through commercial product development. Of the... Read more →
In 2002, the European Commission established a stakeholder Contact Group to advise on technical and economic status and developments of alternative fuels for road transport and on measures by which the Community could promote their use. Topic Groups on natural gas and hydrogen respectively, and a Working Group on Biomass-to-Liquid... Read more →
From Kansas City Infozine in Missouri, the Show-me state: Missouri Gasoline Prices Continue Climbing, AND IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT Strong consumer demand continues to fuel high crude oil and gasoline prices this week, according to the new Missouri Energy Bulletin published by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Energy... Read more →
How about a 57.6 mpg highway, 36.7 mpg city diesel sedan? The new Peugeot 407 with a 2.0-liter HDi engine offers that and compliance with Euro 4 emissions standards. PSA Peugeot Citroën has been a leader in developing diesel technology for Europe; all the groups diesels, save one, have been... Read more →
The Diesel Car of the Year (Diesel Car magazine) is the new Alfa GT. The JTDs 1.9-liter, 150bhp engine also offers 44 mpg highway, 35 mpg city. [Diesel Car] has praise for every aspect of the car, which it describes as scandalously pretty, to its performance, where it is said... Read more →
The government of the Philippines is calling for a SouthEast Asian oil stockpile, and offering the former US naval base at Subic Bay as a site. Read more →
The other large and surging economy in Asia -- India -- is getting more aggressive about securing its own oil supplies. India will invest $1 billion every year in acquiring oil and gas fields abroad in order to cut dependence on highly volatile international market for its crude oil requirement,... Read more →
Larry Burns, GMs VP of research and development and planning, and one of the outspoken proponents of GMs hydrogen investment, to the FT: General Motors, the worlds biggest carmaker, expects a long-term oil price of $30-$35 a barrel, well above the target set by the largest oil exporters but lower... Read more →
Despite a 20% increase in US drilling during the last year, overall US natural gas production dropped 9.2% year-on-year, reported Raymond James & Associates today. Energy bankers such as Matthew Simmons have been pointing to the approaching gas problem for some time. The public does not seem to be paying... Read more →
Earlier today Saudi security forces killed four terror suspects in a firefight in the Al-Qassim region, north of Riyadh. [Somewhat grisly picture on the link.] A new pipeline carries 285,000 barrels of oil per day from Dahran to Al-Qassim. Informed sources said two booby-trapped pickup trucks found and defused by... Read more →
An editorial from the UK-based Petroleum Review works through the sobering math of the current oil supply and production situation. The point should be obvious, but is clearly overlooked. Meeting increasing demand means finding new supplies to offset the depletion of existing resources PLUS the additional supply required. The one... Read more →
AP Story: Los Alamos National Laboratory, which has worked on fuel cells for 25 years, has created an institute aimed at addressing technical issues better and broadening the use of hydrogen and fuel cells. The Institute for Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Research, announced Wednesday, is a partnership between the lab's... Read more →
Michelin established the Challenge Bibendum in 1998. Essentially, it is a race of alternative vehicles. The Challenge Bibendum was born out of the will of all the players in the automobile world, from manufacturers to energy suppliers, as well as their technical partners, to enhance and clarify the current debate... Read more →
These folks are supposed to have it, not import it. From the FT: Indonesia, the current president of Opec, became a net importer of crude oil for the first time in February, according to official figures that raise questions about its status as a member of the oil cartel. The... Read more →
From China Economic Net: Petroleum is called the blood of industry. In the wake of the oil crisis in 1973, western countries established the IEA organization to counteract the supply cut and constructed the strategic petroleum reserve mechanism. Since 1993, China has become a net petroleum import country, and last... Read more →
In the majority of scenarios for building sustainable mobility (decreasing emissions, increasing fuel efficiency, weaning from oil), there is a substantial short- to medium-term emphasis on advanced conventional technologies. One of the promising engine technologies that has emerged over the past few years is called HCCI -- Homogeneous Charge Compression... Read more →
Legislation currently on the Illinois Governors desk would require the establishment of a database of all Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFV) in the state to support decision-making about where to build E85 stations. < em>The importance of this legislation is to develop a locator so we know where all the vehicles... Read more →
Jeremy Cato reports from Sindelfingen on DaimlerChryslers hopes for biodiesel (Sundiesel) and other green activities. Also notes on the new fuel-efficient Multi Displacement System in the Chrysler 300, and some fuel cell prototypes. DaimlerChrysler and other big players in the car business have the capability to churn out clean vehicles... Read more →
Another China and oil item. From a joint statement signed yesterday by Chinese President Hu Jintao and visiting Kazakhstan President Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev: The two sides agree that the geographic adjacency and economic complementarity lay a solid foundation for the close cooperation in petroleum and natural gas production. The further... Read more →
China and Brazil have agreed on a deal to find, produce and refine oil in third countries. Under the deal, Petrobas and Chinas state-owned oil company Sinopec will invest around $US7.5 billion internationally, with 80 percent of the funds going towards prospecting and production. Almost half the money is expected... Read more →
I had to rent a car (a minivan) to haul some things from San Francisco to LA, where I live. Checking through my options, I found that I could get a Chrysler Town & Country van at a good rate -- AND that it was a Flexible Fuel Vehicle that... Read more →
Accessity, a Florida-based health care and insurance services company, is creating the first California-based, vertically integrated ethanol producer and marketer by rolling up three other companies. [Accessity] has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Pacific Ethanol, Kinergy Marketing, and Re-Energy, in a stock-for-stock share exchange transaction. Pacific Ethanol and Re-Energy... Read more →
The USDA announced a $50m loan guarantee pilot project aimed to encourage finding ways to convert cattle brains and other remains that may carry BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) -- mad cow disease) into biofuels. This program will provide guaranteed loans for rural small businesses to develop the means to... Read more →
An interesting macroeconomic view from Andrew McKillop. Andrew McKillop is a former European Commission policy expert and founding member of the Asian Chapter of the International Association of Energy Economists. His bottom line: Physical depletion is either rejected or ignored as a price setting factor for oil and gas. Concerning... Read more →
From an energy roundtable at the World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan comes this assessment of the cause of high oil prices: Abdulla bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Industry, Electricity and Water of Qatar, estimated that the fear factor, created by the fighting in... Read more →
Particulate Matter (PM) emissions -- one of the major problems of diesel exhaust -- have been linked to a variety of diseases, including heart disease, lung cancer and asthma. Now three researchers have found that PM induces presumptive mutations in the sperm of male mice that can be passed on... Read more →
Some of you have asked about diesel hybrids. From what I can see, any sluggishness in bringing the such a platform to market in the US has more to do with the markets perception of diesel than any technical limitations. Seattle and New York City are both bringing in diesel... Read more →
Here is a description of the contest I mentioned below in the post about the biodiesel hybrid: Challenge X. Seventeen North American universities were selected through a competitive process to participate in CHALLENGE X: Michigan Technological University; Mississippi State University; Ohio State University; Pennsylvania State University; Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology;... Read more →
Crains Chicago Business reports that Navistar will be the first manufacturer to try a clean diesel engine approach developed by none other than the Environmental Protection Agency. An announcement of an agreement between the government and Warrenville-based International is scheduled for Thursday in Chicago. Others will likely follow. One is... Read more →
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports on the San Diego State University team that is one of 15 finalists in a competition sponsored by GM and the Energy Department to create a green SUV. [Professor Jim] Burns and his team already have built an alternative-fuel sports car that gets 80 miles... Read more →