Monday, June 18, 2007
BPZ Energy, Inc. announced today that the Corvina CX11-16X well was successfully completed as a natural gas producing well, following workover and testing operations.A total of four Drill Stem Tests (DST) were conducted on various zones in the well including one in a formation previously untested in the entire basin. After completion, a final production test yielded approximately 20 million cubic feet per day (mmcf/d).
Details : ScandOil
Labels: Energy, Exploration, News, Well
There are fears that, after almost four years of negotiations, the British-Russian joint company TNK-BP will be forced to cede control of the Kovytka gas field to Russia's state-controlled energy giant Gazprom.
Russia has said that TNK-BP is not producing enough gas from the field and is therefore not complying with production obligations. "How long should we tolerate it if participants of that consortium do nothing to meet the license obligations?" Putin asked on June 5. The Russian president didn't mention that TNK-BP has repeatedly said that the reason it can not meet license obligations is that Gazprom has blocked a plan to build a gas pipeline to China.
Russia has said that TNK-BP is not producing enough gas from the field and is therefore not complying with production obligations. "How long should we tolerate it if participants of that consortium do nothing to meet the license obligations?" Putin asked on June 5. The Russian president didn't mention that TNK-BP has repeatedly said that the reason it can not meet license obligations is that Gazprom has blocked a plan to build a gas pipeline to China.
Details : RadioFreeEurope
Labels: Energy, Exploration, Gas, News, Pipeline, Production
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Push for Increase in Biofuels Causes Oil Industry to Scale Back Refinery Expansion
A push from Congress and the White House for huge increases in biofuels, such as ethanol, is prompting the oil industry to scale back its plans for refinery expansions. That could keep gasoline prices high, possibly for years to come.
With President Bush calling for a 20 percent drop in gasoline use and the Senate now debating legislation for huge increases in ethanol production, oil companies see growing uncertainty about future gasoline demand and little need to expand refineries or build new ones....
Details : YAHOO FINANCE
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Capitol Hill is embracing ethanol and other biofuels, the Washington Post reports. But Congress seems more likely to spew hot air about an energy bill than actually pass one, Dana Milbank observes. “The amount of CO2 emitted from the mouths of all these lawmakers, lobbyists and activists was enough to cause part of Greenland to melt into the sea,” he writes.As the congressional debate over fuel-economy rages on, auto makers are donating more money to Democrats than to Republicans, breaking a 12-year trend, according to USA Today.
Details : wsj
Labels: Carbon Dioxide, Energy, Ethanol, News
About four or five years ago, micro fuel cells were quite a hot topic in cleantech. They were going to power our laptops, cell phones, PDAs, blackberries, hand held multimedia devices, etc.
The story ran like this:
The digital age and increasing customer demand for more power hungry features like bandwidth, multimedia, et al on mobile devices like laptops, PDAs and cellphones mean the increase in power requirements are outstripping the pace of technology of lithium ion battery - therefore the only solutions will be micro fuel cells. And since battery manufacturers are a plodding, unimaginative lot, silicon valley and smart scientists can build a company to leapfrog them.
The digital age and increasing customer demand for more power hungry features like bandwidth, multimedia, et al on mobile devices like laptops, PDAs and cellphones mean the increase in power requirements are outstripping the pace of technology of lithium ion battery - therefore the only solutions will be micro fuel cells. And since battery manufacturers are a plodding, unimaginative lot, silicon valley and smart scientists can build a company to leapfrog them.
Details : SeekingAlpha
Friday, June 15, 2007
A licensing agreement recently signed by the U.S. Department of Energy and Johnson Matthey, an international specialty-chemicals company, will contribute significantly to the reduction of mercury and other trace elements emitted from coal gasification and coal-fired power plants, while helping to meet ever-stringent clean air regulations.
The agreement between Johnson Matthey and the Office of Fossil Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) paves the way for the company to demonstrate a mercury-reduction process patented by two NETL researchers and to ultimately commercialize the process. Johnson Matthey plans to demonstrate the process at larger bench- and pilot-scales to the point that it can be commercially sold to utility and related industries.
Details : Scandoil
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Shell announced today that it has signed an agreement to sell its interests in certain hydrocarbon transportation and power generation assets in Bolivia and Brazil to Ashmore Energy International (AEI). The transaction is pending all regulatory approvals and consents.
“The proposed sale is consistent with Shell’s strategy to act on market opportunities to divest assets, which we no longer see as core to our principal upstream and downstream businesses,” said Antonio Assumpcao, the VP responsible for Shell’s Gas & Power activities in South America. “The transaction enables Shell to better align its resources in support of its core businesses.”
Details : Shell