China will put an end to the sale of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles – gasoline and diesel – becoming the biggest market to do so in a move that will accelerate the push into the electric car market led by companies including the Chinese BYD Co. and BAIC Motor Corp.
Carnival Corp & plc, the world’s largest leisure travel company with 10 cruise line brands traveling to all seven continents and nearly 750 ports of call, has ordered a total of seven fully LNG-powered cruise ships – a first for the industry. The ships, the first of which will set sail in northwest Europe and the Mediterranean, will feature dual-fuel engines that will burn LNG both in port and at sea. The company’s senior VP talks about the rationale behind the change from marine diesel to LNG.
One feature of crude oil and products pricing is the tug-of-war between long-term structural drivers and short-term factors, a scenario being played out in Asian fuel markets. Profit margins for both gasoline and diesel traded in Singapore have staged strong rallies in the past three months. The main factor behind this has been a tightening of the market, with seasonal maintenance at refineries across the region. This short-term factor has influenced pricing, and it appears to be outweighing the longer-term structural driver of steadily rising Chinese fuel exports.
Global oil majors BP and Rosneft are eyeing a piece of India’s $117 billion retail market for fossil fuels, threatening to shake up government-owned companies that have faced little competition for a decade. BP has already secured licenses to open as many as 3,500 fuel stations, and Rosneft has gained access to about 2,700 pumps through its acquisition of Essar Oil. Along with Reliance Industries and Shell, these players will compete with the three state-owned enterprises that control 90 percent of market volume.
The James M. Barry Electric Generating Station, a 2.7 gigawatt mixed-use coal and gas-fired power plant operated by Alabama Power will host pilot plant tests of a fuel cell carbon capture technology, which uses carbonate fuel cells to concentrate and capture carbon dioxide streams from power plants. “The fuel cell carbon capture solution we are advancing with ExxonMobil could be a game-changer in affordably reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal and gas-fired power plants globally,” said Chip Bottone, president and CEO of FuelCell Energy, Inc.
OEF REVIEW:The first European fuel cell of megawatt size is now operating in Germany. Contrary to conventional power plants, this energy solution delivers heat and electricity virtually absent of pollutants. It will provide clean energy for the production processes of materials specialist FRIATEC. It has a capacity of 1.4 megawatts.In terms of technology and environmental protection, fuel cells represent a promising alternative to conventional combined heat and power plants. They generate power in a non-combustion process which is virtually absent of pollutants. By using this fuel cell, FRIATEC will be able to reduce its CO2 emissions by approximately 3,000 tons per year. Karsten Wildberger, a member of the E.ON SE Board of Directors, adds: “Fuel cells are one of the key technologies for the clean energy world of tomorrow.”
OEF REVIEW:The 2016 edition of the BP Energy Outlook outlines the ‘most likely’ path for energy demand by fuel based on assumptions and judgements about future changes in policy, technology and the economy, and develops a number of alternative cases to explore key uncertainties.
OEF REVIEW:The Great Green Fleet is a Department of the Navy initiative highlighting how the Navy and Marine Corps are using energy efficiency and alternative energy to increase combat capability and operational flexibility. At the close of the ceremony, the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) left the pier to begin its deployment, becoming the first U.S. Navy ship running on an alternative fuel blend as part of its regular operations.
