MENA Region: Pushing Through Critical Energy Projects This Year

04/08/17 •lweb.es/f2700 •bit.ly/2oTUalv

In the Middle East North Africa region $622 billion worth of development is planned in the energy sector for the next five years. The power sector accounts for the largest share at $207 billion, with the oil and gas sector at $195 billion and $159 billion respectively. Leading the drive will be Saudi Arabia, and Iraq and Iran will play catch-up. Algeria will pump billions into its upstream sector, and much is expected from Egypt’s recent gas. Renewable-energy projects will be at the forefront of efforts to meet rising power demand in Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan.

Gazprom And China Broadening Cooperation In Energy Sector

lweb.es/f2662 02.16.2017

Meetings have recently been held between Russia and China on energy: one between Gazprom and the State Council of the People’s Republic of China covering the collaboration between Gazprom and Chinese energy companies and financial organizations; and the other between Gazprom and CNPC which looked at the current progress and future prospects for gas deliveries from Russia to China, the possibilities for underground gas storage facilities and gas-fired power generation in China, as well as the use of LNG as a vehicle fuel along the Europe-China international transport route.

Electric Vehicles: Not A Game-Changer For Oil Market

lweb.es/f2480 12.27.2016

iconAccording to BP, electric vehicles are not likely to be a game changer for the growth of oil demand over the next 20 years where the increasing prosperity in emerging Asia is likely to swamp the impact of even a very rapid increase in electric cars. In fact, there may well be more cost effective methods of reducing CO2 emissions over this period, for example greater improvements in vehicle efficiency, a switch away from coal in the power sector, or increased investment in Carbon Capture and Storage. But these considerations should not detract from the many potential benefits that electric vehicles may bring.

Renewables Beat Coal As Largest Source Of Power Capacity

lweb.es/f1836 11.11.2016

iconAccording to the International Energy Agency, in 2015 coal power plants produced close to 39% of the world’s power, whilst renewables – including hydroelectric dams – accounted for 23%. However the IEA expects that number to climb to 28% by 2021, when renewables will supply the equivalent of all the power produced currently in the US and the EU combined. The IEA sees renewables growing 13% more between 2015 and 2021 than it did in its previous year’s forecast, due mostly to “stronger policy backing in the United States, China, India and Mexico.”

Europe’s first megawatt industrial fuel cell power plant

lweb.es/f1446 10.2.2016

iconOEF 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.”

First wave-produced electricity in US goes online in Hawaii

lweb.es/f1444 10.2.2016

iconOEF REVIEW:The first wave-produced electricity in the US goes​ online in Hawaii. The ocean packs enough power to meet a quarter of America’s energy needs and reduce the nation’s reliance on oil, gas and coal. But wave energy technology lags behind wind and solar power, with important technical hurdles still to be overcome. Both the solar and wind industries received substantial government investment and tax credits that helped them become energy sources cheap enough to compete with fossil fuels. Wave energy test sites run by other researchers are being planned in Oregon and California. One of those projects, Cal Wave, run by California Polytechnic State University, hopes to provide utility-scale power to Vandenberg Air Force Base. But while the U.S. government and military have put about $334 million into marine energy research over the last decade, Britain and the rest of Europe have invested more than $1 billion, according to the Marine Energy Council.

Clinton Talks Up Clean Coal: Revitalize Coal Country

lweb.es/f1200 9.08.2016

iconHillary Clinton is promising to revitalize Pennsylvania communities hurt by a downturn in the coal and steel industries. With regard to the coal industry she asked whether there was a technology that could create clean energy from coal, and stated that she would revitalize the coal producing areas. Earlier in the primaries, Donald Trump made his position clear on the coal industry saying that he wanted clean coal and that the country would, in his words, have an amazing mining business.

Coal Gasification: Clean Energy for the Future

lweb.es/f922 5.24.16

iconOEF REVIEW:Coal is cheap but the challenge is how to harness coal as clean energy. The main technology being used is coal gasification where the coal is chemically transformed into synthetic natural gas, but its overall carbon intensity is worse than coal mining. Other methods are the coal-bed methane process and underground coal gasification. Underground coal gasification is now a feasible way of accessing the vast resources of coal that are too deep to mine, thus potentially increasing world clean energy supply.

China Oil Stockpiling Dictates the Oil Supply Glut

lweb.es/f919 5.24.16

iconOEF REVIEW:Ship tracking data, sourced from Bloomberg, shows that 83 supertankers carrying around 166 million barrels of oil are headed to China, which has stockpiled an impressive 787,000 barrels a day in the first quarter of 2016 – the highest Chinese oil stockpiling rate since 2014. Additionally, in January 2015 it was reported that China’s strategic petroleum reserve would be increased from 30 days to 90 days. Later in January 2016, it was revealed that China was building underground oil storage facilities to complement its above-ground storage tanks. So it could be considered in the light of this that in contrast to Saudi Arabia, which is a swing producer, China is acting like a swing consumer. Such increased demand from China has helped in lapping up excess oil production, and if If its imports drop, according to Oil Price, the world will return to the oil supply glut and oil prices will retrace back to the lower $30 a barrel.

For China, Friends Abroad Can Be Expensive

lweb.es/f907 4.30.16

iconOEF REVIEW:For years now, China’s been lavishly courting friends across the developing world. Commodity-dependent countries get cheap financing for development; China gains diplomatic clout and a bargain on those commodities. Both sides win – that is, until they don’t. The perils of this strategy are quickly becoming apparent. In recent years, changes of government in countries such as Myanmar and Sri Lanka have led to questions about deals signed with China under previous administrations. Now, Venezuela’s slow-motion meltdown is exposing just how terrible these deals can be for both borrowers and for China.

Oil’s Magic Number Becomes $50 a Barrel for Promise of Recovery

lweb.es/f903 4.30.16

iconOEF REVIEW:The new magic number in the oil industry is $50. BP Plc, rig-owner Nabors Industries Ltd. and explorer Pioneer Natural Resources Co. all said in the past 24 hours that prices above $50 will encourage more drilling or provide the needed boost to cash flow. With oil bouncing close to $45 a barrel, an industry that has been shaving costs to stay competitive is ready for signs of stability at a price level less than half of 2014’s average. At an average price of $53 per barrel of oil means the world’s 50 biggest publicly traded companies in the industry can stop bleeding cash, according to oilfield consultant Wood Mackenzie Ltd. Nabors, which owns the world’s largest fleet of onshore drilling rigs, said it has already been talking with several large customers about plans to boost work in the second half of the year if prices rise “comfortably” above $50. “It’s not just about touching $50,” Fraser McKay, vice president of corporate analysis at Wood Mackenzie in Houston, said Tuesday in a phone interview. “It’s about touching, maintaining and having the perception of future prices above $50 a barrel before you start sanctioning projects that are economic at $50 a barrel.”

ONGC Plans to Drill 17 Exploration Wells in India’s Shale Oil, Gas Blocks

lweb.es/f901 4.30.16

India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (ONGC) intends to spend approximately $105 million (INR 7 billion) to drill up to 17 shale oil and gas wells located on the country’s east and west coasts. ONGC is seeking permission to drill 11 exploratory wells for shale oil and shale gas in Cambay basin at Mehsana, Ahmedabad and Bharuch districts of Gujarat, 1 prospect in Cauvery basin at Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu and five wells in Krishna-Godvari Basin at East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh. If the proposal is approved by the government, it will be the first time that ONGC has embarked on shale exploration on such a large scale.

China Seen Sustaining Strong Crude Imports

lweb.es/f899 4.27.16

iconOEF REVIEW:China’s crude imports will rise further from a record this year to feed its expanding refining sector and strategic reserves, according to Standard Chartered Bank. The nation’s average crude imports will rise by as much as 600,000 barrels per day this year, analysts including Priya N. Balchandani said in a March 24th report. Imports last month surged above 8 million barrels per day for the first time and exceeded volumes shipped to the U.S., the world’s top oil user, according to the bank. Standard Chartered expects China’s crude imports will top 10 million barrels per day by late 2018 or early 2019.

Barclays: Global E&P Spending Drop Revised to 27% for 2016

lweb.es/f895 4.26.16

iconOEF REVIEW:Barclays has revised downwards its global exploration and production spending outlook for 2016, now saying such spending could fall 27% this year, down from 15% back in January. Spending in North America is now trending down 40% versus 27% in January, and international spending is down 21% year-over-year. Since the Barclays Upstream Spending Survey published in January, operators representing 71% of total spending have revised budgets to reflect reduced 2016 spending plans amid a sustained lower oil-price outlook.