Electric Vehicles: Not A Game-Changer For Oil Market lweb.es/f2480 12.27.2016
According 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.
According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria has capacity to create about $51 billion investment opportunities in the midstream and downstream gas sector. This investment will go into gas exploration and production activities, power plant projects, fertilizer plants, virtual pipelines and flare gas commercialization initiatives; as well as in Free Trade Zones infrastructure development and concessioning, port infrastructure, central gas processing facilities, gas transmission, LPG plants, real estate development, pipe milling and local fabrication yards. The intent is to position Nigeria as a regional hub for gas-based industries. 
This 2016 Energy Outlook from the company JLL looks at global macroeconomic trends and considers the recovery timeline to expect once oil prices stabilize. The net effect on property markets of the structural changes that are currently redefining the energy industry is then discussed, focusing on the performance of office and industrial inventories in energy-centric cities. The influence of renewable energy on the health of real estate markets today and into the future is also covered. Lastly, U.S. and Canadian trends, deals and fundamentals are presented.
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. 
According 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.” 
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.” 
High regional gas prices in South America, most notably Argentina, are attracting US exports of domestically produced LNG, with more than 70% of landed cargoes arriving on the continent so far this year. South America has offered the most profitable destination for US exports compared with Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Regional gas markets, particularly in Argentina, are experiencing elevated prices. In an effort to stem the decline in gas production, the Argentine president cut domestic subsidies in December. His administration hopes that higher wellhead prices will revive production in older fields and stimulate new production, particularly in the Vaca Muerta Basin where large untapped volumes remain locked in shale and tight gas reservoirs. In March and April the first and second US cargoes to arrive in South America landed in Brazil, and since April, all eight US cargoes exported to the region have landed in the Southern Cone nations of Argentina and Chile.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Eastern Economic Forum, 2018 elections, US General Election, Syria, OPEC, Rosneft sale, Japan, oil, Russian oil and gas companies, investment in energy, natural gas exports, 50 percent ownership, oil and gas revenue, structural changes, industrial production growth