News from April 2006

Oman, British energy firm sign gas deal

Oman signed yesterday a production-sharing agreement with British oil and gas company BG Group for a gas block in the Gulf Arab state. Block 60, which covers almost 1,500 square km (579.2 sq miles), contains the Abu Bu Atoob gas and condensate discovery made in 1998. It has potential reserves of 8 trillion cubic metres, [...]

U.S. failed to secure Iraq’s oil lines, report says

The troop training program that the United States began in 2003 to protect Iraq’s oil and electrical lines is a failure and the Bush administration has dispatched a team to Baghdad to draft a new strategy, according to an inspector general report. The inspector general’s report contained some good news for the Bush administration. Electricity [...]

Oil major invests in island biodiesel plant

Galveston Bay Biodiesel said crews should soon start work on a facility that would produce and sell biodiesel, an alternative fuel made from products such as soybeans and vegetable oil. In some cases, old cooking oil is used to make the fuel. Chevron has a 25 percent stake in the firm, marking the first time [...]

Renewable Energy – Just How Sexy is It?

According to the Ernst & Young Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index, the five most attractive countries for investment are Spain, USA, Germany, UK and India, in that order. The index provides an overall score for renewable technologies that are currently entering the market on a large scale, i.e. wind, solar and biomass. Wind, as the [...]

US Wind Energy President To Head NZ Assoc

The New Zealand Wind Energy Association today announced the appointment of Roby Roberts as the next Chief Executive of the New Zealand Wind Energy Association. scoop

Bosch Backs Tidal Power Project

Bosch Rexroth, the drive, control and linear motion specialty subsidiary of the Bosch Group, is working with UK firms Lunar Energy and Rotech on a prototype tidal turbine for a tidal power project to be tested this year off the Orkney Islands. The prototype unit, designed to produce about 1MW of power, will be placed [...]

Principles for the Post-Peak Oil Job Market

Many types of jobs will cease to exist: public relations executive, marketing directors, et cetera. I think work will be very hands-on, and a lot of it will revolve around food production. – James Howard Kunstler, 2003 When I speak before college audiences about peak oil, I often ask if there are any engineers present. [...]

EU’s Energy Policy Brings ‘Hitler’ Jibe from Poland

EuropeFinancial Times

Brazil’s Ethanol Program Struggles to Make a Dent

Brazil’s booming ethanol industry has won international acclaim, but recent supply and pricing problems suggest that it’s not the grand solution to tight oil supplies and ever-rising prices that had been hoped. Brazilian ethanol producers are struggling to keep up with domestic demand for ethanol, which is projected to grow by 50 percent over the [...]

Bodman Sees Up to Three Years of Fuel Pain

Gasoline prices have soared an average of 60 cents a gallon in less than a month because suppliers are unable to keep up with demand, a situation that could persist up to three more years, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Sunday. Bodman said on NBCMSNBC