Peak Oil News

Lawrence Roulston: Challenges and Enormous Opportunities in Alternative Energy

The Energy Report caught up with newsletter writer and analyst Lawrence Roulston, who recently launched the GreenTech Opportunities newsletter. In this exclusive interview with The Energy Report, Roulston gives us his thoughts on developments that are happening in the alternative energy field, and ideas for profiting in a changing world.

Ethanol interest appears to wane with the economy

Minnesota has been an unofficial testing ground for using ethanol to fuel vehicles, but after years of steady increases, interest appears to be waning.

Despite a push from the governor and an increase in the number of so-called flexible-fuel vehicles on the road � which can run on either gasoline or a mostly ethanol blend � sales of E85 have dipped in recent months, beyond the normal decline in winter months.

Uncle Sam to pond scum: I want you!

LOGAN, Utah (AP) � Somewhere among the beakers and the bubbling green-tinged tanks in this Utah State University lab, Jeff Muhs is searching for champion pond scum for Uncle Sam.

If he and others like him around the country are successful, algae-based biofuel could one day power one of the world's biggest gas guzzlers: the U.S. military.

Shell ceases production in Niger Delta

Royal Dutch Shell has suspended its operations in the Western Niger Delta, giving into increasing pressure from the MEND rebels in the region.

Shell confirmed the closure of its oil plants in the region following a spike in attacks on the company's facilities and employees, Nigerian media reported.

Nigeria, Algeria, Niger Sign Accord on Gas Pipeline

July 3 (Bloomberg) -- Nigeria, Algeria and Niger signed an agreement on a proposed Trans-Saharan pipeline that will ship natural gas from Nigeria to Europe.

The accord was signed by Nigerian Petroleum Minister Rilwanu Lukman, Niger�s Energy Minister Mohammed Abdullahi and his Algerian counterpart Chakib Khelil in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, today. The project will cost an estimated $10 billion, he said at the signing ceremony.

House climate bill wouldn't cut U.S. oil dependence much

WASHINGTON - Despite its title as the "American Clean Energy and Security Act," the energy and climate bill that the House of Representatives passed recently takes only a modest step toward reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Two studies project that the legislation would cut oil use in the future, but not enough to make much of a dent in dependence on oil from unstable or unfriendly foreign suppliers. Some experts say that other steps will be needed to cut U.S. oil use significantly.

Americans take to road but cautious after gas shock

The travel and auto group AAA projected last week that U.S. travel over the holiday weekend would drop 1.9 percent this year compared to 2008, a casualty of higher fuel prices and economic worries.

Approximately 37.1 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home during the holiday weekend, typically the busiest time for auto travel in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer, down from 37.8 million last year.

China says "carbon tariffs" proposals breach WTO rules

BEIJING (Reuters) - Proposals to impose "carbon tariffs" on imported products will violate the rules of the World Trade Organization as well as the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol, China's Ministry of Commerce said.

In a statement posted on its website, the ministry said collecting carbon duties from foreign products would enable developed countries to "protect trade in the name of protecting the environment."

EU seen meeting renewable fuel targets with blends

HAMBURG (Reuters) - The European Union is likely to achieve its target of generating 10 percent of transport fuels from renewable sources by 2020 by blending biofuels with fossil fuels, a leading EU researcher said.

Most blending is likely to use first-generation biofuels produced with food crops, said Giovanni De Santi, director of the Energy Institute at the European Union Commission's Joint Research Center.

Iraqi crude deal 'boost' for China's oil security quest

The successful joint bid by BP and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) to develop an oilfield in Iraq has offered unique opportunities for the Chinese company to tap crude reserves in the oil-rich nation, analysts said yesterday.

But domestic oil producers should prepare themselves well for any uncertainties in the war-torn country, which boasts of the third-largest oil reserves in the world, they added.