Record Year for US Wind Energy
American utilities signed contracts for 4,304 megawatts (MW) of wind power in 2018 that, when combined with non-utility purchases, reached the highest level on record for overall Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) activity with 8,507 MW in 2018.In total, the industry commissioned 7,588 MW of wind power capacity in 2018. There are now 96,488 MW of cumulative installed wind capacity in the United States…
Guyana Puts Oil Auctions on Hold
Guyana has put planned oil auctions on hold as the impoverished South American country works to establish a Department of Energy to oversee the energy boom, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said on Monday.Since 1999, Guyana has awarded a group led by Exxon Mobil Corp hundreds of oil blocks along Guyana's maritime borders with Venezuela and Suriname. Their finds are turning Guyana…
Senate Panel Set to Advance Quest for Oil in Alaska Refuge
Oil drilling in a vast Alaskan wildlife refuge could move a step closer to reality on Wednesday as a Senate panel votes to open part of the reserve coveted by conservationists. Republicans, who control Congress and the White House, have long wanted to prise open a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on the north coast known as the 1002 area. Senator Lisa Murkowski…
Japan Fires Up Biomass Energy as Fuel Shortage Looms
As the sun sets on Japan's solar energy boom, companies and investors are rushing into wood-burning biomass projects to lock in still-high government subsidies. More than 800 projects have already won government approval, offering 12.4 gigawatts (GW) of capacity -- equal to 12 nuclear power stations and nearly double Japan's 2030 target for biomass in its basic energy policy.
As Trump Targets Energy Rules, Oil Companies Downplay their Impact
President Donald Trump’s White House has said his plans to slash environmental regulations will trigger a new energy boom and help the United States drill its way to independence from foreign oil. But the top U.S. oil and gas companies have been telling their shareholders that regulations have little impact on their business, according to a Reuters review of U.S. securities filings from the top producers. In annual reports to the U.S.
LNG Exports: US to Overtake Australia
Australia is America’s biggest competitor in the fast growing global LNG market, but the Pacific nation is struggling to realize its natural gas exporting potential. Over the next decade, what the International Energy Agency calls "footloose" U.S. cargoes will dramatically shake up global LNG trade, putting pressure on prices and forcing changes in how contracts are struck, says a report in Nikkei Asian Review.
U.S. Diesel Demand Flattens as Growth Slows
U.S. diesel consumption has been flat this year after growing strongly in 2013 and 2014, mirroring a slowdown in inland freight movements and the worldwide slowdown in the raw materials sector. Diesel consumption measured by the Energy Information Administration's data on distillate supplied is closely correlated with freight movements measured by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' transportation services index.
U.S. Diesel Demand Flat as Freight Growth Slows: Kemp
U.S. diesel consumption has been flat this year after growing strongly in 2013 and 2014, mirroring a slowdown in inland freight movements and the worldwide slowdown in the raw materials sector. Diesel consumption measured by the Energy Information Administration's data on distillate supplied is closely correlated with freight movements measured by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics' transportation services index.
House Expected to Pass Bill Axing US Oil Export Ban
A bill to repeal the U.S. oil export ban was expected to pass the House of Representatives on Friday, but faces an uncertain future after a veto threat by President Barack Obama. U.S. representatives on Friday morning debated the bill, sponsored by Joe Barton a Republican of Texas, and were slated to vote on it later in the day. Oil policy analyst Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners expected the bill to pass the Republican-led House…
Areva to Explore Bringing in Chinese Investors
Areva will seek partnerships with Chinese energy companies that could see them take stakes in the French nuclear reactor maker in an upcoming multi-billion euro capital increase, its chairman told the Journal de Dimanche. "China is central to Areva's future. Now is the time to make alliances because the country's nuclear sector is growing and is in need of technology," said Chairman Philippe Varin.
Senators ask Spy Chief to Advise on Energy Boom
Four Republican senators on Tuesday urged the director of national intelligence to keep policymakers informed of the global security implications of booming U.S. energy output as Congress considers repealing the ban on domestic oil exports. "We agree that energy independence within North America and, perhaps, the Western Hemisphere is not only an attainable goal…
OK Regulator: Quake Increase a "Game Changer"
From June 17 to 24, there have been 35 earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater in the state, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey. Particularly worrying for regulators, some of the recent quakes occurred in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, where there are no high-volume wastewater injection wells. The spike in quakes comes roughly two months after new rules governing the disposal of briny wastewater from drilling took full effect.
EPA: Fracking Not a 'Widespread Risk' to Drinking Water
Fracking for shale oil and gas has not led to widespread pollution of drinking water, a U.S. potentially cause health risks. The study, requested by Congress and five years in the making, said fracking could contaminate drinking water under certain conditions, such as when fluids used in the process leaked into the water table. The EPA said it found isolated cases of water contamination, but "the number of identified cases ...
Oklahoma to Overturn Local Drilling Controls
Facing a backlash over the side effects of its oil and gas boom, Oklahoma is poised to overturn an 80-year-old statute that allows cities and towns to ban drilling operations within their borders. The legislation, now being finalised, would help insulate energy companies from local movements that have grown in response to the rapid expansion of oil and gas drilling and a dramatic spike in earthquakes across the central state.
US Sen. Murkowski Plans Bill to Kill Oil Export Ban
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski said on Thursday she will unveil a bill next week to reverse the U.S. oil export ban in an effort to build support for killing the 1970s-era restriction that drillers say threatens to choke the domestic energy boom. Murkowski, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said she will unveil the bill on Tuesday…
Texas House Approves Gutting Municipal Fracking Bans
The Texas House overwhelmingly approved a bill on Friday that would give the state the exclusive right to regulate the oil and gas industry, and gut the power of municipalities to pass anti-fracking rules. In Texas, the top U.S. crude producer and the birthplace of fracking, the bill also needs to be passed by the state's Senate and signed by the governor before it becomes law.
Russia, Reeling From Cheap Oil, Talks up OPEC Ties
Russia has been holding active, "unprecedented" consultations with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, a senior official said on Wednesday, a clear signal of Moscow's strive for higher oil prices. Russia has stepped up contacts with OPEC after oil prices plunged last year, however it has dismissed any suggestion it might cut output to prop up prices…
US Shale Cutbacks to Bring Quick Output Dip
Shale oil producers are throttling back so quickly on drilling that U.S. crude output could fall sooner than expected, within months, executives say as they slash costs to cope with tumbling crude prices and compete with Persian Gulf rivals. About a dozen chief executives who talked to Reuters or who spoke publicly, acknowledged they were taken aback by the scale and speed of the cutbacks…
Obama Administration: Cheap Oil Helping US Economy
The Obama administration said on Thursday that falling oil prices are helping the U.S. economy and are unlikely to lead to a reduction in production at the country's shale oil fields. "Lower oil prices are like a tax cut for the economy so in terms of the macroeconomic impact it's net a positive," Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in an interview in New York that was broadcast by network CNBC.
Amos Hochstein Appointed to Focus on U.S. Energy Affairs
The U.S. State Department appointed Amos Hochstein as the top diplomat for energy affairs as the Obama administration tests using the power of the domestic energy boom to shape policy with foreign energy producers and consumers. Hochstein has been acting as special envoy for international energy at the State Department's energy bureau since Aug. 1. He succeeds Carlos Pascual…
