Jared Anderson

Posts by Jared Anderson


The Intersection of Energy Law and Project Finance

It’s critically important to understand the regulations associated with financing multi-billion dollar energy projects so as to avoid delays and cost increases that can imperil event the best laid plans. Whether it be an oil & gas project or a major renewable energy initiative, getting the financing right means having the legal pieces in order, and a major law firm with a large energy practice highlights some examples of this in their spring newsletter. Keep reading →


At last week’s launch of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, author and energy analyst Daniel Yergin talked about what he sees as today’s three big energy questions. Dr. Yergin recently released a new book entitled “The Quest,” which follows up on his Pulitzer-winning history of the global oil industry, “The Prize.”

1) Is there enough energy? Will we run out? A few years ago peak oil was a common topic and dark days were seemingly ahead – demand was concentrated in OECD countries and ROW (rest of world) was just the tail until about 2004 when demand in emerging markets exploded, said Yergin. But every time it seems we are running out of oil, he went on to say, technology helps find and develop more, like we have now with shale and tight oil & gas. However, while concerns about peak oil may not be as urgent as they seemed a few years ago, new challenges have arisen, and “it’s still sobering to look at these energy challenges,” he said. Keep reading →


Today is the 27th anniversary of the infamous Chernobyl nuclear plant meltdown that occurred in the former Soviet republic Ukraine and humanitarian organization Green Cross International recently released the results of a study on the terrible accident’s long-term psychosocial consequences.

With any massive radiation release cancer is always a concern, but there are many other ways an event such as Chernobyl can affect local populations and the study has found roughly 10 million people suffer from permanent mental stress disorder, post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and stigma. Keep reading →


Global oil supply dynamics have been shifting in recent years, as consumption levels off in developed western economies and demand surges in rapidly developing Asian nations. At the same time, North American unconventional resource development has accelerated this supply transition to the “east of Suez” market, making the US less dependent on Middle East imports and thus softening the need to police the oil shipping lanes extending from the Persian Gulf. So what is China’s role in this shifting global oil supply/demand picture?

David Schenker, the Aufzien fellow and director of the Program on Arab Politics at The Washington Institute – a think tank – recently traveled to China and found some interesting answers to this question that he summarizes in a piece appearing in today’s Los Angeles Times. Keep reading →


Oil & gas giant ExxonMobil’s first quarter 2013 earnings announced today were up $50 million from first quarter 2012, but oil-equivalent production volumes decreased 3.5%. While upstream and downstream earnings were lower, the chemical division reported strong results, which helped balance the company’s overall financial and operational position.

“Upstream earnings were $7,037 million in the first quarter of 2013, down $765 million from the first quarter of 2012. Lower liquids realizations, partially offset by improved natural gas realizations, decreased earnings by $230 million,” the company said in a statement. Keep reading →


New York City – the world’s energy finance capital and one of the world’s largest commodity trading marketplaces – is a fitting location for the Center on Global Energy Policy. As part of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, the center will seek to “provide independent, balanced, data-driven analysis to help policymakers navigate the complex world of energy.”

At Wednesday’s launch event, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was joined by energy experts and US government officials, who helped officially inaugurate the new energy policy initiative. Keep reading →


In this latest installment of the US Department of Interior’s weekly video series “This Week at Interior,” Sally Jewell speaks about coming on board as the 51st Secretary of the Interior.

The Department manages energy leases on federal land both onshore and offshore, in addition to numerous other energy-related responsibilities. Keep reading →


While LNG exports from the US are hotly debated, major shale gas player Range Resources was recently excited to proclaim it will be the first company to export natural gas liquids via ship from the US. Range has an agreement in place to begin ethane shipments to a petrochemical concern in Norway beginning in 2015.

We have a sales VP in Europe now – they [NGL sales team] got a call from China and there’s interest in Pittsburgh,” Rodney Waller, Range Senior Vice President said at the Independent Petroleum Association of America’s Oil & Gas Investment Symposium held last week in New York. Keep reading →


Quick Take: A few years back, a friend of mine served on a Department of Homeland Security committee on infrastructure protection. They heard lots about cyber threats. But the thing that worried them the most was the “Seven Bullets Theory.” That’s the idea that a terrorist group could shut down the entire East Coast grid with just seven well-placed bullets at seven different substations.

A miniature version of this scenario took place earlier this week in Silicon Valley. It prompts me to remind utilities not to let the current emphasis on cybersecurity cause them to overlook the very real and important issues around physical security. – Jesse Berst Keep reading →

Shell has bet heavily on LNG over the past two decades and now has one of the world’s largest LNG portfolios with assets in every segment of the value chain from gas production and liquefaction to retail sales. The company is confident its investments will pay off as natural gas applications continue to move beyond the power generation and industrial sectors into land-based and maritime transportation. Keep reading →

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