By Sri Jegarajah Benchmark oil prices are set to start the third-quarter on a positive note, reflecting expectations of better US data with ISM manufacturing and Friday’s closely-watched June jobs report amongst the highlights, though further evidence of a slowdown in China may limit gains, according to CNBC’s latest survey of oil market sentiment. Oil bulls… Keep reading →
There’s always a risk in being the first – in forging ahead without following someone else’s footsteps. California took on that challenge six years ago, adopting the country’s first low carbon fuel standard (LCFS). Today, however, the risks are receding and the rewards are becoming increasingly clear – for consumers, businesses, and the climate. That… Keep reading →
Jennifer Lopez performed in Turkmenistan over the weekend at the request of a major Chinese state-owned oil company, only to be dismayed when she – or her handlers – discovered Turkmenistan’s less-than-stellar human rights record. China National Petroleum Corporation – parent of listed subsidiary Petro China – reportedly requested Lopez sing “Happy Brithday” to Turkmen… Keep reading →
“China’s chance of meeting its 2015 shale gas target is zero.” China is reconsidering its most recent Five-Year Plan’s target for natural gas because of the challenges in developing shale gas resources, according to a China energy sector source. “There are just too many risks and no experience for developers to copy,” explained Junda Lin,… Keep reading →
Rural Pennsylvania was transformed into one of the nation’s oil and gas boom regions virtually overnight thanks to abundant Marcellus Shale gas development. Many people know the City of Williamsport, located in Lycoming County, as the site of the Little League World Series, but gas production helped make it the 7th fastest-growing community on a… Keep reading →
Solar cells that convert sunlight to electricity at 1 or 2 percent efficiency don’t sound very exciting in a world where standard silicon cells produce at rates in the teens and even higher. But what if the cells were so thin and light that you could stack layers of them atop each other? That might… Keep reading →
Recent energy news points to the potential for some big changes for major energy producers, and for global energy markets. After an arbitration court ruled that Gazprom was overcharging a German utility for gas, and mandated the addition of market price links to its pricing formula, members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum might find… Keep reading →
The world reacted with a collective “Huh?” earlier this month when Nicaragua’s National Assembly voted overwhelmingly to hand a 50-year concession to a Hong Kong company to build a canal across the country. Among the many mysteries were exactly where and how such a thing would be built – and why, too, given that the… Keep reading →
President Obama’s June 25 Climate Action Plan speech has cast a pall over prospects for the Keystone XL oil pipeline project to deliver Canadian oil to US Gulf Coast refineries. Environmentalists cheered both the subject matter of the President’s speech and the possibilities it raised for blocking the controversial pipeline. But some in industry were… Keep reading →
The following is an excerpt from an Energy Solutions Forum Industry Brief. Many renewable energy supporters tout the claim that cheap natural gas prices will delay deployment of renewable energy technologies. However, this is contrary to reality, and investors and policymakers have clear market-based incentives to invest simultaneously in both natural gas generation and renewables.… Keep reading →
