Steams rises from the Kawasaki natural gas power station in Kawasaki city, Kanagawa prefecture, south of Tokyo on August 25, 2011.
Japan’s Fukushima disaster, with the subsequent shutdown of most Japanese nuclear power plants, mean US exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia will be profitable to 2020 – but maybe not beyond. Keep reading →
Royal Dutch Shell plans to spend at least $1 billion a year exploiting China’s potentially vast resources of shale gas, the firm’s top China executive said, part of an aggressive strategy to expand in the world’s biggest energy market.Shell in March secured China’s first product sharing contract for shale gas, hoping that getting in early will allow it to be a big beneficiary from the sort of boom in shale that has transformed the U.S. energy market. Asked if the firm remained committed to a plan to invest $1 billion a year in China’s shale gas over the coming few years, Lim Haw Kuang, Shell’s top China executive, said in an interview: “Yes, yes and yes.”
It isn’t gold.
Weakening venture capital funding for one of the globe’s fastest-growing sectors isn’t a mystery for sector watchers, but with increasing adoption of disruptive monitoring technology, the market opportunity isn’t a matter of if, but when. Keep reading →
Since China controls 95% of the world’s rare earth supplies, the ensuing shortage could have a major impact on industries that are dependent on these materials, including renewables, electric vehicles, energy storage. Keep reading →
Quick Take – The good news: China is taking environmental goals more seriously. The bad news: As a result, it plans to shutter one third of its 23 rare earth mines and one half of its 99 rare earth smelters and reduce its rare earth exports by one fifth.
“No rock is an island,” atoll tale from Herbert Smith, a quote that stands out given the significance of Okinotorishima and its status under the international law of the sea.
In 1931, approximately 350 years after mariners of all stripes began passing by (or over, depending on the tide) a coral reef referred to through the ages as Parece Vela (“looks like a sail”) and Douglas Reef; the Japanese navy (seeing a hydroplane base where others had seen a sail, or less) claimed this unassuming atoll for Japan and named it “Okinotorishima.” Keep reading →
Prime Minister Stephen Harper (L) of Canada welcomes US President Barack Obama to the G8 Summit at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario, on June 25, 2010.
The recently announced high-profile oil and gas acquisitions by Chinese state-controlled companies highlight the numerous opportunities for the US and Canada to both partner and compete in global energy markets. Keep reading →
CNOOC’s proposed bid for Canadian oil-and-gas producer Nexen would increase Asia’s sway and influence over the pricing of Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, market analysts said Tuesday. The proposed takeover, which would be China’s biggest foreign acquisition, would put the largest crude stream that feeds into the physical Brent benchmark into Chinese hands. This would mean exclusive insight into North Sea production issues and maintenance that will affect the price of Brent crude and other crudes priced off of it.
CNOOC buys Nexen in largest ever Chinese overseas takeover. Assets in UK, Gulf of Mexico, W Africa, Canada ajwsmall
“Why can’t we just…” is often the question energy industry leaders face when dealing with questions about the current state of the energy business. “Why can’t we just build all renewable energy?” or “Why can’t we just switch over to electric vehicles?”
The answer is usually – at least in large part – infrastructure. Keep reading →
Citic, CLSA, CNOOC, Nexen, Sinopec and Talisman: China’s Multi-Billion Dollar Week in the Energy Markets
By Peter GardettThe bureaucrats in Beijing and the businessmen in Shanghai have been busy in recent weeks, negotiating a series of headline deals that sync into broader themes of Chinese access to global energy and commodities markets.
Bankers at Wall Street and City of London banks have spent much of the past week telling financial reporters that the impending sale of the remaining 80% of the Asian arm of French bank Credit Agricole represented an old finance industry meme: an out-of-towner overpaying for access to the premier league of global banking. Keep reading →