Analysts and economists are trying to figure out how falling oil prices impact various economic sectors. Many 401ks and pension funds invest in oil companies, but as long as funds are diversified they should not be hit too badly by the oil price decline. “But this is precisely why investment advisers tell us to diversify,… Keep reading →
When you live in a state heavily influenced by oil, saddle up and hold on for the ride. What comes up must come down, and real estate has room on the downside. The real question is really just how much. My clients are all energy professionals, and when I visit with them, nine out of… Keep reading →
As expected, federal regulators have approved a new physical security standard for the high-voltage electricity grid.
On November 20, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved Reliability Standard CIP-014-1 (Physical Security). The standard, proposed by Commission-certified Electric Reliability Organization North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), is designed to enhance physical security measures for the most critical parts of the nation’s “bulk-power system,” the high-voltage backbone of the nation’s electric grid.
Pelamis, long a leading player in the wave energy industry, has gone “into administration,” akin to Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The fall of the Scottish company, announced on Friday, was a blow to Scotland and a sign of the tremendous challenges wave developers face – but it might also signal a necessary winnowing of the incipient… Keep reading →
It appears investors were so eager to dip their toes in Brazil’s solar power market they were willing to compromise on total investment returns. The auctions held on Halloween resulted in the award of 890 MW of capacity. Prior to the Brazilian auctions, the world’s lowest unsubsidized solar contracts were reportedly found in Uruguay at… Keep reading →
In one of the more honest assessments of current Saudi Arabian oil policy, Rice University’s Jim Krane said there are several plausible reasons behind the Saudis’ apparently sanguine approach to falling global oil prices, but only a few within the Kingdom really know. “If you’re somebody who looks at geopolitics and energy, you could come… Keep reading →
While oil prices have stabilized for the moment and associated doomsday scenarios have slowed, here’s a detailed analysis of the interplay between various commodity prices and some of the investment decisions petrochemical companies, producers and LNG businesses face. “Indeed, even international buyers of natural gas were aggressively pursuing hub based gas pricing contracts with view… Keep reading →
The tides are an enormous and consistent renewable energy resource, but taking advantage of them has proven frustrating. Newfangled minimal-impact in-stream devices have been slow to demonstrate their commercial viability; earlier “barrage” projects – dams on estuaries, essentially – have delivered energy as promised, but at the cost of degraded ecosystems. Now a potential solution… Keep reading →
Alarmist media reports regarding oil’s foray into bear market territory could easily leave you thinking the oil industry is gasping its last breath. It certainly is not, as companies involved in the global oil complex are accustomed to commodity price volatility and most have experienced similar, if not worse, market corrections. In fact, over the… Keep reading →
Back in 2011, Shell took the final investment decision (FID) on its Prelude FLNG project and started having a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) terminal built in South Korea in order to produce and export LNG from the so-called Browse Basin, about 300 miles off the coast of Western Australia. This project is the first… Keep reading →
