Microsoft’s announcement yesterday that it had signed a 20-year agreement to buy all of the 110 megawatt Keechi wind farm’s electricity production marks a big step for the company in going “carbon neutral” through the purchase of wind and solar power. Its rival Google is way ahead, having invested more than $1 billion in wind and… Keep reading →
The natural gas industry is optimistic about its own future, but safety – be it pipeline, environmental or cyber – continues to be a key concern, according to Black & Veatch’s second annual Strategic Directions in the North American Natural Gas Industry survey. The overwhelming majority of the survey’s 336 respondents expect the US natural gas industry to… Keep reading →
The United States is expected to produce more hydrocarbons – oil, natural gas, and liquids (such as condensates) – than any other country in the world this year, according to the US Energy Information Administration. The EIA published an article last Friday on US hydrocarbon production growth, comparing it to that of global oil and… Keep reading →
Expect the promised benefits of natural gas to really begin hitting the North American economy in the second half of this decade, said Chevron Vice President of Supply and Trading Greg Vesey at the North American Gas Forum in Washington, DC this week. It will take two to three years to complete construction of manufacturing… Keep reading →
Investment bank Raymond James has updated its US oil and natural gas liquids production forecast, with new estimates suggesting that the country could produce enough oil to satisfy domestic demand in less than ten years’ time. “The U.S. could easily be approaching the ‘holy grail’ of net oil ‘energy independence’ toward the end of the… Keep reading →
A regulatory framework that penalizes carbon dioxide emissions would improve nuclear’s competitiveness in the US, but greater policy clarity may be required for new nuclear investments to replace shuttered facilities like San Onofre and Yankee. Nuclear is not without its detractors, which have a laundry list of concerns, ranging from potential for terrorist attacks to… Keep reading →
The ongoing controversy over the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline linking Alberta’s oil sands to US markets covers a vast amount of factual territory, from refinery configuration to logistics to international crude oil trading to carbon dioxide emissions. But at times, all of these issues take a back seat to the emotional, or symbolic, component of… Keep reading →
Coal-to-gas switching in the power sector has been a “brutally efficient” driver of US natural gas demand, and until new demand sources materialize, it will keep gas trading in the $3.20-$4.20 per million Btu range, according to Macquarie Global Oil & Natural Gas Economist Vikas Dwivedi. “Gas demand so far has been led by power,” Dwivedi said during… Keep reading →
“Peak oil” is a term that’s been bandied about for decades, but almost always in reference to supply, not demand. The Economist is calling oil “yesterday’s fuel”. “The world’s thirst for oil could be nearing a peak. That is bad news for producers, excellent for everyone else.” [Economist] There’s a nice (and very thorough) piece… Keep reading →
The New York Energy Data Jam brings together business leaders, entrepreneurs, state and federal officials, academics and investors to brainstorm new ways to use the government’s open data to solve pressing energy problems. Participants at the event, located at Google’s New York office, breakout into groups in a fast-paced brainstorming session to come up with… Keep reading →
