Good energy policy ideas can come from all corners, and Wall Street is no exception. Goldman Sachs recently served up a powerful case for action on methane in a stroke of market logic grounded in data. In a recent report, the investment bank argues that environmental regulation is more than a necessary evil when it comes… Keep reading →
First, BP dropped plans to invest in a refinery in Qinzhou. Then PetroChina delayed plans for it’s Kunming refinery, part of a larger plan that includes a pipeline linking Southwestern China to the Bay of Benegal through Myanmar (bypassing the Malacca Straits). Now, two of the largest Chinese national oil companies (NOCs) are paring back… Keep reading →
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll on the Keystone XL pipeline adds to the drumbeat of strong public support for building the pipeline. The Post/ABC survey shows a nearly 3 to 1 margin, with 65 percent saying Keystone XL should be approved. Details of the poll show why: 85 percent say the pipeline will create a significant number of… Keep reading →
China Investment Corp. has been selling shares in energy companies, including AES Corp., a US utility, as it seeks to limit energy market volatility risk. “CIC, which purchased billions of dollars in resources-related holdings between 2009 and the first half of 2012, is closely watched by investors world-wide for signals on where China is steering… Keep reading →
By Kiran Moodley The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) trimmed its forecast for U.S. growth in 2013, warning that the ongoing budget impasse in Washington could damage the recovery. The group cut its forecast from GDP growth of 1.7 percent to a 1.6 percent expansion for this year. While there was a healthy… Keep reading →
Though it’s not easy to quantify exactly how much the recent US oil & gas production boom contributes to GDP growth, the CME Group’s Chief Economist Blu Putnam gives it a go. Read an exclusive Breaking Energy interview with Blu Putnam here. Since 2005 US oil production increased 29% and natural gas output rose 33%,… Keep reading →
Electric utilities are facing an unprecedented set of challenges. Demand for electricity, which had risen in a fairly steady manner for decades has flattened. Some of this can be attributed to the lack of economic growth. Increasingly, however, this has been caused by growth in energy efficiency and distributed generation. Another important dynamic, but one… Keep reading →
Carbon dioxide emissions costs have been possibly the great ‘unpriced externality’ for the energy business for more than a decade. Companies have resisted complex and cumbersome government plans only to end up with regional patchworks and failed private pricing mechanisms for the greenhouse gas that scientists have held most directly responsible for the lion’s share of human-contributed… 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 →
Air pollution increased rapidly along with industrial growth during the last century. Major pollutants include SO2, NOX, suspended particulate matter, and carbon. Recently, CO2 has been suspected of being a major greenhouse gas that may contribute to what some call the climate change phenomenon. The relationship between CO2 and climate change remains unclear. Fossil-fuel burning… Keep reading →
