Oil


Crude oil posted its sharpest fall since May on Monday as world stock markets plunged after an unprecedented downgrade of the US credit rating fueled fears of a double-dip recession in the world’s biggest economy.


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Biocrude could soon be cheaper and more efficient than traditional crude oil.

One of the challenges for fuel derived from biological materials is the impact it can have on machinery and pipelines, leading to competing technical fights over the proportion of fuels like ethanol that can be shipped or used in the US transportation industry. Keep reading →


Rising demand for energy efficiency solutions abroad may offer new, and expanding, opportunities for US renewable energy firms.

Omani state-owned oil firm Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has awarded California-based GlassPoint a contract to build a pilot 7MW solar enhanced oil recovery (EOR) system at a an existing thermal EOR project in southern Oman. Keep reading →


The popular image of oil derricks place them in sunny locales, in deserts and at sea. But with the search for new oil reserves spreading, the ability to use solar power for enhanced oil recovery faces some elemental challenges.

Southern California, where GlassPoint Solar operates a facility, satisfies the two main requirements for solar thermal enhanced oil recovery –abundant sunlight and heavy oil. But these requirements limit the technology’s application in other areas of the country. Within the US, GlassPoint CEO Rod MacGregor mentioned only West Texas as prospective for solar thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) use. Keep reading →


Using solar-powered facilities in enhanced oil recovery has attracted widespread attention in the industry, and now the sector’s largest firms are moving the technology out of the lab and into the market.

GlassPoint Solar’s successful start-up of the first commercial solar thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) system in California has raised questions about the technology’s prospects for widespread use, both in the US and internationally. Keep reading →


Brazilian energy giant Petrobras plans to spend almost $107,000 a minute over the next four years as part of its immense and recently expanded $224.7 billion spending plan.

Petrobras will execute its first asset sale program and take on substantial debt to fund its 2011-2015 business plan, which will cost nearly $154 million each day, much of that planned for spending on exploration and production. Keep reading →


Now oil firms are beginning to leverage smart grid technologies in their operations.

Saudi Armaco has begun installation of Smartcool’s ESM technology in its facilities in efforts to improve the energy efficiency of its air conditioning systems. After substantial testing with Saudi Aramco, Smartcool found that the ESM technology saved the Middle Eastern country 65,883 kWh in electricity costs for cooling. Keep reading →


Oil companies using steam-driven enhanced oil recovery now have a cheaper and greener option.

Instead of using natural gas to generate the steam that is injected into reservoirs to force oil to the surface, GlassPoint Solar, a Fremont, California-based company has developed a new technology that utilizes solar power. Keep reading →


After over ten months of deliberation, India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the Vedanta Resources‘ request to purchase Cairn Energy.

With its lack of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, London-based metal mining company Vendanta Resources’ purchase of Cairn Energy’s local India unit may be a bold move that illustrates what some in the industry say are lucrative potentials in the natural gas industry. Keep reading →


Could it really be all about jobs?

A release of 60 million barrels of crude oil from consumer nations’ reserves signals consumers working with producers, analysts said today. Keep reading →

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