The US is at an energy crossroads of sorts, with decisions to make about how best to fuel our vehicles, businesses and homes in an era of abundant fossil fuels, falling alternative energy prices, climate change concerns and economic uncertainty. These are the issues Michael Levi dissects in his new book, “The Power Surge –… Keep reading →
China has enacted new measures to improve air quality, including a mandate that heavy polluters, such as coal-fired power plants, reduce emissions by 30% per unit of economic output by the end of 2017, and publicly release environmental information. Certainly seems like a step in the right direction for a country whose capital city’s pollution… Keep reading →
In case you missed them, here are some highlights from Breaking Energy this week. Video games and social media have figured prominently in our coverage. Video games could be a recruiting tool to draw new talent to oil and gas. Maersk has developed an exploration and development video game that challenges players to find,… Keep reading →
Texas is a surprising poster-child for robust investment in renewable energy generation. “No other State comes close to Texas’ more than 12 GW [gigawatts] of installed wind capacity,” says economic and financial research firm the Brattle Group in a report for the Texas Clean Energy Coalition, Partnering Natural Gas and Renewables in ERCOT. Both gas and wind… Keep reading →
Focus on energy efficiency is intensifying as policy makers and leaders in the energy field seek to reconcile what are sometimes conflicting priorities of supplying the market with sufficient energy to sustain economic growth and reducing overall energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. But getting energy end-users involved in efficiency is “a little bit of… Keep reading →
In a bid to attract younger generations to the international oil & gas business, Maersk Group recently launched a Sims-style computer game designed to simulate the high-stakes challenges that come with finding, producing and transporting oil in harsh environments. “We believe we have a very fascinating story to tell about the oil & gas industry,… Keep reading →
The future of Alaska’s abundant natural gas reserves has hung in the balance for decades, with much disagreement over how to maximize value for the disparate stakeholders and minimize negative environmental impacts associated with developing the gas. However, the US energy picture has been radically redrawn in recent years, finally putting a potential solution within… Keep reading →
Take assertions that the ongoing global oil boom will bring down global crude prices with a grain of salt. With the marginal cost of crude close to $100 per barrel – so says Bernstein Research – any sustained drop far below that level will prompt drillers to rein in activity until prices rise again. [Quartz]… Keep reading →
A pair of proposed pipeline projects may bring more than 90 billion cubic meters per year of natural gas to European markets, but this will not undermine the rationale for developing the continent’s indigenous shale resources, which could offer a range of other economic and security benefits, says Eurasia Group global gas analyst Leslie Palti-Guzman.… Keep reading →
Utilities: one of your largest customers is under legal obligation to use less energy. Way less energy. If you’re not figuring out how to cope, you’d better start now, as this timely article from EnerNex Vice President Stuart McCafferty makes clear. — Jesse Berst By the end of 2013, the federal government’s 7.5% renewable energy… Keep reading →
