Fuel

Oil Sands Producers Dig Deep with New Technology

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The iconic image associated with Canada’s oil sands development is that of a huge open pit mine, gargantuan dump trucks and enormous tailings ponds, but this production method is being outmoded as producers move to develop deeper bitumen deposits. Although it relies on a relatively young technology, in situ oil sands development is the wave of the future in Northern Alberta’s oil patch.

Commercial oil sands mining operations date back to the 1960’s and the technology that undergirds the process continues to evolve. Notably, some of the most interesting new technology is invisible, as companies are using horizontal drilling technology to recover oil from deposits located greater than 200 feet below ground. These deeper deposits account for 80 percent of total proven oil sands reserves and are expected to account for 80 percent of total oil sands production over the medium term, from about 50 percent mining and 50 percent in situ today. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 21, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Five Years On, Advanced Biofuels Industry Marks Its Progress

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Five years isn’t long in the energy business, where project development cycles can stretch into decades. That makes the emergence of the cellulosic biofuels business as a commercial force in the US in the past five years even more striking.

While the industry is making rapid strides to commercial maturity and widespread use, it has lacked common templates for creating and building successful production facilities that can be integrated into all-important infrastructure. The Advanced Ethanol Council, only five years after Congress called for aggressive development to alleviate US dependence on foreign oil and the Renewable Fuel Standard was signed, is seeking to provide highly detailed information about those facilities that are under development. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 20, 2012 at 11:30 AM

As Global Natural Gas Use Increases, Inland and Floating LNG Projects Proliferate

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Global natural gas demand is expected to steadily increase in the coming decades as developing economies continue growing and the West uses more of the fuel. Established energy trade patterns are also expected to shift eastward to emerging market demand centers as more gas is produced in the western hemisphere. Business activity at one of the world’s major engineering firms appears to be evolving in step with these emerging energy market trends.

“The best way to get $8 [natural] gas is to act like it’s going to be $3,” Dean Oskvig, President and CEO of Black & Veatch’s energy business recently told Breaking Energy. Increasing US unconventional gas reserves and output, which have kept US prices below historical norms, could in spur consumption and shift supply/demand fundamentals so that prices rapidly increase. The threat remains unrealized for now, with natural gas prices still near historic lows. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 20, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Top Energy News: Morning Roundup from Paraguay to Saudia Arabia by way of Ohio

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West Texas Intermediate opened a bit higher this morning, popping north of $88.00 a barrel, while Brent jumped higher to $109.67 and Nymex natural gas started the day at $3.31/mmBtu.

This time of year fuel prices are usually a mix of short-term weather-driven trading while the broader sector looks at forecasts for capital spending in 2013 (see one bank’s estimate of the global oil sector’s outlook here). Granular company level guidance for the coming year won’t arrive in a meaningful way until full year 2012 results come out at the end of next month, but in the meantime conference meeting rooms will be filled with rumors and chatter about how those big budgets are getting set. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 19, 2012 at 9:30 AM

Energy Efficiency Gains and Low-carbon Fuels Could Ease US GHG Emissions

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US greenhouse gas emissions from the energy sector are going to stay below their 2005 peak for the foreseeable future, thanks to more efficient energy usage and increased use of lower-carbon energy sources, says the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The projection is in EIA’s preliminary outlook to 2040, the first agency analysis to project beyond 2035. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 18, 2012 at 8:30 AM

The Next Big Thing in Nuclear Power: Going Small

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The ‘economies of scale’ approach the nuclear industry pursued for decades is getting turned on its ear as small modular reactors are poised represent the next generation of nuclear power.

Most of today’s existing nuclear plants consist of large reactors that generate thousands of megawatts, but an onerous licensing process, difficulties financing multi-billion dollar construction projects and unresolved waste issues have led the industry in a different direction. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 17, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Breaking Down the US Energy Independence Discussion

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Few topics have received as much attention over the past year as the concept of an energy independent United States. In fact, energy independence featured prominently in the run-up to the US presidential election. But what does energy independence really mean?

In the US, energy can be broken down mainly into electrical power – which accounts for 63% of total US primary energy consumption – and liquid transportation fuels – which account for the remaining 37%. As reported earlier this year in Breaking Energy, the US is already effectively energy independent when it comes to power generation, so it is worth instead focusing on the transportation side of the equation, where the issue of importing energy is more relevant. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 14, 2012 at 12:15 PM

Shale Gas Storage Revolution Rooted in History

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Does the US actually need more natural gas storage to accommodate rising production, or can it ‘finesse’ the storage it has to better balance shifting supply and demand fundamentals? The recent head of Ranger Midstream describes a revolutionary approach for a key sector in this video from a recent US Association for Energy Economics summit.

Storage is an essential but often unglamorous portion of what makes up a commodities market, and the history of the energy business – as is noted in this video – proves that storage access and storage infrastructure can impact outcomes for the more visible production and demand parts of the business. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 13, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Cleantech VCs Count Profit and Loss from Investments

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Poor performance for cleantech stocks this year may continue in 2013 despite some silver linings during 2012, a leading analyst and a panel of VCs recently warned.

Kevin Genieser, Managing Director and Global Head of Clean Technology Banking at Morgan Stanley, said that cleantech equities had underperformed this year despite a bright start to 2012 with three IPOs in the sector. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 12, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Military Leaders See Energy Diversity Protecting US National Security

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EA-6B Prowler from the Salty Dogs of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 flies September 16, 2011 over Southern Maryland. The plane uses a biofuel blend of JP-5 aviation fuel and camelina oil.

Growing demand in huge emerging economies like China and India will drive up world oil prices no matter what the US does, so it’s crucial for the US to develop energy alternatives that will keep it from being hurt by those nations’ successes, says Adm. (Ret.) Dennis Blair, former director of national intelligence. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 11, 2012 at 8:30 AM
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