Google struck a deal for 407 MW of wind power – reportedly its largest clean energy contract to date – with MidAmerican Energy, a firm mostly owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate. The power will be used at Google’s Iowa data center. “The deal includes both direct energy generation from MidAmerican’s wind farms and… Keep reading →
While Maryland isn’t among the country’s leading producers of oil and natural gas, the industry’s employment and economic impact in the state is significant. That impact, as measured by a PwC study: 75,400 jobs supported in 2011 (most recent year for which comprehensive data is available), accounting for 2.2 percent of the state’s total employment. Nearly… Keep reading →
The project is a way from shovels in the ground, but UK-based independent Tullow Oil is working towards bringing the considerable oil resources it’s discovered in Kenya and Uganda to market, which will require an extremely long, heated pipeline to transport the waxy crude. [The Observer] As businesses continue to seize opportunities presented by currently… Keep reading →
In a story rife with geopolitical implications, reports indicate the consortium developing Israel’s Leviathan gas field – which includes US-based Noble Energy – could be close to signing supply deals with Turkey and Egypt instead of sending to gas to Greece and/or Cyprus as previously planned. In an ironic reversal of fortune, Israeli gas could… Keep reading →
The US could run afoul of the WTO if LNG export approvals are not more quickly granted. “In a report commissioned by the National Association of Manufacturers, he [James Bacchus] wrote, ‘The tables may be turned on the United States directly in the WTO, but also through other countries walking away from core principles that… Keep reading →
The Ukraine crisis has reinvigorated European efforts to diversify its natural gas supply sources away from Russia amid reliability concerns, but numerous obstacles stand in that path. “Added to that, Europe is contractually obliged to continue taking delivery of Russian gas. Bernstein makes the point that Gazprom has about 120 bcm of take-or-pay contracts –… Keep reading →
The US LNG export debate received a shot in the arm for the Ukraine crisis, with several government officials calling for wholesale LNG export license approval that could ostensibly allow US companies to ship LNG to European gas consumers in the event of a Russian-initiated supply shortage. The only problem with that logic is exports… Keep reading →
The Huntsman Corporation’s Peter Huntsman has this op-ed in USA Today that invokes a poll in which people were asked to respond to these statements: Some say that exporting American natural gas to other countries will increase economic growth, keep thousands employed, and help increase domestic production of natural gas. Others say that American natural gas should… Keep reading →
Moscow and Beijing have danced around a natural gas supply deal for over a decade, with price being the major sticking point, but the current dust up with Europe over Ukraine could finally open the door to price conciliation. “Conversely, on the Russian side, Gazprom might finally sign a natural gas supply deal with China,… Keep reading →
In yesterday’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee testimony, EIA Administrator Adam Sieminski said US natural gas looks poised for significant export growth over the next 25 years – via both pipeline and LNG – but numerous indigenous and exogenous factors could alter that outlook. The answer to the hearing’s question-phrased title – “Importing Energy, Exporting… Keep reading →
