Support the Arctic Sea Ice Forum and Blog

Author Topic: Oil and Gas Issues  (Read 1055786 times)

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1350 on: May 06, 2017, 04:49:45 PM »
I get your point, but right now I don't think Venezuela is exporting oil.  At times during the last year it looks like they've been oil importers.

But if a war broke out between some of the lower cost producers Venezuela and other more expensive producers could come back into the market, driving prices up.


rboyd

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1334
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 226
  • Likes Given: 52
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1351 on: May 06, 2017, 06:55:20 PM »
Venezuela is exporting oil, about 700,000 barrels per day to the U.S. for instance. Output may continue to fall by up to 20% given their economic difficulties and the falling oil price. Any drop will have to be replaced by another country's production.

“I think at a minimum, it will lose at least another 200,000 b/d to 300,000 barrels per day,” said Williams. “Assuming Maduro is still in office, by end of the year we expect Venezuelan production between 1.7 and 1.8 million barrels per day.”

The marketwatch story quotes a Venezuela oil break-even cost of $27.62, so its positive margins are being rapidly eroded as the oil price drops.



https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_move_neti_dc_NUS-NVE_mbblpd_m.htm

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/venezuelan-oil-production-may-tumble-20-by-the-end-of-2017-2017-03-02


DrTskoul

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1455
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 210
  • Likes Given: 60
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1352 on: May 07, 2017, 02:02:35 PM »
I get your point, but right now I don't think Venezuela is exporting oil.  At times during the last year it looks like they've been oil importers.

But if a war broke out between some of the lower cost producers Venezuela and other more expensive producers could come back into the market, driving prices up.

They imported light fractions to use as diluent for their heavy oil.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25757
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1353 on: May 07, 2017, 05:07:26 PM »
 Standing with Standing Rock – – by divesting from Wells Fargo.

Dakota Access Pipeline protest movement now focuses on the money
Quote
It’s been a tough few months for opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). First Donald Trump officially approved the $3.8 billion project. Then indigenous people were forced to clear out of the Oceti Sakowin and Sacred Stone protest camps. And with construction done, oil has now begun flowing from North Dakota to Illinois.

But the opposition has not faded away.

In fact, it's entering a new phase by moving from the plains of North Dakota into city councils and corporate boardrooms. And its indigenous leaders are scoring big victories. They’ve convinced cities to divest billions of dollars in their portfolios from Wells Fargo, which is financing about 5 percent of Dakota Access. Several major European banks have also dropped investments in the project.
...
http://mashable.com/2017/05/07/dapl-divestment-movement-grows/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1354 on: May 07, 2017, 05:45:03 PM »
I get your point, but right now I don't think Venezuela is exporting oil.  At times during the last year it looks like they've been oil importers.

But if a war broke out between some of the lower cost producers Venezuela and other more expensive producers could come back into the market, driving prices up.

They imported light fractions to use as diluent for their heavy oil.

Yes, I saw the headline about Venezuelan imports from the US, put that together with the collapse of the Venezuelan economy due to lack of sufficient oil sales, and made the false assumption that Venezuela was not selling any oil.  My bad.


Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25757
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1355 on: May 09, 2017, 02:48:59 PM »
This is weird.

Homeless Gasoline Tankers Are Drifting Around the Caribbean
At least three large ships awaiting delivery instructions
Quote
A few gasoline cargoes around the Caribbean Isles are looking for homes.

Three tankers holding about 1.35 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate, an octane-boosting component blended with motor fuels, are drifting with no instructions for delivery. The cargoes came from India with intent to land in the U.S., but now they’re in limbo as traders from Trafigura Group Ltd. and Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. shop around for the best selling value in the region.
...
“My sense of it is these may be barrels that end up in Venezuela,” Robert Campbell, head of oil products research for Energy Aspects, said by phone from New York. “They tend to bring in alkylate.”

Supplies are dangerously low in Venezuela, he said, and most of the country’s fluid catalytic cracker units that make gasoline are out of commission. Two gasoline tankers from Europe were diverted to Venezuela this week after state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela said it would boost imports after a traffic-stopping shortage in Caracas last month.
...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-06/homeless-gasoline-tankers-are-drifting-around-the-caribbean
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

DrTskoul

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1455
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 210
  • Likes Given: 60
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1356 on: May 09, 2017, 04:31:00 PM »
This is weird.

Homeless Gasoline Tankers Are Drifting Around the Caribbean
At least three large ships awaiting delivery instructions
Quote
A few gasoline cargoes around the Caribbean Isles are looking for homes.

Three tankers holding about 1.35 million barrels of gasoline and alkylate, an octane-boosting component blended with motor fuels, are drifting with no instructions for delivery. The cargoes came from India with intent to land in the U.S., but now they’re in limbo as traders from Trafigura Group Ltd. and Mercuria Energy Group Ltd. shop around for the best selling value in the region.
...
“My sense of it is these may be barrels that end up in Venezuela,” Robert Campbell, head of oil products research for Energy Aspects, said by phone from New York. “They tend to bring in alkylate.”

Supplies are dangerously low in Venezuela, he said, and most of the country’s fluid catalytic cracker units that make gasoline are out of commission. Two gasoline tankers from Europe were diverted to Venezuela this week after state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela said it would boost imports after a traffic-stopping shortage in Caracas last month.
...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-06/homeless-gasoline-tankers-are-drifting-around-the-caribbean

There is large need for Diesel from US refineries. As a result there is a growing glut of gasoline in US and I guess those barrels in the tankers need to find a new home. Probably are changing hands and getting traded among companies trying to maximize margins. Soon shipping costs will force the holdings companies to unload the cargo somewhere..

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1357 on: May 09, 2017, 05:16:56 PM »
June 2016

Quote
"huge traffic jams of tankers which have formed around the world with some 200 million barrels of oil either waiting to be loaded or delivered as ports struggle to cope with record volumes in perhaps the most visible sign of the global oil glut."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-01/stunning-satellite-images-global-tanker-traffic-jams

Onshore storage facilities were full.  Interesting satellite pictures of oil tankers parked all around the globe on that site.

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1358 on: May 09, 2017, 05:34:55 PM »
Quote
Onshore storage facilities were full.  Interesting satellite pictures of oil tankers parked all around the globe on that site.

Short term.....oil markets are set to plunge.  It's just a matter of time.
FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Tor Bejnar

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 4606
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 879
  • Likes Given: 826
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1359 on: May 09, 2017, 06:14:17 PM »
Current Bloomberg Energy info: 
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25757
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1360 on: May 12, 2017, 01:28:08 PM »
Close vote -- shocking -- in a good way!

GOP Fails to Kill Methane Rule in a Capitol Hill Defeat for Oil and Gas Industry
The rule limits venting and flaring gas, a move the Obama administration estimated would prevent 180,000 tons of methane from leaking into the atmosphere every year.
Quote
The Senate on Wednesday rejected a bid to overturn an Obama-era rule that limits climate-warming methane leaks from oil and gas operations on public lands, but the industry, along with its allies in Congress, says it will continue challenging the rule.

The surprise 49-51 vote handed a defeat to the industry, which has pushed Congress to undo the rule under the Congressional Review Act, a little-used law that allows lawmakers to kill rules with a simple majority vote. 

The rule, issued by the Department of the Interior at the end of the Obama administration, limits venting and flaring of methane from natural gas and oil drilling operations, a restriction that officials estimated would prevent 180,000 tons of methane from leaking into the atmosphere every year. Methane, the main component of natural gas, has over 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. 

Cutting methane emissions was a key element of Obama's plan for meeting the U.S. commitment under the Paris climate agreement, and many experts view methane cuts as an especially efficient way to reduce emissions in the short term. Proponents of the rule also point out that the methane that escapes during the flaring and venting process could power more than 6 million homes.

"The rule is so basic. All it's asking for is for oil and gas companies to capture their methane waste, which is now going up into the atmosphere as carbon pollution, and really potent carbon pollution at that, and put it back into their pipes and, potentially, back into the market," said Lena Moffitt, who directs the Sierra Club's Beyond Dirty Fuel campaign. "It's just asking them to plug their leaks."
...
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10052017/methane-climate-rule-oil-gas-flaring-congress-vote-rejects
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1361 on: May 12, 2017, 07:04:22 PM »
John McCain was the tipping point vote for the methane bill.  It's about time he did something right.

rboyd

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1334
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 226
  • Likes Given: 52
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1362 on: May 12, 2017, 07:30:54 PM »
If I read the news correctly, this only stops Trump in the short term. Through a general regulatory review he could to all intents and purposes remove the methane regs. Hopefully this vote sends a message, although Trump seems to be seriously deaf to such messages.

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1363 on: May 12, 2017, 08:00:56 PM »
There's a very good chance that Trump may be exiting the stage in a few more months.  In the meantime he's probably going to be too busy to spend much time thinking about things like screwing up environmental controls.

rboyd

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1334
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 226
  • Likes Given: 52
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1364 on: May 14, 2017, 07:07:39 AM »
We won't be so lucky, only the good die young.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1365 on: May 14, 2017, 07:32:22 AM »
We won't be so lucky, only the good die young.
Whew, I made it past that hurtle.
Where there's a wile, there's a way
 8)

rboyd

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1334
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 226
  • Likes Given: 52
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1366 on: May 14, 2017, 11:02:28 PM »
Should have said only the good politicians!

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25757
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1367 on: May 16, 2017, 05:27:19 PM »
Feds Halt New Drilling on Rover Pipeline After Spill Into Ohio Wetland
Quote
Federal regulators have blocked new drilling on an Ohio natural gas pipeline owned by the same Texas-based company that was behind the controversial Dakota Access project, after millions of gallons of a drilling lubricant spilled into wetlands.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday ordered Rover Pipeline to stop new drilling in the $4.2 billion project until it addresses environmental concerns, after the company spilled 2 million gallons of a nontoxic bentonite mud used as drilling lubricant in Stark County....
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-halt-new-drilling-rover-pipeline-after-spill-ohio-wetland-n758186
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1368 on: May 16, 2017, 09:50:17 PM »
Apparently the powers that be do not want a discussion about how likely it is that Trump will stay in office and support oil and gas over renewables.  I have removed my comment.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2017, 10:24:08 PM by Bob Wallace »

Jim Pettit

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1175
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 11
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1369 on: May 16, 2017, 10:15:18 PM »
Csnavywx & Bob & everyone else: This isn't the forum for purely-political comments that have nothing to do with oil and gas. Please move them over to a more appropriate place, such as the "Trump Presidency' thread under 'The Rest'. Then stay on topic, if you would.

Thanks!
« Last Edit: May 16, 2017, 10:26:19 PM by Jim Pettit »

Jim Pettit

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1175
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 11
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1370 on: May 16, 2017, 10:24:20 PM »
Perhaps if you were to read up the comment string you would understand the relevance.

Let's try again: this isn't the forum for political comments that have nothing to do with oil and gas. Please move them over to a more appropriate place, such as the "Trump Presidency' thread under 'The Rest'. Then stay on topic, if you would. It's getting to that time of year that off-topic comments can't and won't be tolerated.

Thanks for your cooperation.

rboyd

  • Nilas ice
  • Posts: 1334
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 226
  • Likes Given: 52

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1372 on: May 17, 2017, 05:49:47 AM »
Oil Prices As Little As 4 Years From Collapse Amid Historic Shift In Transport: Report

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/05/16/oil-prices-historic-shift-transportation-stanford-tony-seba_n_16641540.html?utm_hp_ref=canada

The actual report:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/585c3439be65942f022bbf9b/t/591a2e4be6f2e1c13df930c5/1494888038959/RethinkX+Report_051517.pdf
If oil drops to $25/ bbl, and holds, the high price sources will dry up, and renewables will have a new, much lower bar to dip beneath to remain competitive.
I'm not sure how much lower piped natural gas can go, nor am I convinced that LNG can ever compete without huge subsidies, or perhaps sanctions that skew the markets.
Island nations, those without their own gas resources, or access to undersea pipelines may, in the long term, be priced out of any hope of success as an exporting manufacturer.


Burning fossil fuels other than natural gas is far too dirty to be allowed in the long term, but coal rich nations will be hard pressed to "leave it in the ground". Once electric vehicles clean up the transport sector, and burning coal has been shunned for heating and generating electricity, will burning oil for heating & generation be the next to fall?
I can see oil based chemical production, coal and coke for steel production, with natural gas fulfilling it's role as the last ff that is being burned on an industrial scale. It's far from a perfect future, but perhaps the best that we can realistically hope for.


How the world's nations cope economically under such conditions is still unknowable. If any form of BAU, no matter how "green" survives I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Terry


Tor Bejnar

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 4606
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 879
  • Likes Given: 826
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1373 on: May 17, 2017, 06:03:08 AM »
I'm reminded of articles Ive read (decades ago) about how oil companies helped fund the original criminalization of marijuana in the USA as a round-about way of getting rid of plant oil research for plastics, leaving all the R&D funds for petroleum.  It worked. [edit: see below]
« Last Edit: May 17, 2017, 05:03:59 PM by Tor Bejnar »
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1374 on: May 17, 2017, 06:24:56 AM »
I'm reminded of articles Ive read (decades ago) about how oil companies helped fund the original criminalization of marijuana in the USA as a round-about way of getting rid of plant oil research for plastics, leaving all the R&D funds for petroleum.  It worked.
Your above reminded me of the buying & trashing of the nations trolley systems. Big Oil, Big Rubber, & Big Auto have always been such wonderful assets to the country.[/sarc]


Terry

gerontocrat

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 20376
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 5289
  • Likes Given: 69
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1375 on: May 17, 2017, 03:07:24 PM »
Predicting oil prices is a mug's game? Risk analysis says at the moment Venezuela most likely to give a price shock.

"How Venezuela Stumbled to the Brink of Collapse" NY Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/14/world/americas/venezuela-collapse-analysis-interpreter.html?_r=0

And for something entirely different ? Marijuana.

The story I heard was that an English Doctor in Cairo in the early years of the last century noted that all the patients in his mental hospital smoked Hashish, and concluded Hashish was the cause of their mental problems and wrote a paper about it. This was presented at an international conference and the participants decided that the drug should be made illegal. (This incidentally deprived the US Treasury of several million dollars p.a. in import duties).

True? Je ne sais pas.




"Para a Causa do Povo a Luta Continua!"
"And that's all I'm going to say about that". Forrest Gump
"Damn, I wanted to see what happened next" (Epitaph)

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1376 on: May 17, 2017, 04:34:37 PM »
It IS interesting that we see the oil market trying to "stay relevant" at the same time that RussiaGate plays out.

Vladii wants the price of his Russian oil to stay as high as possible, and is none too pleased with having to "cap" his production.  At the same time.....Vladi is starting to "get exposed" in the RussiaGate investigations.  I think Vladi will be naked by the time those are over.....and oil is certainly heading down to "test some lows".

Fascinating to see both the economic AND political ramifications of those colliding....

FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Tor Bejnar

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 4606
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 879
  • Likes Given: 826
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1377 on: May 17, 2017, 05:11:30 PM »
Further to my "oil industry killed mj" above: here is part of an interview conducted in 1997-98 and published by Frontline that throws some cold water on what I wrote.
Quote
INTERVIEWER

Speaking of hemp, I've heard what partly motivated the original laws against marijuana was William Randolph Hearst, who wanted to have a monopoly on paper manufacturing. Hemp was in competition for paper.

DR. DAVID MUSTO

There have been some unusual explanations of why we had the Marijuana Tax Act. The first one I remember having heard in the 60s was the alcohol industry just got through prohibition, and they realized that if you could grow marijuana in your backyard,[it] would cost you simply nothing to get high, you wouldn't buy alcohol. So the alcohol industry was behind the Marijuana Tax Act.

Then I've heard, it was actually the DuPont Company, because the DuPont Company was coming out with nylon, and they were very fearful of competition from hemp, which was also very strong fiber. Therefore, the DuPont Company was behind the Marijuana Tax Act. And then there's the argument that William Randolph Hearst was really behind the Act because he had paper plantations and trees to make paper and you could also make paper out of hemp and therefore he wanted to get rid of hemp.

And I've looked into these; there's no evidence that they were correct. I think they come from people who can't believe that you could actually just be against marijuana just because it's marijuana.

And the Marijuana Tax Act, which I've looked into at great length, is fully explained by this agitation, which really was linked to the fear of Mexican immigrants and the pressures on the government, and then they're using the National Firearms Act model to form the Marijuana Tax Act. And I see no evidence that either William Randolph Hearst, the DuPont Company, or the liquor industry was behind it. But I would say about every five or six years a new explanation comes up.
Nonetheless, what I recall reading (memory slightly refreshed) was that DuPont quietly aided (financially) the passage of the MJ Tax Act, somehow, but did not in any way spearhead the effort.  I wonder if this was also true of Hearst and the alcohol folks.
« Last Edit: May 17, 2017, 05:51:56 PM by Tor Bejnar »
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

crandles

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 239
  • Likes Given: 81
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1378 on: May 17, 2017, 05:49:55 PM »
Fascinating to see both the economic AND political ramifications of those colliding....

Is that fascinating as in the Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times"?

Buddy

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
  • Go DUCKS!!
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 49
  • Likes Given: 34
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1379 on: May 17, 2017, 09:24:45 PM »
Quote
Is that fascinating as in the Chinese curse "may you live in interesting times"?

LOL... yea....I guess that comment of mine was just SLIGHTLY general in nature. ;)

What I did mean....was this:

We have the Russians interfering in the US elections to help themselves AND Donnie.  But when all is said and done....Vladi may end up hurting himself.  First....I don't think oil markets are going to be very strong in coming months, and I expect them to test some of their "prior lows".

If the oil markets head south....Vladi will be in big trouble again.  Because Russia WILL NOT DO WELL with oil below $40.  So Vladi may have just peed into the wind. ;)  And at some point....Vladi may have some angry Russians to answer to.  All that....AND....Donnie will be out of office prematurely.





FOX (RT) News....."The Trump Channel.....where truth and journalism are dead."

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25757
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1380 on: May 18, 2017, 09:23:47 PM »
Algeria:  Another Oil Exporter Plans to Curb Subsidies as Budget Suffers
Quote
Algeria is working on proposals to further curb energy subsidies and introduce cash transfers for those most in need, according to its finance minister, the latest push by the OPEC member to cut spending while avoiding unrest.

The plan being developed with the World Bank comes as Algeria is embarking on a three-year fiscal consolidation program to offset the decline in its oil revenues. It lifted gasoline and diesel prices by 14 percent and 11 percent respectively last year. Total subsidies still account for 27 percent of gross domestic product.

As in fellow North African nations Egypt and Tunisia, it needs to be wary of stoking protest, especially given high youth unemployment rate. Government spending on housing, health care and basic foodstuffs helped suppress dissent in the years following the Arab Spring.

Implementation “will be gradual,” Finance Minister Haji Baba Ammi said in an interview in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, on the sidelines of an Islamic Development Bank conference. “Our policy is to manage the transition.” Continuing free universal health care is “not possible,” he said, without elaborating....
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-18/another-oil-exporter-plans-to-curb-subsidies-as-budget-suffers
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1381 on: May 18, 2017, 10:51:21 PM »
Algeria:  Another Oil Exporter Plans to Curb Subsidies as Budget Suffers
Quote
Algeria is working on proposals to further curb energy subsidies and introduce cash transfers for those most in need, according to its finance minister, the latest push by the OPEC member to cut spending while avoiding unrest.

The plan being developed with the World Bank comes as Algeria is embarking on a three-year fiscal consolidation program to offset the decline in its oil revenues. It lifted gasoline and diesel prices by 14 percent and 11 percent respectively last year. Total subsidies still account for 27 percent of gross domestic product.

As in fellow North African nations Egypt and Tunisia, it needs to be wary of stoking protest, especially given high youth unemployment rate. Government spending on housing, health care and basic foodstuffs helped suppress dissent in the years following the Arab Spring.

Implementation “will be gradual,” Finance Minister Haji Baba Ammi said in an interview in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, on the sidelines of an Islamic Development Bank conference. “Our policy is to manage the transition.” Continuing free universal health care is “not possible,” he said, without elaborating....
https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-05-18/another-oil-exporter-plans-to-curb-subsidies-as-budget-suffers
Ouch!
Pulling universal health care is a dangerous path to take. It's one of the most visible, most appreciated government programs & effects everyone in the country.
Not everyone uses new roads. Not everyone needs or appreciates the police. Everyone's family needs a doctor.
Terry

crandles

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 239
  • Likes Given: 81
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1382 on: May 19, 2017, 01:30:35 PM »
Ouch!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-39971667

China claims breakthrough in mining 'flammable ice'

Quote
Methane hydrates are thought to have the potential to be a revolutionary energy source that could be key to future energy needs - likely the world's last great source of carbon-based fuel.

Really? Ugg!

oren

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 9805
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 3584
  • Likes Given: 3922
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1383 on: May 20, 2017, 06:43:34 AM »
Yay! Now we don't need to wait for the methane gun to fire - we can pull the trigger ourselves :o

H2O world

  • New ice
  • Posts: 11
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 0
  • Likes Given: 0
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1384 on: May 20, 2017, 08:40:59 AM »
Never argue with stupid people they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.   
- Mark Twain

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1385 on: May 21, 2017, 09:41:15 AM »
Quote
China claims breakthrough in mining 'flammable ice'

If it helps them cut coal use that's a bad thing?  Half as much CO2 per MWh.  And highly dispatchable which makes for a good fill-in for wind and solar while storage technology matures.

A third wind, a third solar and a third methane would produce about 16% as much CO2 as 100% coal.

crandles

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3379
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 239
  • Likes Given: 81
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1386 on: May 21, 2017, 12:29:54 PM »
Quote
China claims breakthrough in mining 'flammable ice'

If it helps them cut coal use that's a bad thing?  Half as much CO2 per MWh.  And highly dispatchable which makes for a good fill-in for wind and solar while storage technology matures.

A third wind, a third solar and a third methane would produce about 16% as much CO2 as 100% coal.

Great if that is what happens and it is only a stepping stone towards fully renewables.
It was the " key to future energy needs" that sounded depressing to me.

Also once the assets to mine the stuff exists, there will be pressure to use those assets.

If it is cheaper and cleaner than mining coal and only replaces ff use then great. But if it means more ff use then there is a need to assess how much cleaner and how much more eventual ff use results.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25757
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1387 on: May 21, 2017, 03:16:47 PM »
An investigation into life in Venezuela, as it suffers due the crash of oil prices it depended on.

Venezuela: Where supplies are few and pain is everywhere
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/17/americas/venezuela-pain-and-poverty/index.html
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1388 on: May 21, 2017, 05:59:11 PM »
Quote
Great if that is what happens and it is only a stepping stone towards fully renewables.
It was the " key to future energy needs" that sounded depressing to me.

This phrase stood out to me...

Quote
likely the world's last great source of carbon-based fuel.

I read that as flammable ice will be China's last carbon-based fuel.  Coal and oil will go first, and they are a larger problem.  And there's the word "last", as in the end is coming.

It feels like we're seeing the world moving off fossil fuels.  The question is how much will we expand our efforts over time and how rapidly will we arrive at global carbon free energy.

Tor Bejnar

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 4606
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 879
  • Likes Given: 826
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1389 on: May 22, 2017, 04:01:42 PM »
Current Bloomberg Energy info (West Texas Intermediate is back over $50):
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25757
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1390 on: May 22, 2017, 08:57:33 PM »
Oil companies begin to capitulate: Total admits EVs will be 30% of new vehicle sales by end of next decade
Quote
For an oil company to forecast strong growth of EV’s, and to take steps to prepare for this future, is quite something, but that is exactly what Total has done. First with their purchase of a controlling stake [paywall] in the solar company SunPower Corp. in 2011. Secondly with their acquisition of battery maker Saft early in 2016. And then, later in the same year, Total announced to invest $300 million to install solar panels at 5,000 gas stations around the world. So, I think it is fair to say that Total is (reluctantly?) getting ready for a world in which oil will be less important for transportation purposes.

Joel Couse, Total Chief Energy Economist said during the 2017 Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s conference in New York last Tuesday:

“EVs will make up 15 to 30 percent of new vehicles by 2030, after which fuel “demand will flatten out. Maybe even decline.”

and

“The surge in battery powered vehicles will cause demand for oil-based fuels to peak in the 2030s.”

Couse’s forecast for the growth in EV’s is the highest yet by a major oil company and exceeds BNEF’s own forecast, said Colin McKerracher, head of advanced transport analysis at Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“That’s big,” McKerracher said. “That’s by far the most aggressive we’ve seen by any of the majors.”
...
https://electrek.co/2017/04/27/oil-company-total-forecasts-evs-30-percent-of-new-vehicle-sales/
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1391 on: May 22, 2017, 09:25:42 PM »
Total should use that $300 million and buy a solar farm or two.  As those gas stations are torn down over the next few years the panels will be sold off at a loss and all the installation costs will be lost.

A solar farm could keep making them money for a century.

Quote
“EVs will make up 15 to 30 percent of new vehicles by 2030

EVs may make up as much as 90% of new vehicle sales by 2030.  Or higher.  I suppose one should expect oil companies to change their stance slowly, but they better not be too slow or they'll have a Kodak moment.

Sigmetnow

  • Multi-year ice
  • Posts: 25757
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 1153
  • Likes Given: 430
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1392 on: May 22, 2017, 10:33:04 PM »
Total should use that $300 million and buy a solar farm or two.  As those gas stations are torn down over the next few years the panels will be sold off at a loss and all the installation costs will be lost.

A solar farm could keep making them money for a century.
...

There's been some discussion about how gas stations might convert to charging stations, since they make most of their profits from their convenience stores even today.  Until ultra-fast charging becomes the norm, a charging customer is a captive customer, so give them somewhere to spend their time and money.  :)

Most EV owners will do most of their charging at home.  But there are people who live in apartments or condos who don't have access to residential charging, and if they can't charge at work, commercial charging stations could fill a need.  And, when most EVs have ultra-fast charging capability, maybe it will become a habit to "fill up" with electrons during their morning stop for coffee.
People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1393 on: May 22, 2017, 10:40:19 PM »
The gas stations with which I am familiar don't have much space to install rapid chargers.  And those lots are going to need major cleanup when the stations go under.

Fast food and other restaurant parking lots as well as shopping center/grocery store parking lots seem best to me.  People who park to charge will have something to do rather than watch gasmobile drivers fill their tanks.  And people can combine their routine shopping and charging.

Some people are going to need a public place to charge until we (hopefully) install a lot of curbside charging.

Tor Bejnar

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 4606
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 879
  • Likes Given: 826
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1394 on: May 22, 2017, 11:01:08 PM »
Texaco was successful in the early days, I've been told, partly because they had dependably clean restrooms.  Tomorrow it might be "free [what's better than wi-fi?] and clean restrooms while you charge".  To make this "Oil and Gas" related, we'll have to make the term "gas station" disassociated with ff, somehow.  Future advert: "Come to our 'What a gas' Station and see previews of the best holograms."
Arctic ice is healthy for children and other living things because "we cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice"

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1395 on: May 22, 2017, 11:26:03 PM »
Texaco was successful in the early days, I've been told, partly because they had dependably clean restrooms.  Tomorrow it might be "free [what's better than wi-fi?] and clean restrooms while you charge".  To make this "Oil and Gas" related, we'll have to make the term "gas station" disassociated with ff, somehow.  Future advert: "Come to our 'What a gas' Station and see previews of the best holograms."

I spend time in Bangkok most years.  They've built new highways and their gas stations include great restroom facilities.  Very clean.  I especially like the urinals which are located on the back wall of the restrooms, out in the open with a partial roof over for rain shelter and a short privacy wall behind.  Peeing out in the open air as it should be done.

What I see in the future along main US travel routes are charging oases.  Parking places with outlets.  Multiple restaurant choices (food court style).  Some shopping.  Place to walk the dog.  Free wifi.  Maybe even a short walking trail where folks could get some exercise.


TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1396 on: May 23, 2017, 10:41:42 AM »
What I see in the future along main US travel routes are charging oases.  Parking places with outlets.  Multiple restaurant choices (food court style).  Some shopping.  Place to walk the dog.  Free wifi.  Maybe even a short walking trail where folks could get some exercise.


Not too different from the On Route facilities in Canada. Plenty of truck & auto parking, half a dozen fast food outlets, wi-fi, convenience store, arcade games, dog walk and a few picnic tables in a small park.
Not ideal, but not a terrible way to spend a half hour or so.
They're located ~1 hr. apart on the major highways & would be far too expensive to site in urban settings primarily due to the size of the lot required.


Terry

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1397 on: May 23, 2017, 05:18:38 PM »
I've seen some rest stops like that.  I expect we'll see more.

In urban areas (not dense city centers) I expect we'll see the rapid charging spots at grocery stores, gyms, shopping malls.  Places where people are going to want to go anyway. 

In dense city centers rapid charging may be installed in parking garages  where there's the mechanism for charging drivers if they leave their car in the parking space once charging has finished.  Parking garages and lots should be full of lower wattage outlets for those who park for hours.

TerryM

  • First-year ice
  • Posts: 6002
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 893
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1398 on: May 23, 2017, 07:14:04 PM »
I've seen some rest stops like that.  I expect we'll see more.

In urban areas (not dense city centers) I expect we'll see the rapid charging spots at grocery stores, gyms, shopping malls.  Places where people are going to want to go anyway. 

In dense city centers rapid charging may be installed in parking garages  where there's the mechanism for charging drivers if they leave their car in the parking space once charging has finished.  Parking garages and lots should be full of lower wattage outlets for those who park for hours.


In Northern Quebec each parking meter is equipped with 110v for onboard oil or battery heaters. Onboard slow chargers from 110v might be a cheap option, and a powered parking meter just makes sense everywhere.


Terry

Bob Wallace

  • Young ice
  • Posts: 3855
    • View Profile
  • Liked: 41
  • Likes Given: 5
Re: Oil and Gas Issues
« Reply #1399 on: May 23, 2017, 08:18:33 PM »
Quote
Onboard slow chargers from 110v might be a cheap option, and a powered parking meter just makes sense everywhere.

Sure.  Or 240 vac.  The average EV can recharge in three hours on a 240 vac outlet.  Just need a card swipe or cellphone activated billing system.

If vandalism/unplugging is a problem then we could move to wireless charging.