Archive for the ‘Oil and natural gas’ Category

Oil time bomb keeps ticking

As oil hovers in the $80 per barrel range and the faltering global economy struggles to recover from the current decline, the need to invest in alternative energy and identify viable alternatives t

Arab States Go Nuclear to Close Power Gap, Catch Up With Iran

The idea of commercial reactors secretly processing weapons-grade nuclear material has always alarmed Washington, which for decades has used its clout in the region to keep the Mideast as nuclear-free as possible.

The Upcoming Montana Oil Boom

For Montana’s oil industry, the carpet was pulled out from underneath them when the media’s attention was snatched away by the state’s neighbor to the east…

The Panic Button

I suppose it was inevitable that we would arrive at the moment in the ongoing oil spill crisis at which the baby would be thrown out with the bath. That moment came at about 7 minutes into President Obama’s press conference on the spill yesterday. After announcing the suspension of offshore drilling in Alaska, the cancellation

Will Oil Hit $300 A Barrel in 2010 Due To Mid-East Tensions?

There have been growing tensions between Iran and many other countries in the region. Although the media has been covering them, I do not think the media realizes the severity of these recent events.

Top 10 Energy Stories of 2009

Here are my choices for the Top 10 energy related stories of 2009. Previously I listed how I voted in Platt’s Top 10 poll, but my list is a bit different from theirs. I have a couple of stories here that they didn’t list, and I combined some topics. And don’t get too hung up on the relative rankings. You can make arguments that some stories should be higher than others, but I gave less consideration of whether 6 should be ahead of 7 (for example) than just making sure the important stories were listed.

Peak Oil Should Still Worry You: The Hot Air in New Natural Gas Estimates

In light of this, recently revised estimates of Natural Gas reserves in North America should be taken with a grain of salt even thought they have some people calling the United States the Saudi Arabia of natural Gas. These excited comparisons are based on new techniques that allow natural gas to be extracted directly from Shale formations. Geologists have always known that natural gas exists in shale formations. (You can crack a chunk of shale and hold a match up to it and momentarily get a flame.)

Energy body rejects whistleblower allegations of oil cover up

The whistleblower, who reportedly refused to be identified for fear of reprisals, told the newspaper that: “Many inside the organization believe that maintaining oil supplies at even 90 million to 95 million barrels a day would be impossible, but there are fears that panic could spread on the financial markets if the figures were brought down further.”

Current Energy Plans ‘Unsustainable,’ IEA Says in New Outlook

The International Energy Agency’s new World Energy Outlook details the challenge facing the world: Despite two years of recession, energy use is going to recover and grow dramatically over the next two decades. That’s especially true for electricity and for developing countries.