Renewable Resorces creates possibile opportunities

The talk for clean energy and “green” jobs have been lingering before the recession and have continued to linger across the globe. Meeting targets on greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy security will require hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in renewable technologies, and this opens up the attractive prospect of an explosive growth in jobs in these new industries at a time when more traditional jobs are disappearing. It is still unclear where the availability of jobs will be, but many countries are jumping to the opportunity to “go green” (Harvey). Despite the recession, the clean energy market has been doing very well (Harvey). Even though the market continues to grow, the openings for green jobs will depend on stimulus money (Harvey).

The development of this market will mean job openings for many. There is no knowledge of what positions will be available, but it can benefit many. Because this s a global market, it can benefit many countries, from the industrial busy cities to the rural areas. I am very hopeful that the clean energy market will continue to succeed and create better alternative options for the globe.

-Kelsey Tomlinson


http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/18dbd5f6-3867-11df-aabd-00144feabdc0,dwp_uuid=5d673f92-3882-11df-aabd-00144feabdc0.html

Sections of the Energy Industry

There are several different areas in the oil and natural gas industry. The industry itself can be broken up into three separate sections; upstream, midstream and downstream. Within each of those sections there are a multitude of jobs unique to that piece.
The upstream sector is the part of the industry that searches for, collects and then sells the oil or natural gas. There are plenty of jobs for scientists who test soil content, jobs for people who create the machines that dig and lay pipe, there are jobs for the people that build the equipment and there are jobs for people who sell the oil to the midstream market.
The midstream sector of the oil industry deals with processing the oil and natural gas, the storage of the resources and the transportation of materials. This sector involves a variety of jobs such as the processing of mass amounts of information, shippers who will physically ship materials. The shipping of these materials can involve anything from physical ships to truckers as well as via pipelines.
The downstream sector is the part of the industry that refines oil and natural gas and then sells it directly to consumers. This sector employs technicians who work in the refinery process, marketers who target the consumers, as well as a large number of franchised gas stations.
The energy industry is massive and it requires a huge range of workers with a variety of skills. There is not only a wide variety of workers there is also an enormously large workforce behind the energy industry alone. From the managers to the truckers every job in this industry is necessary for it to function properly.
-Tom Langevin

Azelton, Aaron. Fisher Investments on Energy. Hoboken New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Non-Fiction.

Germany Approves of New Energy Proposals

This past Tuesday, Germany approved of many different energy proposals. One in particular that sticks out more than the others is expanding the lifespan of the country's nuclear plants. The German government will also draw more energy for renewable energy, the renovations of power grids, and overall improving efficiency by 2050. "Four decades from now, the government wants greenhouse-gas emissions to be 80% lower". (Wall Street Journal) To increase to the reality of this goal, the German government's lifespan of the 17 nuclear reactors will be extended.

I am all for Germany finally approving of the new energy proposals because that will help put pressure on the rest of the nations around the world to progress themselves energy-wise. Even though this is a good thing for the future to have a "green" planet, the BDI Federation of German Industries believes what the government has done is acceptable but they also warned them that the investment for these utilities will be much more expensive than first expected. Even though the expenses will be very high, I feel it is necessary for a European country (such as Germany) to be noticed as a nation making a difference by improving their energy efficiency for the future.

-Michael Sheinfeld

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575519493309998222.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines

New Rules for Offshore Drilling

After the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the extraction of deepwater oil will never be the same. This topic has already altered the oil industry and continues to impact the regulations that many companies must follow. The United States Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar, plans to instate new laws for future offshore drilling and to soon release the ban that has been up for the past four months to prevent offshore drilling (Hughes). Salazar believes it will be a challenge to convince the government to lift the ban because the president’s administration does not believe the ban should be removed until all oil companies have agreed to comply with all the new laws involving offshore drilling (Hughes). Due to the extreme turmoil this most recent oil spill has caused, it should be obvious that stricter laws should be out in place and more heavily enforced to help avoid another accident.

Even though the new laws that will be put in place are an extremely important factor in the future of offshore oil drilling, the proponents for the case have their share of important reasons as to why the ban should be lifted as soon as possible. A major reason would be the loss of jobs since offshore drilling has been shut down (Hughes). This industry provides thousands of jobs to United States citizens. They are trying to get the ban lifted by November 30th with the understanding that the companies will be following much stricter guidelines (Hughes). The compromise for this solution would be to open the offshore drilling as soon as possible while seriously enforcing the new laws.

-Ashley Luddy

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100929-715409.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_middleHeadlines

China to Collaborate in New Contract With Russia

A new deal is in the works between China and Russia. China plans to offer Russia a large loan to the natural gas giant in Russia as part of a 30 year long gas contract. In this deal Russia seeks to build international competition and China seeks to buy gas more cheaply. The loan would allow the monopoly to apply the credit line toward the construction of gas pipelines therefore lowering the cost of delivering Russian gas to China. The logistics of the deal state that China is to buy 30 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year over the next 30 years. Exports of gas are expected to begin at the end of 2015 through a pipeline in the Altai Mountains.


Although China is not in a rush to finalize the deal, Russia would like to seeing as they feel they can bring diversity to the gas supply in Asia, while Europe’s demand for Russia’s oil is beginning to lessen. Experts are expecting the pipeline into China to be at first a little more expensive than if they were still able to have Europe as their largest export for gas, but the marginal profit gain to be well worth the extra expense. While China has already has deals for gas with the well off Turkish-men, Russia is really leaning on this new deal to bring in profit for them and boost their gas economy.


-Nicole Lombardo

(Wall Street Journal)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704116004575521433569135028.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines

Universal Energy

The United Nations estimates that an average of $35 billion-40 billion a year needs to be invested until 2030 so everyone on the planet will be able to cook, heat and light their premises, and have energy for productive uses such as schooling (The Economist). According to the International Energy Agency, the number of “energy poor” people will barely change, and by 2030 16% of the world will still have no electricity (The Economist). At the “Lighting Africa” conference in Nairobi in May, a World Bank project to encourage private-sector solutions for the poor, 50 lighting firms displayed their products, up from just a handful last year (The Economist). This shows a growing interest in bottom-up solutions and falling prices. Prices of solar cells have also fallen; the cost per kilowatt is half what it was a decade ago (The Economist). Solar cells can be used to power low-energy LEDs, which are energy-efficient and cheap; the cost of a set of LEDs to light a home has fallen by half in the past decade, and is now below $25 (The Economist). Richenda van Leeuwen of the Energy Access Initiative said at the UN Foundation in Washington, DC that this could eliminate kerosene light in the next ten years, which can have positive effects because families spend 30% of their income on kerosene and it causes indoor pollution and fires (The Economist).

Sam Goldman, the chief executive of D.light, pointed out that there is still a barrier
for the billions who cannot afford clean energy (The Economist). D. light has developed a range of solar-powered systems that can provide up to 12 hours of light after charging in sunlight for one day (The Economist). D.light’s most basic solar lantern costs $10;in order to be universally affordable the price would have to fall below $5 according to a International Finance Corporation study (TheEconomist). Much of the turmoil in bottom-up energy entrepreneurialism is focusing on South Asia; according to the International Energy Agency, 570m people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, mostly in rural areas, have no access to electricity (The Economist). One idea is to use locally available biomass as a feedstock to generate power for a village-level “micro-grid”. Husk Power Systems, an Indian firm, uses second-world-war-era diesel generators fitted with biomass gasifiers that can use rice husks as a feedstock. Wires are strung on cheap, easy-to-repair bamboo poles to provide power to around 600 families for each generator (The Economist). Husk was co-founded three years ago by a local electrical engineer, Gyanesh Pandey and has established five mini-grids in Bihar, India’s poorest state, where rice is a staple crop (The Economist). Consumers pay door-to-door collectors upfront for power, and Husk collects a 30% government subsidy for construction costs.
Other companies are building off of ideas and expanding them. Emergence BioEnergy, for example, aims to provide many entrepreneurial opportunities around energy production (The Economist). Another project includes aiming to switch women in India from gathering wood, which denudes forests, to using canisters of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) (The Economist). India’s four state-owned regional power companies, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation, will build a national network of thousands of LPG-powered community kitchens (The Economist). Local entrepreneurs will then provide the LPG and charge villagers to use the kitchens in 15-minute increments (The Economist).

Some of the challenges faced are providing the upfront investment for energy schemes, and building and maintaining the necessary distribution systems to enable them to reach sufficient scale (The Economist). Many of these companies are privately funded and may need non- profit funding in the future. Another problem faced is distribution, specifically in Africa and South Asia where majority of the world’s “energy poor” reside (The Economist). Promotion and education/training groups must be supplied for those areas and they must also be paid for. The main issue is coming up with enough money for this to succeed. Once these solar companies have developed a valid plan, the push for universal energy can begin.

- Kelsey Tomlinson

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesbysubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=8780295&story_id=16909923&CFID=148417885&CFTOKEN=36741354

Alternative Energy Will be the New Fossil Fuel

In 2010 the world is predicted to use 150 trillion kilowatt hours of power, a sharp increase from 2009 when the U.S., the largest consumer of power in the world, only used 3.7 trillion kilowatt hours. If this trend of global consumption continues to rise so sharply a shift will need to be made in where the U.S. gets its power. Many speculate that the energy industry will begin to move towards alternative fuels while the price of fossil fuels will undoubtedly rise as they become scarce and oil lines will become more difficult to lay.
As it stands now alternative energy is to expensive to effectively enter in to the market and compete with fossil fuels. Wind energy which is the largest for alternative only accounts for 1.5% of energy to be consumed. Some new promising fields include Algal bio-fuels that will produce fuel that can be used in all automobiles and airplanes. The U.S. government recently granted 141 million dollars for research and development of algal bio-fuels to Sapphire Energy who plans on creating a 300 acre refinery.
While this shift in the energy market is occurring it will still be a while before alternative energy starts to be a real competitor with fossil fuels. Several things will need to happen before alternative energy can have a chance. Government may have to sponsor more alternative energy research and do things like put taxes on oil imports to help make it more profitable for companies to switch their focus on to alternative energy. The change is unquestioningly coming it is simply a matter of time.

-Tom Langevin
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704757904575077312569582760.html?KEYWORDS=alternative+energy

First Solar Emerging as Elite Energy Company

First Solar is a public US solar energy company. As of now it is the world's largest photovoltaic company by market value. They are currently trying to build three new solar plants in North America. Photovoltaics are defined "as a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity" (dictionary.com). The big solar plant they are currently building is in Agua Caliente, California which is about 290 megawatt solar plant. They have plenty of other plants in different countries. Most of their original plants were built in Malaysia and more are currently being built there.

First Solar differentiated themselves from other photovoltaic solar energy plants because they do not use silicon-based cells, instead they use very thin-film cells from cadmium telluride, which is known for turning sunlight into electricity. Because of this new type of solar plant use, they became an instant multi-million dollar company about 5 years ago when their plants started to grow throughout the world. They also recently bought Nextlight Renewable Power in July for $297 million which added more than 500 megawatt projects which First Solar buys which then helps them build more systems throughout the world and then sells them to customers.

First Solar is an elite growing company throughout the world and will soon be the basis of all energy power plants, since we are now focusing on solar energy to make our planet more "green".

-Michael Sheinfeld

Cairn Energy Sees Hope in Greenland Well

Cairn Energy PLC has set up two wells for drilling for oil off the shores of Greenland. Their first well was shut down after no commercial discoveries were made with exploration costs amounting to 84 million dollars. Their second well seems to be more promising. The Chief Executive Bill Gammell made a statement saying that there are presence of both oil and gas in active form in the petroleum system in the basin. Cairn plans to continue exploring this well off Greenland’s west coast over the next few years.

The industry over all reacted well to the discoveries of potential oil despite the closing of their first well and its 84 million dollar write-off. Along with the discoveries of oil, Cairn’s shares have been trading 3% higher in the past few weeks. Though there has been good feedback there has also been bad. Canacccord Genuity said the write off was “clearly a disappointing result, even if there is a reason for long-term optimism.” Cairn has put much of its company in the hands of the Greenland project, but plans to sell the bulk of its stake to a mining company Vedanta Resources PLC for what could be as much as 8.5 billion.

Not only does Cairn have to worry about the fact that they have put so much trust in the shores off of Greenland for finding oil but also the fact that the company Greenpeace has recently targeted Cairn, claiming that their drilling posses too great a risk to the environment there.

-Nicole Lombardo

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704129204575505434270269628.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines

New Company to Assist in Development of U.S. Power Plants

Currently, Quantum Energy Partners is preparing to launch their newly developed company that will help develop power plants throughout the United States (Peters). Quantum Energy Partners is a leading provider in the global energy industry, and their new company should be just as influential. The new company will be named Quantum Utility Generation LLC, and QEP has gathered about one billion dollars through various resources to start the company (Peters). A considerable amount has been provided by investors signaling a strong belief that this company will thrive. The new company will be run by Larry Kellerman, former president of a power-plant generation subsidiary, and a team of other highly qualified professionals.

Within the next five years QUG should be making a significant impact in the oil industry and they will be getting a quick start by naming their first deal by the end of 2010. QUG is taking advantage of the opportunity to acquire failing energy companies because the prices for buying energy companies are currently very low due to a depressed market. However, the company is more focused on long-term supply needs and getting the energy market back in a better position (Peters). Kellerman believes the company will benefit from the need of new power supplies as coal companies continue to be shut down due to environmental regulations (Peters). This factor could ultimately lead to a huge shift in the energy market in our country.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704129204575506000363635496.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines

-Ashley Luddy

Inactive Oil Wells to be Plugged

Oil and gas companies must permanently plug thousands of inactive wells in the Gulf of Mexico of at least five years under a federal order issued Wednesday. This can cost well owners billions of dollars, but it could also create job opportunities for rig workers. The U.S. Interior Department and its offshore-drilling oversight agency said companies must cement 3,500 wells that aren't producing oil or gas. Another 650 oil and gas platforms must be dismantled if they are not being used; this becomes effective October 15. Companies are given 120 days to submit plans to decommission production facilities and wells. Under the regulation, any well that has not been used during the past five years for exploration or production must be plugged. Owners of these wells have to pay for the permanent sealing of the wells and cannot reopen them later for production. Stock prices of some oil-field service and offshore drilling companies have risen because investors have bet that the companies could profit from new government-mandated work. Director of Research and Development at the Center for Energy Studies at Louisiana State University, Mark Kaiser, estimated that the plugging and abandoning inactive wells and removing idle structures could total $1.4- $3.5 billion. He estimated that companies would be losing up $6-$18 billion in revenue from future production.

Many lawmakers have been concerned by abandoned wells after the April 20 oil spill by BP in the Gulf of Mexico. That well is temporarily plugged but could be permanently seal by Sunday, according to Coast Guard Administrator Thad Allen. The Interior Department said idle wells and platforms could threaten the environment and pose a financial liability if destroyed or damaged by an event such as a hurricane. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Michael Bromwich said that the risk of damages increase as the infrastructure ages.

Existing regulations require wells to be plugged and platforms to be dismantled within one year after a lease is terminated. But some lawmakers believe this rule hasn't been enforced. Under the new regulations, companies must decommission unused equipment even if the associated leases are still active. The government's success in overseeing the plugging of abandoned wells could depend on funding. The Interior Department has asked Congress for money to hire six workers to oversee the plugging and decommissioning process.

-Kelsey Tomlinson

Regulation for Natural Gas

In light of the recent gas line explosion on September 9th certain people are calling out for new safety regulations that make it so natural gas lines don't run through residential areas. While PG&E, the company that owned and oversaw the pipeline, said they would set aside 100 million towards a relief fund for damage done to property however this would not cover injuries or wrongful death suits. While this may bring some comfort owners of the 58 destroyed houses, it will bring very little solace to the families of the 4 confirmed dead and to the families of the 4 still missing.
Should PG&E do more to make up for this explosion? The report on who was responsible for this travesty have not been completed yet but should PG&E start off saying that they won't even try to compensate for those injured or killed? If this report finds that PG&E aren't liable should they even pay for the damage done to property?

Offshore Drilling Postponed

The Obama administration have decided to postpone the offshore drilling in the aftermath of the Gulf Shore oil spill because they are battling over the White House's climate-change policy. The Senate Appropriations Committee decided to vote on this offshore drilling issue this Tuesday, but the voting has been cancelled after Sen. Dianne Feinstein needed more time to evaluate the White House's request to raise the funding of offshore oil and gas drilling from $184 million to $250 million.

Michael Bromwich, the head of the agency who directs offshore drilling, pleads his case that if we do not get the additional resources needed, then the job will not be done effectively. The expiration to date to do deep-water drilling is November 30th. Bromwich is confident that the administration would not go past this expiration date. Bromwich also said that his agency is planning on rolling out new offshore drilling regulations by the end of the month once the Coast Guard and his agency and by a presidential panel uncover additional information about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

-Michael Sheinfeld

Lousiana Lawsuit Against Transocean Ltd.

After the recent oil spill the US Coast Guard declared that BP PLC and Transocean were responsible for the spill under the oil pollution act. While Transocean still denies there were not responsible for any underwater discharges of oil from the well head, the state of Louisiana is still not convinced. As of Wednesday Louisiana filed a lawsuit against Transocean Ltd. asking the judge to make Transocean broadly liable for the damages of the Gulf spill. Transocean pleaded it only takes responsibility for the oil that leaked from its rig not the oil that gushed from the well. The reason Louisiana wants to file a lawsuit against Transocean is because the liability of Transocean affects Louisiana’s ability to seek recovery of costs and damages related to this oil spill.

This case will be an important factor for the status of Transocean’s company in the future. If the judge rules against the case if could face much harsher financial penalties in the future. In the bigger picture the oil companies are taking a hit from the oil spill and now have to deal with not only the Louisiana lawsuits but many more as well as trying to get their oil in order and sales back on track.


-Nicole Lombardo

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703743504575494253381504666.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines

China Resources Gas Buying Assets

The Hong Kong gas company, China Resources Gas Group Ltd., is in the process of trying to buy a gas distribution company from its parent company, China Resources Holdings Group. The distribution company, Mega Fair Ltd., is being sold for $324.4 million in U.S. dollars and the price in Hong Kong dollars is about 70 times as much. China Resources Gas is currently attempting to raise as much money as it can in order to fund this large purchase.

Mega Fair Ltd. currently distributes gas to nine major countries in China. The company intends on benefiting from the rising demand for less-polluting energy sources in the country. They are also trying to keep up with Beijing’s push to lower the country’s use of crude oil. China Resources Gas is trying to buy the company for less than it is being offered because, even though they are experiencing difficulty raising the money, they believe they can expand Mega Fair’s market and strengthen customer support which would only benefit all of the parties involved. China Resources Holdings Group would be selling about 230 million of its shares to China Resources Gas. The final decision on this matter will be left to the shareholders of China Resources Holdings Group.

-Ashley Luddy

The push for ethanol

Green Energy is spending $2.5 million on the first national television campaign for ethanol. They said that they planned the campaign before the BP spill, but the spill helped to speed it up. Most policymakers agree that the bio fuel industry must move beyond corn ethanol; it is less efficient than the sugar-derived energy and can increase food prices. The new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) took effect on July 1st, which limits conventional ethanol to 15 billion gallons of the annual 36 billion gallons of renewable fuel which must be used for transport by 2022;the administration has just announced extra funding for algae-based bio fuels.

Corn ethanol is one the well-established among rising bio fuel solutions. From 2000- 2008 it rose from 1%-7% of America’s fuel supply. In February the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded that ethanol emits 20% less greenhouse gas than petrol. This may seem like a promising future for ethanol but the industry isn't satisfied. Production will soon hit the “blend wall”, which is when ethanol will meet 10% of fuel demand. The EPA only allows blends up to 10% ethanol, for more might corrode engines. The industry wants the EPA to raise the blend amount to 15%, though the decision was delayed in June.

Until the ruling is final, advocates want to continue their campaigns for alternative energy. For instance, they want the tariff on ethanol imports and a tax credit for blenders to be renewed once it expires in December. Also, they insist that the government require most new cars to be flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs), which will allow them to use blends of up to 85% ethanol, as well as petrol stations being required to install pumps that blend petrol with ethanol.

Kelsey Tomlinson

http://www.economist.com/research/articlesbysubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=8780295&story_id=16492491

Explanation for Oil Rig Explosion

On September 8, 2010 a report was released by BP stating that there were many factors that contributed to the explosion of the Macondo well which led to the death of 11 workers and a tragic oil spill in the Gulf Coast. This investigation which has been going on for four months was led by BP’s Head of Safety and Operations, Mark Bly. Along with him over 50 other researchers conducted experiments and tests to discover the reason for the explosion. It was determined from these studies that BP was not solely responsible for this accident and bias was not possible because the research team was made up of members outside of the BP industry who would have no reason to try to protect the company.

It was found that barriers at the bottom of the well failed to contain hydrocarbons that allow gas and liquids to safely flow through the well. This led to many other critical components of the rig to be ineffective, including the equipment to help stop the fire after the explosion. This has been the most valuable report thus far for explaining the rig explosion. BP and the research team plan to continue to provide any additional information which they are most likely to find.

-Ashley Luddy

India Law Threatens US Energy Deals

Both the US and India are two of the largest democracies in the world and with that, the US government is scrambling to preserve the benefits of a civil agreement with India. India is about to pass a law that has the potential to exclude US companies from it's market for nuclear power. This law, passed by India last week, would have been the final stage of the law that was beginning to assemble in 2005. The US was expecting India to put together this law so it would open a new market for different American companies. This new market would top nearly $150 billion in the coming years.

This new nuclear-liability law has caused much commotion throughout many American companies and even with the US government. The US and India are now trying to discuss ways for American nuclear suppliers to find a way around the new law. Options have been mentioned for the US and India to propose a government-to-government agreement. Another option that has been floating around the media is for President Obama to make a signing statement on this issue. I agree with the US industries that neither of these options would be viable options to get this nuclear-liability law done because it would ultimately cause havoc with New Delhi.

Overall the US and India are not very close to closing up this law because there are a lot more things that need to be thought about. Not only are there economic issues behind this law but the legal side of things are very confusing right now with both nations. Russia and France are as of now front runners to getting this law done with India. I believe that eventually the US government is going to get this law done with India but the US government needs to figure out with India on how they are going to handle the liability legislation before any of this can get figured out.

-Michael Sheinfeld

Chevron Pursues Oil Search Off the Shores of Liberia

Chevron Corp has said it will begin a three-year exploration program to find oil in the deep water off the shore of Liberia. Liberia doesn’t yet produce crude but has a lot of acreage and is a promising region for the future findings of new crude deposits. Chevron was lucky to find Liberia, a nation that is still accepting of foreign investments in its natural resources. The drilling is scheduled to begin next year and Chevron will have other base locations in countries such as Angola and Nigeria seeing as Chevron has a lot of business in Africa.

This new development in Liberia is the sign of great confidence in the country and could be what the country needs to pull it out of its rut. The country has been suffering from civil war and poverty. The development of oil and investment of a major oil industry could help repair their nation and boost it to the ranks of oil powers in Africa such as Uganda. The president of Liberia believes this foreign interest will help the economy as a whole through the creation of jobs and possible oil finds. Until now, Liberia’s main exports were rubber and timber, but this could change quickly in the future.

-Nicole Lombardo

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703453804575479981224884048.html?mod=WSJ_Energy_leftHeadlines

Gas Prices Fluctuate in the US

This article found in the Wall Street Journal discusses the up and down, but mostly down, trend of the oil industry over the past few months. It states that gas prices have fallen in eight consecutive sessions to an 11 month low and that very little experts see it rising anytime soon.
The article also shows the influence the climate has on the energy and gas industry. As word of a tropical storm comes around, gas prices and demands rise. Some speculate that this short-term rise could be the rally needed to lift the market, seeing as some data suggests that this trend will continue into October.
Seeing that there might be opportunity for the gas industry to have success in the upcoming months is important for the businesses so that they can begin planning on how to maximize the success.
Also mentioned, the storm is endangering 11% of the US gas production companies. Globalization here helps the US to still attain oil by other means. Although they are able to attain it, if the 11% of companies take a hit from the storm, gas prices will most likely rise again.


-Nicole Lombardo

Greenpeace threatens to sue UK Government

The British government has decided to continue to grant licenses for deep water offshore drilling before the causes of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been determined. Lawyers for Greenpeace have written to Chris Huhne, energy and climate change secretary, asking the British government to follow the US and delay any deep water drilling. Greenpeace asks that they stop the licensing process for any current offshore drilling and look into the investigation of the areas.

Greenpeace is upset that the UK government is allowing the deep sea drilling to continue as if the BP spill didn't happen; because no one has figured out what the exact problem is, all licenses need to be suspended. The US has delayed the building of any new wells until all investigations are clear, the European energy commissioner issued a similar demand. Greenpeace has requested a response within 14 days; if not given response then they will claim for a judicial review in order to pursue the lawsuit.

-Kelsey Tomlinson

Mariner Energy Inc. Experiences Another Fire

One of the things Mariner Energy Inc. is known for is the frequent fires they experience with fires and safety issues. This again occurred on Thursday when their platform on the Gulf of Mexico had caught on fire. Since 2007, the company has experienced 16 fires on their platforms right off of the Gulf of Mexico. In 2009, the company experienced 2 of these 16 fires. Though these spills, injuries, and fires are not unusual it is a little concerning that they have been happening so frequently with a huge enterprise like Mariner Energy Inc.

Mariner Energy Inc. is a large oil and gas company that is based out of Houston, TX. In April Mariner Energy agreed to be bought by Apache Corp. for $2.7 billion in cash and stock. Though this deal has yet to close, this is very important since Mariner gets more than 85% of it's oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico. That is also why fires are such a big deal for this company. They cannot afford to keep having these troubles since they rely on the Gulf of Mexico so much.

The pump that caught on fire Thursday, which is known as a Vermillion 380-A, was built in 1980 and has been pumping gas ever since then and has never experienced any troubles with fires and such. At the end of August, this platform had been pumping about 2,930 barrels/day. Though these fires have been occurring frequently, Brian Lively, an analyst with Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. which is also based out of Houston said that these fires will not interfere with the acquisition. But Apache was not going to comment on the story

-Michael Sheinfeld

Petrobas plans to harvest 5 billion barrels of oil from the Brazilian government

Petrobas is paying the Brazilian government 42.5 billion dollars to harvest 5 billion barrels of oil in government held areas, or approximately 8.51 a barrel for the rights to produce it.

This should not drastically effect the price per barrel for Petrobas because Petrobas wont have to pay special participation taxes on this oil.

Petrobas will use some of this profit to invest in a 4 year plan to double its oil output to 3.9 billion barrels a day. Most of the 224 billion dollar investment will be for drilling off Brazil's south-central coast. This would make Brazil the 5^th largest producer of oil and would place Brazil in the top 10 producers of exports.

This increase in the supply of crude oil will help to keep the price at a controlled level over the next few years. While Portubas doubles its daily output of crude oil it could potentially become an important trader with the United States. Aside from the obvious benefits of trade this would also relieve U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

Thomas Langevin

Crude Oil Prices Are Rising

Even though it is believed that the United States economy is in a recovery stage, the price of crude oil has recently been low. On Septemper 2, it took a surprising turn and the price raised $1.11 making the new price of a barrell $75.02. The October delivery will be at this price according to the New York Mercantile Exchange. However, on the ICE future exchange the price has been settled on $76.93. It is believed that the increase in the oil demand signifies a healthier economy. Claims for unemployment benefits have fallen by about 6,000 in recent months and this is most likely the reason for the increase in factory orders which in turn will bring a rise in transportation products. These products are the main users of oil and fuel; therefore, creating an even higher demand in fuel.

Currently the major occurance that could have an impact on the price of oil is the impending Hurricane Earl. This hurricane, along with many of the others that will be expected to occur in the Atlantic during this hurricane season, could potentially have a major negative impact on oil production. This and the fact that our country's supply of oil is currently the highest it's been in almost 30 years has been the reason the price of oil has been kept in such a tight, less expensive, range. This industry is on rocky ground right now, but this could definitely be a light at the end of the tunnel for the oil industry.

-Ashley Luddy