Big Oil Not Keen on Obama’s Green Lead

The Obama administration wants to reduce oil consumption, increase renewable energy supplies and cut carbon dioxide emissions in the most ambitious transformation of energy policy in a generation.

But the world’s oil giants are not convinced that it will work. Many of the oil companies are staying on the sidelines, balking at investing in new technologies favored by the president, or even straying from commitments they had already made.

“In my view, nothing has really changed,” Rex W. Tillerson, the chief executive of Exxon Mobil, said after the election of President Obama.

Indeed.

“We don’t oppose alternative energy sources and the development of those. But to hang the future of the country’s energy on those alternatives alone belies reality of their size and scale”

Spoken like a true Big Oil executive.

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Utilities Prepare to Use Biogas in Natural Gas Pipes

A recent story on on Enbridge Gas Distribution and its early investigation of biogas-injection into its natural gas pipelines. It’s already being done in several European countries and some U.S. states, and is even mandated in countries such as Germany. Enbridge, and Terasen Gas in British Columbia, are among a number of gas utilities in North America that are trying to prepare themselves for the day when “bio-methane” will become a common component of natural gas pipeline infrastructure. Will the biogas quality affect the pipeline? Can it be used in all natural gas appliances without problem? How much does it cost to scrub out impurities? What’s the best source: landfills, sewage treatment plants, biodigesters? All questions that are being asked and answered. Indeed, the Gas Technology Institute is in the middle of a $1.6 million (U.S.) study aimed as answering these questions.

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True Blue Natural Gas Blog

A useful blog (quite regularly updated) on natural gas

Natural Gas Intelligence Press

Intelligence Press - Excellent news site , regularly updated, for natural gas - link

Natural Gas discussion @ 2009 Energy Conference

Rick Smead of the American Clean Skies Foundation spoke of the benefits of natural gas in keeping the air clean. He noted that the opportunities provided by the production from gas shale give a step change to the supply available and that it is just a case of going out and working out how to get it.

Jim Simpson of BENTEK who provide real time supply data and modeling. He seemed to think that it is more likely that it will stay below or at $4.

Brian Jeffries of the Wyoming Pipeline Authority talked of the conditions (93% of Wyoming’s energy is exported) that led to the creation of the authority.

Christine Tezak had, until the recent debacle, been working for the Stanford Group and brought up some of the problems that might face the growth of the industry.

John Strom of Haddington Ventures talked a little on bulk energy storage and particularly wind energy with its need to even out the supply load.

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Indiana Clean Coal Project with Synthetic Natural Gas Technology

Indiana solidified its place as a leader in homegrown clean energy production after Gov. Daniels signed into law today a bill to bring Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) technology to the state, billions in energy savings and new jobs.

Senate Enrolled Act 423 was the first bill the governor signed into law for the 2009 legislative session.

Authored by Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield) the new law allows the Indiana Finance Authority to purchase SNG directly from power plants and sell the gas to utilities dollar for dollar under a 30-year contract. Hershman said through the state’s new contract, Hoosiers may see a significant reduction in their energy bills.
From left to right: Sen. Jim Merritt (R-Indianapolis), co-author of SEA 423, and Sen. Brandt Hershman (R-Wheatfield), author of SEA 423, join Gov. Daniels as he signs the first bill of the legislative session into law which extends Indiana’s leadership in clean coal.

Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG) is created when coal is put through a gasification process which safely removes the vast majority of unwanted pollutants, leaving a clean burning pipeline-quality gas that can be transported and used just as natural gas is used to heat many Hoosier homes. Synthetic Natural Gas is produced with 99 percent fewer emissions than a traditional coal power plant.

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Separating CO2 from Natural Gas - Royal Dutch Shell, PT Pertamina

As state run oil and gas firm PT Pertamina is selecting partners for the development of the Natuna D-Alpha gas block, the Netherlands-based Royal Dutch Shell Plc is promoting its technology which it claims is applicable to gas fields contaminated with high levels of CO2. PT Shell Indonesia's president director, said the company had been developing a combined technology to separate CO2 from natural gas. It is expected this combined technology will be able to deal with CO2 contaminated fields with the degree of contamination up to 90 percent.

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Oil companies abandon Alberta carbon capture

Several big oil producers have pulled out of Alberta's $2-billion carbon capture and storage plan.

"It seems like even the oil industry is starting to admit what Greenpeace has been saying all along: carbon capture and storage is expensive and unproven," says Mike Hudema from Greenpeace.

The province confirms that eight companies have abandoned their carbon capture plans including, Suncor, Syncrude and Petro-Canada.

The province set up a $2-billion fund which companies could apply to access.

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Chennai Petro to implement integrity pact

In a bid to maintain complete transparency in contracts and procurements, Chennai Petroleum Corporation (CPCL) has signed a MoU with Transparency International India (TII) for implementing an integrity pact.

The pact is a tool developed by the Berlin based Transparency International for enhancing the degree of fairness and transparency in procurement and contracts, resulting in substantial improvement in system and reduction in corruption in public dealings.

By signing this MoU, CPCL said in a statement it joins select corporates in India which adhere to this model which binds a company and its suppliers\contractors to ethical conduct in contracts and implementation of projects.

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EPRI Research - Coal-Fired Power with Solar

While environmental groups argue merits of various green energy alternatives, EPRI plans for solar steam to reduce coal consumption.

As renewable energy technologies become more commonplace, more questions emerge as to the practicality and other problematic side-effects from otherwise promising approaches. Even solar technologies have come into question with problems related to disposing of spent photovoltaic panels.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) assists the electric utility industry by researching new technologies related to the generation, delivery, and use of electric power. Its member utilities are responsible for more than 90% of the electricity generated in the U.S., with international participation from 40 countries. The group has researched many environmental and renewable projects, guiding development from concept through evaluation, texting, and commercialization.

As one of its renewable energy projects, EPRI is in the evaluation phase with two new projects to study solar steam generation that can supplement conventional thermal technologies, allowing utilities to increase output or reduce fossil fuel consumption. The objectives of the studies are to determine the practicality and effectiveness of adding solar steam generation to existing natural gas combined cycle plants and conventional coal-fired plants.

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Biomass coal from Carbonscape offers storage and fuel

A new machine dubbed the "Black Phantom" can turn biomass into manmade coal.

Carbonscape, a New Zealand-based start-up, describes its invention as an industrial-sized microwave that can cook plant waste, wood waste, and "even sewage" into coal.

Carbonscape also claims that the machine captures and stores more carbon than the amount of carbon generated by the electricity needed to power it for the process.

Why would anyone want to make more coal when humans are desperately trying to get out from under the carbon dioxide mess we've been making since the Industrial Revolution?

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Clean Coal as Energy Source Faces Challenges

Oxford Analytica says coal will find its dominance in the power sector eroded unless it embraces ‘clean coal’ technology.

This cannot be achieved without Carbon Capture and Storage, which is an unproven technology, OxAn say in an analysis for the outlook for coal.

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Coal Bed Methane CBM Breakthrough from Universal Well Site Solutions

UniSkid™ provides plug-and-play profit generator for CBM gas fields

Universal Well Site Solutions, the leader in full-service automated and wireless well-site production solutions for CBM, shale gas and low pressure traditional gas projects, announces the completion of comprehensive field testing and the market availability of its proprietary well-site manager, the UniSkid™.

An industry advance designed to replace old processes and provide instant CBM well-site hookup, with all equipment communicating immediately, the UniSkid is a breakthrough in gas field plug-and-play technology. It cuts set-up time and ensures operators reliable, real-time information that is the foundation for increased production and profits.

““The UniSkid is designed from more than a dozen years of actual field experiences, not in an engineer’s test area,” commented Cathy Conner, Chair and CEO of Oklahoma City-based Universal Well Site Solutions (www.universalwellsite.com).

The UniSkid platform allows customers to determine what additional well site equipment they would like to include in their design. Separators, gas measurement, water measurement and communication devices are primary options owners can include in their customized UniSkid. “We work with your engineers or field personnel to define a fully customized product that will ensure the least cost alternative for installation, portability, communications and functionality,” said Conner. “Our products have always been known for their durability and long-run-time life in the field.”

All UniSkids are fitted with an Operator Interface that can be manually programmed. Communication antennas are another skid option to enable information transfer from the well-site to an operator’s computer anywhere in the world. The UniSkid is a low-cost, profit-maximizing alternative to old well site trenching, integration and installation of equipment that has historically required individual set-ups and costly project management on site.

For 13 years, UWSS has been in specializing in designing, manufacturing, marketing and servicing total wellhead production solutions, the components of which are remote monitoring, measurement, communications and metering. UWSS is a global company headquartered in Oklahoma City, with offices in Loveland, CO, and Gillette, WY.