Ethanol is Insane and politicians Outside the Beltway are finally fighting it

by: energytribune posted date: July 12, 2013 in: Global News, North America

Of slate

By Ari LeVaux

The fact that most of the ethanol is made from corn means an increase in ethanol-blended gas could create or worsen, a variety of problems, such as rising food prices and high concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Ethanol production has also been linked to the spread of a dangerous form of e. e. coli.

But some States have shown that federal support for ethanol seems to be as irresistible as it is erroneous, the kind of the spine which could lead us towards an energy policy more intelligent. In June, Florida repealed its renewable fuels standard, including the mandate of this gasoline containing 10% ethanol. And in may, Maine Lawmakers approved a bill prohibiting the ethanol in gas and has asked the federal Government to do the same thing.

Republicans on the House Maine post the following on Maine.gov:

«[E] vidence that monte ethanol is a failure in almost every sense.» It takes more energy to produce it that provides the fuel. Food supplies from around the world have been disrupted because much of the corn crop goes to ethanol now. It costs taxpayers to billions of dollars in subsidies at a time when our nation is already 12 trillion $ debt. Even environmentalists have turned against her; Research shows that the production of ethanol increases the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere."

Democrat of Maine have voted and denounced ethanol as well. In fact, "bipartisan" begins to describe the diversity of opposition to ethanol. The many problems of fuel ethanol combined an orgy of strange bedfellows, including the oil lobby, environmentalists, gourmets, culinary, auto enthusiasts robots (cars do not like ethanol, either) and citizens of all political bents - basically everyone outside the corn belt and Beltway in D.C..

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More oil than ever shipping by rail

CNN

By Steve Hargreaves

With US oil production pipelines and growing operating at full capacity, the amount of oil transported by wagon jumped in the first six months of the year - jump of 48%.

And in the light of generally more important to put oil on the market - and derailment and explosion a train carrying oil to the Canada earlier this week, which killed at least 24 people, the goal is now on security.

Oil by rail deliveries totaled 355 933 carloads in the first half of this year, according to recent data from the Association of American Railroads. That happened only 5 358 carloads during the same period in 2009.

The rapid increase in rail transport oil is directly related to the boom in American oil production in places like Bakken Shale in North Dakota and Texas Eagle Ford. Most of rail shipments is expected to come from North Dakota. They are usually bound for refineries, along the coast and the Gulf Coast of the United States and the Canada.

Although oil transport by rail is usually more expensive than moving by pipeline or ship for long and the time of construction of pipelines pushed cars into service.

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OPEC sees oil demand down again

Voice of America News

By Joe DeCapua

Demand for crude oil from the OPEC countries is expected to decline again next year, as independent producers, including the United States, increase their supplies.

Times are changing gradually for OPEC, the Organization of the petroleum exporting countries. Its own surveys show how the global marketplace is changing as oil production increases.

"They calculate the supply from non-OPEC producers and they calculate global demand and therefore they calculate what remains of the pie for OPEC. The problem is that rest of the cake decreases next year because supply from independent producers - particularly the United States, but not only - increasing more rapidly that the application. So, essentially the leaves less of the market of OPEC next year, "said Richard Swan, Editorial Director of the new world of oil at Platts, key information providers on energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture.

OPEC estimates the demand for its crude oil next year will be around 29.6 million barrels per day. Swan said that it's about 1 million barrels per day below current production.

"That is potentially problematic for them."It implies that, at the current rate of production, they are over-supplying the market, said.

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Oil production of Brazil ANP sees million barrels per day to Libra

The Wall Street Journal

By Paul Kiernan

Studies conducted by the National Office of hydrocarbons from the Brazil or PDA show that peak occurred on the site of the offshore Libra oil nation is expected to reach 1 million barrels of oil per day, Director-general of the ANP Magda Jamil said at a Friday press conference.

The current average production of oil at the Brazil is just below 2 million barrels per day.

Ms. Chambriard Friday reaffirmed the key features of the auction of oil to balance development sites. It auction is scheduled for 21 October in Rio de Janeiro. This will be the first auction of oil development sites in the region known as the pre-salt, offshore area with oil ultradeep reserves.

Balance sites auction will rely on new rules that guarantee greater participation of State oil giant Petrobras (PBR, PETR4.BR) than previous auctions, which have sites outside the pre-salt region.

Ms. Chambriard repeated these recent statements by other Brazilian officials, indicating that the Brazilian Government expects to collect about 75% of all the possible development of balance profit and other sites pre-salt to auctions in the future.

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Japan utilities use less oil on the restart of nuclear power, new coal units

Bloomberg

by Tsuyoshi Yinajima

Utility of Japan has used less crude and fuel oil in June as the operation of two nuclear reactors and new units to coal helped to reduce the reliance on more expensive sources.

10 Regional electricity consumed about Japan 770,000 kiloliters of crude in June, down 27% from the previous year, according to data released today by the Federation of electric power Cos. of Japan. Use of oil has fallen by 37% to approximately 744 000 kilolitres, data show.

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OPEC To Boost Shipments By Most This Year, Oil Movements Says

Bloomberg

by Grant Smith

The Organization of petroleum exporting countries will increase shipments by the most this year that demand for the summer to drive fuel in the northern hemisphere approaches its peak, according to the movement of oil.

The group, which provides about 40% of the world's oil, will ship 24.32 million barrels per day in the four weeks that July 27, upwards by 630,000 barrels, or 2.7%, from 23,69 million in the period to June 29, the oil tracker said today in a report sent by e-mail. It is the largest gain in 2013 and brings exports to near their highest level of the year, according to the consultant. The figures exclude two of the 12 members of OPEC, Angola and Ecuador.

«Wholesale c'est ça, the interval between mid-July and early August, is when the peak occurs,» Roy Mason, founder of the company, said by telephone from Halifax, England. "There are certainly a revival in refining after extended service and weak demand in the second quarter. Much is going to the East, but there are enormously goes West. »

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Oil 'Exploration' work of the India to back Viet Nam

Of The Times Of India

NEW DELHI: Because finally, China agreed to the dialogue for a Code of conduct in the South China Sea, Viet Nam continues to strongly back work "prospecting and exploitation" by the India in parts of the region entering the exclusive economic zone of the Viet Nam.

After their 15th Commission meeting joint here, the two countries also signed an agreement for a credit line of 19.5 million $ that the India extend to the Viet Nam.

After the meeting with his Indian counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs Vietnamese Pham Binh Minh, said both sides discussed South and East China seas, accepting that the right of the United Nations on freedom of navigation on the high seas must be respected.

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Increase in oil Production to the United States from the sparks less Reliance of OPEC

From The Daily Beast

By Miranda Green

The United States is often painted as a nation short of energy dependent on foreign countries for most of its use of oil.  But that image is changing as the country nears full energy independence.

A report released this week shows that more and more to the United States produces more crude oil within its borders. Production rose last week to its highest level since January 1992 according to a recent report by the Energy Information Administration. The week ending July 5, the United States produced 7.4 million barrels per day, up 1.8% from the week previous and the highest weekly level in more than 20 years.

The increase is due in large part to more drilling and the sharp increase in hydraulic fracturing in the United States the technique controversial fracturing, or fracking, involves drilling into rock formations to release oil embedded in shale.  Many of the American crude oil reserves are located in the Midwest and along the Plains region. Two of the largest reserves are Bakken and Eagle Ford oil fields located in the North Dakota and Texas, respectively.

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China wants to end the blackouts with Western aid - and American coal

Forbes

By Ken Silverstein

When The president Obama says the measures that his administration would take to reduce carbon emissions, he spoke eloquently - American citizens "will have the satisfaction of knowing that the world we leave to our children will be better off for what we were doing". The biggest test, however, is to get other polluters of the world to join the crusade, namely China.

The China depends largely on coal to power its economy. But inside and global environmental pressures are forcing them to look at other options that include nuclear energy and hydropower. To do this, he needs a heck of a lot more foreign participation. By its own standards, China needs to attract 200 billion $ in privately by 2030 and will require billions all in 20 years, says the International Energy Agency.

The United States and China together produce about 42 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions. In this country, the totals are down due to the transition from coal to gas. But in China, they are on the rise, largely because it is the construction of a generator coal per month. While critics denounce heavy use of coal to China, his supporters are optimistic: is an economy growing at 8 per cent per annum while its energy demand is growing even faster. Facilities of coal, however, do more heavy loads.

The irony is that China entered its economic transformation at the same time, the global community is dealing with climate change. China, too, is trying to cope with some leaders of his ruling party, noting that growth there must be protected until this nation gets the only tools to regulate emissions.

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Beyond coal sale

The Huffington Post

By Benjamin Todd Jealous

The president Obama began the month last with an environmental speech from large-scale summer at Georgetown University. He gave a plan for its administration at the battle of climate change: among other things, the plans of the White House to limit the carbon emissions for power plants to coal and work to double renewable energy sources.

As this plan takes shape, it is important to remember that is most affected by climate change and pollution of coal specifically: communities in low-income and color.

Pollution from coal-fired electric plants is estimated to cause 13 200 premature deaths and 9,700 hospitalizations in the United States each year. She was associated with asthma attacks, lung inflammation, chronic bronchitis, irregular cardiac disorders and birth defects. Nothing of what is called 'check emissions' introduced in the past few years have been far enough to reduce these figures.

If you look more deep, we can see exactly which communities and neighborhoods bear the brunt of the impact. According to census data, the 6 million Americans who live within three miles of a coal plant have an average income of $18,400, compared to $21,857 throughout the country. Thirty - nine percent are people of color. Thus, emissions from the combustion of coal often wrong those who are least able to afford the effects of exposure.

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The rise of natural gas will lead to an increase in exports?

Wall St. cheat sheet

By Curtis Tate

Natural gas storage is a bit this week in the United States while all the stocks are still down from last year as the consumption of natural gas in the United States continues to increase, according to a Report of Energy Information Administration.

The market gas natural develops in the United States, where the abundance of natural gas reserves has dramatically altered the landscape of energy.

Web site explores also the development trends of consumption of energy to the United States the IBD., where new sources have been used, although fossil carbon fuels were a part of the image for more than 100 years.

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Western Group supports the proposal of nuclear reactor

The Seattle Times

By Shannon Dininny

A consortium of Western utilities and a designer of nuclear reactors have submitted a proposal to the U.S. Department of energy to build a small nuclear reactor in order to meet the future demand for carbon-free energy.

The proposal seeks millions of dollars in grants for the vigorous project through licensing and permitting processes, which takes years to walk. Earlier a reactor would be built is probably 2023.

Among the participants: Northwest Energy, a consortium of public power which runs on nuclear energy only commercial plant in the Northwest and had once gone to the largest municipal bond default in American history on a project failed to build five nuclear reactors in the 1980s.

Energy Northwest has previously issued the prospect of increasing its production of nuclear 27 public members and municipalities.

The idea has stalled in the past due to the high financial investment required and the backlash against nuclear energy in one of the more environmentally friendly areas of the country.

This time, Northwest energy has partnered with the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems and modular reactor designer NuScale Power, based in Corvallis, Oregon

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Advocacy group Obama lining upwards behind clean energy

Of USA Today

By Fredreka Schouten

As The president Obama pushes an aggressive national plan on climate change, arms non profit for the defence of his administration becomes active in energy own readers across the country.

Organization of Action also formed a partnership that steers its volunteers to buy wind and solar a single company with links to Liberal groups.

"While we do all this work for advancing the agenda of the President to the Congress, we also want to do everything we can on the spot to help pass clean energy," said Ivan Frishberg, organizing for Action climate change manager.

The Organization for Action, for example, you will recommend that volunteers and activists who want to buy renewable energy for their homes and businesses consider signing with ethics Electric, a company that sells wind energy in four States of mid-Atlantic and the District of Columbia and describes himself as a socially responsible energy supplier. It has also licenses that will allow it to expand in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois and Ohio.

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Pakistan to build three new nuclear power plants with Chinese aid

Zee News

Executive Committee of the Council of Pakistan National economic (Ecnec) has the value would have been approving 1.4 trillion rupees worth of projects include three nuclear power plants will be built in Karachi, with Chinese aid.

According to a newspaper, the Ecnec, led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, approve the capacity of 2,400 megawatts nuke plants and study also approve the proposed Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (RPS).

China had stopped processing a loan of $ 448 million for this project due to reservations on two other projects namely ' Safe City Islamabad "and a draft communication.

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China, Netherlands best candidates for the generation using coal in the United States

Of gas in the Journal of power

American coal markets of receptors, such as the Netherlands and China should use more coal for electricity production. Imports of us coal worldwide a 14% increase in the first quarter of 2013, thanks to the low global coal prices as producers of electricity in the United States prefer to use the abundant domestic shale gas production, show data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The main markets of ten coal-reception were in European countries such as the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy and France, as well as Asian markets fueled with gas, as the Japan, China, South Korea. The Turkey was also a consumer of coal privileged.

The European country which has been the largest consumer of coal from the United States was the Netherlands, buy two times more than any other European country, 4 074 195 tonnes, although this figure is only marginally up corresponding to the amount that it consumed last year.

In the Netherlands, inherited circumstances are responsible for the construction of new coal-fired power, a UK Department of Energy and climate change (DECC) report found last April.

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India, China Gas reform opens the door to imports more

Reuters

By Aizhu Chen and Nidhi Verma

(Reuters) - measures taken by China and the India to increase local gas price will pave the way for increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), then the two nations are trying to ensure that they can meet the demand increases rapidly for fuel.

Price of gasoline in both countries have been kept artificially low to levels well below the costs of LNG traded in the world, which means LNG importers suffer a loss or local LNG users pay a premium of high domestic prices.

India almost doubled last week the price of about $4.20 per million BTU (mmBtu) to a formula which will bring the price to about $8.40 per million BTU starting April 1, 2014.

China is a more modest reform, increasing the price of natural gas non-residential of 15 per cent, but the price will be higher at up to $10-$12 per million BTU in many coastal provinces.

Chinese and Indian gas demand is expected to soar in the next decade, driven by the growth of energy demand and the efforts made by China in particular to increase the amount of cleaner methane in its energy mix.

Gas prices will be more attractive LNG imports and encourage domestic gas developments.

"It is largely positive for LNG, as most LNG (Chinese) players are nervous of small competing gas sources (cost)," said analyst based in Beijing main gas Gavin Thompson of Wood Mackenzie.

"We will start to see a little more of the influence of China in the spot, LNG short-term markets than in recent years."

The cash price of LNG in China are about $14.50 per million BTU, while the India gas imports are $ 13 to $ 14 per million BTUS.

"I expect there will be some changes in the psychology of the consumer (India) and the reason for the request," said R.K. Garg, responsible for finance to Petronet LNG.

Imported from India 15,17 million tonnes of LNG in 2012, which would amount to 50 million tonnes by 2020, while demand in China, which has purchased 14.7 LNG, last year, is expected to reach 60 million tons by 2020, said Tri Zen International consultancy.

"We had assumed in the forecast higher prices, so do not think that recent hikes in both countries will be raises all changes in forecasts," said analyst of Tri Zen Tony Regan.

Gas India demand-supply: link.reuters.com/dec49t

China gas use 2000-2015: link.reuters.com/pyw28t

Price increases will also provide an incentive for investment in LNG import infrastructure.

"A formal indication of an increase in domestic prices will give clarity on potential future supply terminal re-gasification more developers,", said Gautam Sudhakar, senior analyst at IHS in Washington DC.

A few days after the price increase gas, energy Indian firm H called for tenders from contractors of the EPC for the construction of a terminal for LNG 8 million tonnes per year in the State of Maharashtra.

The India has plans for 83 million tonnes of capacity to import LNG on the books at the horizon 2020, the market for LNG prices which much may depend on whether if the developers feel that they can get.

Chinese importers may be more willing to ratify supplies in the short term with export facilities in Africa from the East, at the Canada and the United States, as well as more traditional suppliers such as the Australia and Qatar, experts say.

The lift domestic prices is also trimming losses to PetroChina(0857.HK) (601857.SS) Rudong and Dalian import terminals who contracted Zhanjiang and terminals of Fujian term expensive LNG from Qatar and CNOOC Ltd. (0883.HK) that will import LNG from Australia and Indonesia.

GAIL India Ltd. gas company (GAIL.)NS) has already contracted to about 8 million tonnes of imports of LNG of US, raising concerns about who will pay for the expensive imported gas.

"All the uncertainties have been put to rest now... pay a few more dollars per million BTU, for a more certain profile of 20 years will not be difficult to sell," said Karthik Sathyamoorthy, head of the Asia-Pacific at the energy consulting group of Galway.

(Writing and additional reporting by Rebekah Kebede in Perth;) Editing by Richard Pullin)

© 2012 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions

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Brazil seeks at least $ 7 billion in the auction of the largest oil find

The global Times

Brazil expects at least 15 billion reais (7 billion$) of any company or group rights for major pipelines found balance, which is put up for auction in October, an official with regulator of the country, said Thursday.

Balance, with about 12 billion barrels of oil recoverable or sufficient to meet a year and a half of use of oil to the United States, perspective is largest of the world to be put up for auction.

Production is expected to start in five years.

Brazil expects more than 1 million barrels per day ((bpj) BPD) of oil out of balance, said the Director general of the national Brazilian Agency of petroleum, natural gas and biofuels (ANP), Magda Chambriard, on the sidelines of a conference of the industry in Singapore Thursday.

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Australian researchers are using computer modeling to help locate oil and gas resources

Xinhua

Australian researchers have used to correct understanding of the movements of tectonic plates, which will allow to precisely locate resources oil and gas in the region of the Australia, old computer modeling a statement of research of the Australian National University (ANU), said Friday.

There are about 165 million years plates Australian, Indian and Antarctic drifted apart from the super-continent Gondwana, but up to now, there is uncertainty as to the exact position and movements of the plates in the past.

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Mafia launders dirty money in clean energy

RT

The Italian mafia is ramp investment in wind farms to launder money and benefit from EU subsidies.

Europol firm reports of wind and renewable energy in general, are the most popular target for money laundering, after analysing the financial activities of four groups of mobsters in the Italy.

"The Italian mafia is more invest in renewable energy, particularly wind farms to benefit from generous subsidies, paid by the Member States, enabling them to mix dirty money with legitimate economic activities," the report says.

The industry of renewable energies - is one of the most promising sectors of the country have increased while the rest of the economy has slipped into recession, reports globalpost.com.  Developers built more wind and solar power plants in 2012 than in a previous year and added 5,000 jobs in a country plagued by unemployment, according to article.

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Envoyer à l'arrière et la crédibilité des politiques climatiques européennes

Is it possible to kill a policy trying to save it? July 3, 2013, the Parliament of the European Union had voted in favour of the Commission proposal for the benefit of "introduce" carbon 900 million to support the carbon price - which has been sinking or less €4 per tonne of CO2 for several months now - by withdrawing (in fact, postponing the release of) a huge amount of quotas. The move was welcomed by green campaigners, renewable producers and utilities who received (all or part) of their certificates for free, but it exposes both the deficiencies of market Europe carbonand its underlying political agenda. To understand why, we need to see how the system works in the first place, and what would be the alternatives.

(ETS) emission trading regime has long been considered major success in European environmental policy. In establishing a pan-European carbon market, it is claimed that the EU has introduced a cost-effective, focused tool on the market to treat climate change. Several objections may be made. Policies on the market to treat these complicated issues such as those involving emissions can be divided into two broad categories: instruments (e.g. a carbon tax) price and quantity (for example, a CAP and trade system). In the first case, the regulator sets a price for the pollutant (ideally equal to its marginal social cost) and the market-i.e., economic agents who must pay in proportion to their own emissions - will find the corresponding, 'optimal' amount of emissions. In the latter, the regulatory authority sets a ceiling on the amount of emissions that can be emitted and a corresponding number of permits is issued. Of market agents shall abandon a number of licenses equal to their own cap at the end of the period (say, one year). If they emit less, they can sell the extra-indemnites to other topics that were not able to reduce their emissions as well. In this way, the burden of reducing emissions is offset where its marginal cost is low, and the market found the "real" price of allowances. In perfect condition, both systems are equivalent: an optimal carbon tax will lead to a quantity of emissions equal to the optimal Cap under a CAP and trade system which, in turn, would be the price to the same level as the optimal tax, emissions. Unfortunately, our world is not perfect, and regulators do not have the information to make an optimal decision. Therefore, the choice between a carbon tax and a CAP and trade system is practical: in conditions of uncertainty, that one is more likely to achieve the expected results? Economists hold that a price mechanism is best when the marginal cost curve is steeper than the curve of marginal profit, while a quantity mechanism is best otherwise. It depends on the consequences in the long term of a suboptimal choice, as well as on the need to reduce later adjustment costs.

When it comes to climate change, it is easy to see that a carbon tax would be a more effective instrument than CAP and trade (of course under the bold assumptions that we must "do something" on the climate and that unilateral action makes no sense at all). The marginal cost of reducing emissions curve is fairly steep, to the extent where it requires the flow of emissions that are produced each year to be immediately reduced. On the other hand, the curve of marginal profit is less steep because it does not depend on traffic, but on the stock of carbon which accumulates in the atmosphere each year.

Despite these common sense suggestions coming from almost all climate economists, the EU has decided to set up a CAP and trade system. A feature of the Cap and Exchange system, is that it is very exposed to the vagaries of the economic climate. Emissions depend on overall energy consumption, which in turn depends on the performance of the economy. If the economy goes wrong, as with the recession in Europe - emissions will fall, because the plants will produce less and people and goods will travel less. But given that the amount of allowed emissions has been (and must necessarily be) fixed in advance, the prices will drop. The reason is very intuitive: recession, no policy climate, is resulting in a decrease in emissions. The fact that the price of allowances does not prove that the CAP and trade system is flawed: it shows that it works correctly in this regard. If the provision of one although it is fixed and demand falls for exogenous reasons, its price must also fall.

At least, it should fall under market conditions. But then, politicians arrived. They realized that the price was not "high enough" (to what?) and introduced the measurement of "concentration". In fact, in a first vote in Parliament rejected backloading, but then he the past with minor changes, under enormous pressure from the Commission and powerful interest groups. The result is almost paradoxical.

From the point of view of the mechanism, backloading is to change cap price will be (and already is) go up, of course. What matters, however, is that the underlying idea is that politicians know what the 'real price' carbon. But if they know the 'real price', it is much more logical to introduce a carbon tax: remember, a CAP and trade system is all about to discover the optimal price!

From the point of view of European credibility, backloading should be major reasons for concern. It shows that the rules can be changed at will, regardless of the strength of the initial commitment was. It is almost irrelevant that Parliament has allowed the Commission to withdraw a limited (but not weak) amount of emission "only once." Breaking the rules involves a cost very high, fatal, the first time that you do this: but once you've taken the step, everyone understands that you're ready to cheat - and behaves accordingly. It's like a flag waved at the lobbyists: he suggests that, if they are pretty convincing, nothing is out of reach.

Finally, from the point of view of environmental policy, this vote should be major reasons for concern. She suggested this design good mechanisms for the results in the long term - which is supposed to be the goal of climate policies - is less important that short-term goals, such as keeping the carbon price high enough to please those that policy took that must - be winners.

The consequence short-term backloading allocations will be more likely to support prices, in accordance with its objective. But its long-term effects could be the one to kill the remaining credibility of European climate policies.

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