Energy articles from June 2001

Energy archives from June 2001

Nothing New Under the Sun?(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Not at Energy! So, what's in the news this quarter? On the global front, the "unexpected" depth of the "slow-down" sure took the pressure off oil and gas prices, for the most part. In some locales, though, where refinery problems cropped up,...

The Cheney Energy Plan.(Dick Cheney)
June 22, 2001... According to this analysis, his vision of the future is technically unsound and unsustainable. There must be an upside somewhere, somehow. Who has the "best" solution? The development of the Cheney Energy Plan(*) comes in the wake of...

Was DOE Research a Waste?(United States. Department of Energy)
June 22, 2001... No, says a new NRC report--Energy Dept. research has yielded significant benefits. From the time of the first Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) oil embargo nearly 30 years ago, the United States has looked to new...

Vital Signs.(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... Worldwatch takes the pulse of global energy consumption. Worldwide consumption of coal, oil, and natural gas declined in 2000 for the second consecutive year, inching down by 0.2 percent to 7,643 million tons of oil equivalent. Nonetheless,...

Don't Forget OPEC.(Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
June 22, 2001... The energy cartel's revenues climbed 71 percent from 1999 to 2000. World oil prices declined sharply in late 1997, and remained extremely low through 1998 and into early 1999. Over the past two years, however, following a series of OPEC...

The Golden Age of LNG.(liquified natural gas)
June 22, 2001... Liquified Natural Gas appears to have become the "fuel of choice" for some. Is this situation sustainble? The market for LNG has dramatically expanded over the past quarter century. More recently, four major changes in the market are...

Efficiency Legislation Under Fire.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Efficiency Legislation Under Fire. According to David Goldstein of the Natural Resources Defense Council (40 West 20th St., New York, NY 10011; Tel: 212/727-2700, Fax: 212/727-1773), the energy bill (H.R. 2511) passed by the House Committee on...

Controls Cut Electricity Costs.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Controls Cut Electricity Costs. Researchers have shown that electricity costs for office buildings can be reduced by as much as 40% by running air conditioning overnight. "Precooling" structures so that it takes less power to cool buildings...

Fuel Economy Cheaper than Claimed.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Fuel Economy Cheaper than Claimed. A new ACEEE (1001 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 801, Washington, DC 20036; Tel: 202/429-8873) study demonstrates that major improvements in the fuel economy of passenger vehicles are achievable at modest cost...

Reducing Chance of Offshore Oil Leaks.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... The outer continental shelf surrounding the United States contains about 15 percent of the nation's proven oil reserves and 19 percent of the nation's proven natural gas reserves. But petroleum experts estimate that the outer continental shelf...

Oil & Gas Spending Doubles in 2000.(Andersen's 22nd annual review, United States)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... Andersen's Global E&P Trends: 2001 Edition has just been released. This is Andersen's 22nd annual review and analysis of oil and gas industry revenues and profitability, capital spending, oil and gas reserves, and performance measures over the...

Dynegy to Build Facility on Gulf Coast.(natural gas receiving terminal)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Dynegy Inc. plans to construct a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving and re-gasification terminal in Hackberry, LA on the site of the company's existing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) terminal. The new LNG facility will be capable of receiving...

World Energy Markets Tested Again in 2000.(The BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2001)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... Energy markets were put to the test in 2000 with crude oil prices reaching levels not seen since the early 1980s as supplies remained tight for most of the year. Natural gas prices lagged oil prices but followed upwards, reflecting the impact...

Sequestering C02 from Energy Production.(carbon dioxide emissions management research)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... A major proportion of the world's greenhouse gases may be pumped underground, according to researchers at Adelaide University, Australia. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are not only caused by fuel consumption, they are also a byproduct of...

California's Objective: Cleaner Electric Plants.(update by California Energy Commission)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Environmental Performance Report of California's Electric Generation Facilities (see Publication No. 700-00-001 at website: http://www.energy.ca.gov/reports) just published by the California Energy Commission, notes that the State has entered...

Climatologists Advise on Global Warming.(Climate Change Science: An Analysis of Some Key Questions)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... In a report requested by the Bush administration, a committee of the National Academies' National Research Council summed up science's current understanding of global climate change by characterizing the global warming trend over the last 100...

European Utilities Missing Cost Savings.(customer service analysis)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... According to Datamonitor's most recent "IMPACT 2001" and "Cost to Serve" studies, electricity companies throughout Europe are losing out to the tune of $250 million pounds through inefficient customer service. Economic losses occur because of...

Radioactive Metals Recycling Criticized.(United States Department of Energy)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... The Department of Energy wants to resume and expand its program to unload radioactive scrap metal into municipal landfills and to "recycle" or discharge it into everyday household products and industrial materials. Currently, many kinds of...

Exxon Mobil Charged With Pumping Prices.(preventing DAG Enterprises Inc. from buying gas stations)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Willie Gary, one of the nation's most successful trial lawyers, has joined a lawsuit alleging that Exxon Mobil conspired to sustain high gasoline prices at the pump by preventing DAG Enterprises, Inc., an independent oil supplier and station...

NRC Weighs in on Waste Issue.(National Research Council on radioactive waste treatment and storeage)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... According to a new report, Disposition of High-Level Waste and Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Continuing Societal and Technical Challenges, prepared by an international committee of the National Academies' National Research Council, focused attention...

NRC Projects Deaths From Nuclear Plants.(United States. Nuclear Regulatory Commission)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... According to the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (1424 16th Street NW, #404, Washington, DC 20036; Tel: 202/328-0002; Fax: 202/462-2183; E-Mail: nirsnet@nirs.org; http:// www.nirs.org) the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission is...

Consumers Response to Utility Competition.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... The Consumer Response to Public Utility Competition, a new report from the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI, Dr. Francine sevel, senior Consumer Affairs Policy Analyst, 1080 Carmack Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43210; Tel: 614/292-4667; Fax:...

Don't Expect Profits from the Internet.(Primen)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... Energy utilities that invest in consumer e-commerce to achieve near-term operational efficiencies will likely be disappointed, especially if their customer base is relatively small, according to Primen (Madison, WI). In a new Internet study,...

Could Plant Oils Really Replace Petroleum?(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... According to Bernie Tao of Purdue University, over the next several decades plant oil will become just as essential to everyday life as fossil fuels are today. "In the 1970s we got our first taste of what it was like when the fuel begins to go...

Tar Sands Production Costs Lowered.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... There are over 330 billion barrels of recoverable oil in Northern Alberta's tar sands. That's more than the total reserves in Saudi Arabia. Reducing the cost of production is critical though if these resources are to be economically...

Projects Advance Geothermal Energy.(California Energy Commission awards grants)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2001... The California Energy Commission has awarded grants to six projects that will continue to tap California's enormous geothermal energy resources. The Energy Commission made the funds available to maximize the production of steam to drive...

Fueling the Highways.
June 22, 2001... Is it time and is it practical to start weaning transportation away from petroleum and seriously increasing fuel efficiencies? Combining the range of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates of remaining conventional oil re-sources with the...

Power Quality and the New Economy.(Statistical Data Included)
June 22, 2001... A survey examines the impact of power outages on business operations. The Electric Power Research Institute's (EPRI) Consortium for Electric Infrastructure for a Digital Society (CEIDS), has commissioned Primen (1001 Fourier Dr., Suite...

Understanding Condensers.(water flow and leakage at steam utility plants)(Illustration)
June 22, 2001... Problems with leakage and water flow at steam plants cost utilities billions. The condenser system in hundreds of utility generating plants is largely perceived as a very reliable workhorse that collects turbine exhaust steam under vacuum...

Letter from Iceland.(green energy)
June 22, 2001... A correspondent explores a nation where energy is truly clean. I first visited Iceland in 1975 and have wanted to return every year since. Although Iceland is a small country, about the size of the state of Kentucky, there is a lot of...

Just Throw Money At The Problem.(energy development and research questions)
June 22, 2001... Money is no panacea, and wishing will not make it so. Ever since about the end of World War II, people have had the idea that "money will fix any problem, and more money will fix it better and faster." That simplistic solution has been...