» Energy & Climate change hub today [ ... ]

» Dec 30 2013| PetroChina Company Limited announced that as of December 22, 2013, Changqing Oilfield achieved 23.58 million tons of crude oil and 33.278 billion cubic meters of natural gas production this year, representing oil and gas equivalent production exceeding 50 million tons. At the same time, Changqing Oilfield expects its 2013 operating revenue to reach RMB150 billion and profit to see a rapid year-on-year growth. The target for becoming "the Daqing of the West" has been hit on schedule in a high quality and high standard way. As one of PetroChina's major oilfields, Changqing Oilfield covers five provinces, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, and plays the pivotal role of supplying natural gas to more than ten big and medium size cities, including Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang [ PennEnergy ]

» Dec 30 2013| A new paper looks at whether an equity and justice issues have disappeared as a topic focus in international climate negotiations and what should be done about it. This paper examines: (a) what has happened recently in climate negotiations in regard to national obligations to reduce ghg emissions reductions on the basis of equity and justice, (b) arguments that have been made in support of ignoring express discussion of equity and justice issues in climate negotiations, (c) arguments in support of a greater focus on equity and justice at both the international and national levels, and (d) what should be done to increase the focus on equity and justice in light of the resistance of nations to acknowledge their equitable and justice obligations [ ethics and climate ]

» Dec 30 2013| According to the AGEB, which collates statistics for energy consumption in Germany, German primary energy consumption rose by 2.6% in 2013, mainly because of the relatively long cold season that went into June. It is, however, the second year in a row that primary energy consumption increased, putting the Germans completely off of their course to lower primary energy consumption by 40% by 2050. Primary energy is an energy source before it has been converted - such as crude oil before it has been turned into gasoline or diesel and coal before it has been turned into electricity (the gasoline and electricity that reach consumers are then considered final energy). In other words, primary energy does not include losses during conversion, which are very high for a power for instance; coal plants generally have an efficiency of less than 40%, so roughly 2/3 of the primary energy is lost. In contrast, primary energy and final energy are the same for wind power and solar power from photovoltaics [ rebewableinternational ]

» Dec 29 2013| December 2013 saw the highest spot price for natural gas in over two years, as a cold weather returns to many parts of the East and Midwest. Weekly data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that Henry Hub prices hit $4.44 per million Btu (MMBtu) in mid-December, the highest level since July 2011. The "Shale Gas Revolution" over the last few years has led to rock-bottom prices as a record amount of volume has come online. Prices dropped precipitously from their double-digit highs in 2008. Yet, the low prices of 2012 were likely unsustainable - the December 2013 price of $4.44/MMBtu was more than twice as high as the price in the spring of 2012, which dropped below $2/MMBtu. At those levels, many wells became unprofitable to drill, and producers shifted their focus from dry natural gas to wet gas and increasingly into unconventional oil production. In other words, with prices so low, the frenzied pace of drilling had to slow down [ oilprice ]

» Dec 28 2013| Top 7 Solar Energy Projects Of 2013. It's been an exciting year for solar power as the renewable-energy source has become popular with countries and companies as an alternative to fossil fuels: Solar Energy in California Just Makes Sense. In November, the U.S. Department of Energy announced that one of the world�s largest and most technologically advanced solar photovoltaic power plants became commercially operational [...] Report On U.S. Solar Power Generation. Businesses, nonprofits and government organizations installed more than 1,000 megawatts of new solar panels this year. As of mid-2013, the total commercial deployment was 3,380 megawatts for 32,800 facilities across the U.S., increasing more than 40 percent over the previous year, according to the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) released in October. [...] Even Cuba Is Turning To Solar. This past spring, Cuba opened its first solar farm with 14,000 panels that doubled the country�s capacity to harvest energy from the sun. The project is just one of seven farms in the works as leaders are being forced to consider renewables amid failed attempts at drilling for oil off its coast. Cuba relies heavily on oil imports. [...] IKEA's Home Furniture And Now Solar Panel Selections. Besides its signature flat-pack furniture and storied meatballs, Swedish home-furnishings retailer IKEA will begin offering solar panels in its 17 stores in the U.K. sometime next spring, according to a report released in September in pvmagazine.com. [...] India Solar Power Might Lead World. In early December, the World Bank said India was on the brink of becoming a global solar power. Under the government's Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission Phase-1 (JNNSM), which was initiated in January 2010 to promote sustainable growth, broadly expand solar power, and deal with the effects of climate change, India's installed capacity of solar power has already jumped from about 30 megawatts to more than 2,000 MW. [...] Japan's Out-Of-This-World Solar Power Idea. In late November Shimizu Corporation (TYO:1803), a Japanese construction company, has proposed to tackle Japan's - and possibly the entire planet's - energy problems by setting up a giant belt of solar panels around the moon's equator. Japan Reaches Solar Power Milestone. In November Japan opened its biggest solar plant, which will produce enough electricity to power about 22,000 homes. Japan's Kyocera Corp. built the 70-megawatt Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Plant in the country's southwest region. Thailand Looking To Invest In Solar Power. In early November it was reported that Thai energy companies were going to invest up to $2 billion in the solar energy industry over the next five years. The Thai government gives incentives for solar projects to provide power for Southeast Asia�s second-largest economy [ ibtimes ]

» Dec 27 2013| The government of Syria has signed a major deal with a Russian company for oil and gas exploration in Syrian waters, reports Syria's state news agency SANA. Suleiman Abbas, oil minister of Syria and head of its General Petroleum Company, signed the 25 year development agreement with Russian oil and gas firm Soyuzneftegaz in Damascus on Dec. 25. The contract for offshore exploration in Syria will cover up to a depth of 43 miles and an area of 845 square miles between the Syrian cities of Tartous and Banyas. Projects are slated for development in several phases with total costs tentatively estimated at $90 million. Under terms of the contract, Soyuzneftegaz will begin with surveys and studies in the area to pinpoint potential drilling sites, with this stage having an estimated cost of over $15 million. The second stage will involve drilling at least one test well, with costs estimated at over $75 million, reported SANA. If operations are successful, Soyuzneftegaz will carry out further drilling, development and production operations. [ PennEnergy ]

» Dec 27 2013| We assess climate impacts of global warming using ongoing observations and paleoclimate data. We use Earth's measured energy imbalance, paleoclimate data, and simple representations of the global carbon cycle and temperature to define emission reductions needed to stabilize climate and avoid potentially disastrous impacts on today's young people, future generations, and nature. A cumulative industrial-era limit of ~500 GtC fossil fuel emissions and 100 GtC storage in the biosphere and soil would keep climate close to the Holocene range to which humanity and other species are adapted. Cumulative emissions of ~1000 GtC, sometimes associated with 2ºC global warming, would spur "slow" feedbacks and eventual warming of 3-4ºC with disastrous consequences. Rapid emissions reduction is required to restore Earth's energy balance and avoid ocean heat uptake that would practically guarantee irreversible effects. Continuation of high fossil fuel emissions, given current knowledge of the consequences, would be an act of extraordinary witting intergenerational injustice. Responsible policymaking requires a rising price on carbon emissions that would preclude emissions from most remaining coal and unconventional fossil fuels and phase down emissions from conventional fossil fuels [ J. Hansen et al, PLOSone ]

» Dec 27 2013| America's newest, most expensive coal-fired power plant is hailed as one of the cleanest on the planet, thanks to government-backed technology that removes carbon dioxide and keeps it out of the atmosphere. But once the carbon is stripped away, it will be used to do something that is not so green at all. It will extract oil. When President Barack Obama first endorsed this "carbon-capture" technology, the idea was that it would fight global warming by sparing the atmosphere from more greenhouse gases. It makes coal plants cleaner by burying deep underground the carbon dioxide that typically is pumped out of smokestacks. But that green vision proved too expensive and complicated. So the administration accepted a trade-off. To help the environment, the government allows power companies to sell the carbon dioxide to oil companies, which pump it into old oil fields to force more crude to the surface. A side benefit is that the carbon gets permanently stuck underground. [ APnews ]

» Dec 26 2013| On behalf of the Yale Environmental Law Association, the 2014 New Directions in Environmental Law conference will be held on March 1, 2014, in New Haven, Connecticut. This year, the conference takes as its theme the stalemate that seems to grip U.S. and international environmental politics. Panels and workshops will explore topics ranging from the effect of budget cuts on environmental enforcement to new regulatory approaches for nuclear and natural gas industries. You can register for the conference using the following link [ Yale Environmental Law Association ]

» Dec 26 2013| It's the festive season alright and one to be particularly merry if you'd gone long on the price of black gold these past few weeks. The Brent forward month futures contract is back above US$110 per barrel. Another (sigh!) breakout of hostilities in South Sudan, a very French strike at Total's refineries, positive US data and stunted movement at Libyan ports, have given the bulls plenty of fodder. It may be the merry season, but it's not the silly season and by that argument, the City traders cannot be blamed for reacting the way they have over the last fortnight. Let's face it � apart from the sudden escalation of events in South Sudan, the other three of the aforementioned events were in the brewing pot for a while. Only some pre-Christmas profit taking has prevented Brent from rising further. Forget the traders, think of French motorists as three of Total's five refineries in the country are currently strike ridden. We are talking 339,000 barrels per day (bpd) at Gonfreville, 155,000 bpd at La Mede and another 119,000 bpd at Feyzin being offline for the moment [ oilholicssynonymous ]

» Dec 25 2013| The Energy Department will give a small company in Corvallis, Ore., up to $226 million to advance the design of tiny nuclear reactors that would be installed under water, making meltdown far less likely and opening the door to markets around the world where the reactors now on the market are too big for local power grids. The company, NuScale Power, has made substantial progress in developing "an invented-in-America, made-in-America product that will export U.S. safety standards around the world," Peter B. Lyons, the assistant secretary for nuclear energy, said in an interview. For supplying electricity without global warming gases and for providing the United States with a new export product, the reactor had "immense global and national importance," he said. The award is the second of two under a $452 million, multiyear program to assist in the development of "small modular reactors," which would be built in American factories, potentially improving quality and cutting costs, and delivered by truck [ ntytimes ]

» Dec 24 2013| Eni and GasTerra have agreed on a package solution for outstanding price reviews under a Dutch long-term gas supply contract. As part of the agreement, Eni achieves a significant price reduction and a change in the price indexation, which will include a link to hub prices. This agreement marks an important milestone in Eni�s effort to align all long-term gas supply contracts to the new market conditions [ Eni ]

» Dec 24 2013| This report analyses the international climate negotiations at the UN climate conference in Warsaw in November 2013. The report covers the discussions under the Durban Platform on developing a new comprehensive climate agreement by 2015 and increasing short-term ambition as well as the issues relating to near-term implementation of previous decisions in the areas of emission reductions and transparency, adaptation, loss and damage, finance and technology. The report concludes that Warsaw once again starkly highlighted the sharp divisions and lack of trust among countries. Industrialised countries' collective lack of leadership strongly contributed to re-opening the traditional North-South divide. As a result, on many issues the outcomes hardly go beyond the lowest common denominator. The conference only agreed on the bare minimum to move the 2015 process forward and also made no headway in strengthening short-term ambition. Some progress was made with the establishment of the "Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage associated with climate change impacts" and the completion of the rules for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. However, here as well further substance, in particular financial support from industrialised countries, is required to actually fill these mechanisms with meaning. If countries want to escape from groundhog day, they will have to start seeing and utilizing the UN climate process rather differently [ Wuppertal Institute ]

» Dec 24 2013| Iran is unlikely to increase its crude oil production much as the Nov. 24 nuclear agreement it reached with Western governments is implemented, experts agreed. But the country will try to use it to create a climate for secondary sanctions to be eased so Iran can start rebuilding its oil and gas industry, they said during a Dec. 18 forum at the Atlantic Council. "Almost every analyst I've read sees no change for the next 6 months," said Guy F. Caruso, a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former US Energy Information Administration administrator. "The 6 months after that could be different." Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh wants to begin drilling new crude oil wells and raise production to 4 million b/d, increase production from the South Pars natural gas field by 115 bcm/d, and focus more on petroleum products and petrochemicals, said Sara Vakshouri, president of SVP International [ Dec 24 2013, O&GJ ]

» Dec 24 2013| Repsol has begun production at the Margarita 6 well in the south of Bolivia which, with six million cubic metres of gas a day, is the most productive well in the history of the country and of the whole Sub-Andean basin, which extends to Bolivia, Argentina and Peru. This well belongs to the second phase of Margarita-Huacaya, one of the ten key projects of Repsol's 2012-2016 Strategic Plan. The President of Bolivia, Evo Morales and Repsol Chairman Antonio Brufau inaugurated the enlargement of the Margarita gas processing plant at the beginning of October, which has exceeded all expectations, both for deadlines and production: the production volume was achieved one year early and today stands at 15 million cubic metres of gas a day, equivalent to 20% of Spain's gas consumption [ PennEnergy ]

» Dec 24 2013| Nordic support for reform of fossil fuel subsidies in developing countries. The Nordic Prime Ministers' desire for a shift towards greener economies is not limited to the region itself. One of the objectives of their initiative, The Nordic Region � Leading in Green Growth, is to integrate environmental and climate considerations into development aid. The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) is currently exploring how Nordic development aid supports fossil fuel subsidy reform and could contribute towards greener economies in a socially responsible way [ nordicway ]

» Dec 24 2013| What the Proposed US Energy Tax Reforms Mean for Renewables. For those clamoring for (and against) the year-end-expiring legislation, and anyone in favor of some tax-code simplification, today the government has offered an early holiday present: proposed reform for some key areas including the production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC) [ renewableenergyworld ]

» Dec 24 2013| A new wave of innovation is sweeping the energy transition sector, promising to accelerate deployment and cut the costs of energy-efficiency measures, as well as wind and solar generation. It isn't a technological improvement, like cutting hardware and labor costs. It isn't a policy mechanism like feed-in tariffs. It isn't even a new business model, like selling storage services. It's financial innovation. If the very words make you clutch your wallet and roll your eyes, I understand. After all, it was the innovation of mortgage-backed securities, credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations that opened the door to an unprecedented level of financial recklessness and nearly brought down the global economy five years ago. However, at the risk of incurring the wrath of the market gods: This time it's different [ smartplanet ]

» Dec 23 2013| Nato's new Energy Security Centre of Excellence hopes to find solutions to combat the increasing concern over cyber, pirate and terrorist attacks on critical energy infrastructure. Dr Arunas Molis, the centre's head of strategic analysis and research, gives us the lowdown on Nato's ongoing work in tackling this growing problem [ power-technology ]

» Dec 22 2013| The four biggest scandals of 2013 in the energy sector: Biofuel Scandal Bankrupts Trading Firm. New York brokerage firm OceanConnect, which accidentally sold $6.7 million worth of fake biofuel credits, filed for bankruptcy in February amid multiple lawsuits from top gasoline refiners seeking reimbursement on the faulty purchase. In their lawsuit, Tesoro Corp. and Phillips 66 claimed that OceanConnect sold them millions of dollars worth of biofuel credits from Clean Green Fuel LLC beginning in 2009. In court papers, OceanConnect stated they ended 2012 with $1.7 million in losses, and according to the Wall Street Journal, the company said it still had $350,000 worth of biofuel credits in its possession [ ibtimes ]

» Dec 20 2013| The Shah Deniz consortium recently announced the final investment decision (FID) for the Stage II development of the Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian Sea, offshore Azerbaijan. This decision triggers plans to expand the South Caucasus Pipeline through Azerbaijan and Georgia, to construct the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP) across Turkey, and to construct the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) across Greece, Albania, and into Italy. Together these projects, as well as gas transmission infrastructure to Bulgaria, will create a new southern gas corridor to Europe. The Shah Deniz project entails several elements: offshore it includes drilling and completion of 26 subsea wells and construction of two bridge-linked platforms; onshore there will be new processing and compression facilities at Sangachal, south of Baku, Azerbaijan [...] Following the announcement, TAP's shareholders (SOCAR, Statoil, BP, Fluxys, Total, E.ON, and Axpo) confirmed that they have passed the Resolution to Construct on the development and construction of the TAP project [ pipelineinternational ]

» Dec 20 2013| European carbon prices nudged up 3 cents on Thursday, buoyed by news the European Commission will meet earlier than expected to discuss how to withhold supply from the market next year [ poincarbon - Reuters ]

» Dec 20 2013| The major energy "force" that is currently at work in the world is the increasing impact of unconventional oil and gas on global energy markets. That's what BP's Group Chief Economist Christof Ruhl explained to EER back in February 2013. "We were one of the first to identify the importance of unconventionals in the US. This revolution is now going global", says Ruhl. "It will have a huge impact on how the energy world will look in 2030." And the essential point of all this is that it has been the result of market forces and not so much resource availability that changes the nature of supplies [ EER ]

» Dec 20 2013| The latest Conference of Parties to the of the UN Convention on Climate Change in Warsaw resulted in major contradictions. Now, formal rules are being developed and more funds are pledged for REDD+. But developed countries persist in their resistance to curb emission. Special Issue of Environmental Science and Policy (Volume 35, January 2014) titled: Climate change and deforestation: The evolution of an intersecting policy domain. The Special Issue contains 13 papers that address potential synergies and policy conflicts between forest conservation and restoration and climate change mitigation. The papers focus on REDD in tropical forest countries, but also on problems of climate-forest policies implementation and governance in Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia. Hence the Special Issue is highly relevant for the ongoing global climate change debate and the role that forest should play therein. [ sciencedirect ]

» Dec 19 2013| The natural gas reserves discovered off the coast of Israel and Cyprus are estimated at 1.1 trillion cubic meters (tcm). To put this in perspective: the reserves are enough to satisfy Germany's total annual gas demand for roughly twelve years. Moreover, the discoveries have the potential to change the history of the region. They could either bring prosperity to Israel, Cyprus and Turkey or plunge the region, which is already plagued by the Cyprus-Turkey conflict and the Syrian civil war, into an even deeper crisis. How the rich treasures of the Mediterranean are exploited and shared is ultimately a matter of war and peace [ energy post ]

» Dec 19 2013| Russia and Ukraine have struck a $15 billion agreement, which includes Russia lowering prices for natural gas. Russian President Vladimir Putin said the country's multi-billion dollar investment would go toward bailing out Ukraine to save it from economic collapse. Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych said the bailout deal was necessary. As part of the agreement, Russia state-owned gas utility OAO Gazprom will lower gas prices by 30 percent for Ukraine from $410 to $268.50 per thousand cubic meters, according to the Los Angeles Times [ PennEnergy ]

» Dec 19 2013| The International Energy Agency (IEA) is pleased to announce the completion of the latest review of the IEA Policies and Measures Databases (PAMS) in cooperation with IEA member countries. PAMS is a reliable source of up-to-date clean energy policy information, providing a global inventory of national policies in Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency and Climate Change. It is live for public access [ IEA PAMS ]

» Dec 18 2013| Opec. Monthly Oil Market Report December 2013. The OPEC Reference Basket in November fell below $105/b for the first time since July. A key factor behind the decline in the crude oil prices was reduced refinery crude intake due to scheduled turnarounds, as well as dismal margins. All Basket component values saw losses in November, but at varying levels. Crude futures prices also declined in November for the second month in a row. High crude inventories and rising supply in the US weighed heavily on Nymex WTI. The positive outcome at the Iran-P5+1 talks in Geneva also impacted the market. The Basket began to improve at the end of the month and into December to stand at $107.72/b on 9 December [ OPEC ]

» Dec 18 2013| Energy storage: it's no longer a problem, it's become a huge business opportunity. As one market watcher recently put it: "The energy storage industry is in the early stages of what will become a giant global market". As with any new market, however, it is difficult for participants to find reliable information. Fortunately, there is now the interactive International Energy Storage Database (IESDB) of the US Department of Energy (DoE), which provides up-to-date, vetted data on storage projects across the world [ energy post ]

» Dec 18 2013| E.ON Climate & Renewables North America (EC&R) has secured institutional equity financing. The financing has accumulated to $96.2m and a commitment to fund further capital contributions from JPM Capital Corporation (J.P. Morgan) in exchange for a partial interest in EC&R's Panther Creek I&II Wind Farm. Further details weren't shared. This financing represents the fifth transaction since December 2011 between J.P. Morgan and EC&R. Panther Creek is part of an investment EC&R has made in the Big Spring, Texas area since 2006. The projects are located in Howard, Sterling and Glasscock Counties, Texas. [ windenergyupdate ]

» Dec 17 2013| Siemens has commissioned the 750MW Lunen hard-coal-fired power plant, built on the Datteln-Hamm Canal, a major inland waterway in north-west Germany. The plant, which has been operational since December 2013, is owned by Trianel Kohlkraftwerk Lunen, while the consortium of Siemens and IHI was responsible for the turnkey construction of the plant. The plant featuring Siemens-technology generates enough electricity to power around 1.5 million households, caters for district heating needs of the city of Lunen as well as curbs a million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. The plant, which is expected to have 7,000 full-load operating hours possibly in 2014 and an efficiency of almost 46%, is claimed to be the cleanest and most efficient hard-coal-fired power plant in Europe [ power-technology ]

» Dec 17 2013| To the present day, a predominantly negative understanding of migration in the context of climatic and environmental change has prevailed. Migration has often been portrayed as a threat for human national and international security in policy fora or in media's representation of the topic. Despite this fact, empirical research shows that migration should be predominantly discussed in the context of adaptation and sustainable development. Several studies have shown that rural-to-rural and rural-to-urban migration are important livelihood strategies to diversify income of rural households who are both highly depend on natural resources for their livelihoods and live in areas that are vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate and environmental change. Financial and non-financial remittances are essential means of coping with environmental change. But these adaptive effects of migration are also challenged in particular by precarious living and working conditions for many internal and international migrants. Thus, people often prefer forms of in situ adaptation before resorting to mobility and leaving their households and communities of origin for good. Alongside with circular, seasonal or other temporary forms of migration, people usually adopt a range of adaptation strategies (for instance in agriculture), which can be farmer-driven or facilitated by development agencies (i.e. community based adaptation) or extension services. Europen Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut fur Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) Workshop. Call of papers [ DIE ]

» Dec 17 2013| Coal gasification for chemicals, gaseous and liquid fuels production can fulfil an important strategic need in those developing countries where coal is the primary fuel source and oil and gas energy security is an issue. At the same time, the establishment of major projects in such countries can be problematical for a number of technical and economic reasons, although it is encouraging that some projects appear to be moving forward. There are two developing countries where coal conversion projects to produce chemicals, gaseous and liquid fuels have been taken forward strongly. The first is South Africa, which established the world's only commercial-scale coal-to-liquids and coal-tochemicals facilities at Secunda and Sasolburg respectively. The other is China, where there is a major gasification-based coal conversion development and deployment programme that is set to become a significant, large-scale commercial element in the nation�s energy development plans. This will provide further major opportunities for the deployment of large-scale coal gasification technologies, various syngas conversion units and catalysts for the subsequent production of the required products. The role of China is likely to be critical in the dissemination of such technologies to other developing countries as it can not only provide the technical expertise but also financially underpin such projects, including the associated infrastructure needs. Free webinar [ IEA ]

» Dec 17 2013| It's no secret that cost and time overruns are commonplace in the oil and gas industry. In fact, most current projects incur one or both problems, and spiraling project-development costs may soon put severe strain on the ability of companies to earn adequate returns. Yet there is an alternative: the industry could reduce costs and accelerate project delivery times by more aggressively implementing advanced modularization and standardization approaches such as those already used in industries that range from autos and electronics to satellite manufacture. Many oil companies think they are standardizing already. Yet most are actually only scratching the surface and, as a result, missing a major opportunity to gain a competitive edge. To truly capture the benefits, companies need an approach that takes the best of what was developed for these other industries and tailor it to large capital projects. Called "modular standardization," this approach entails dividing a plant into modules that are standardized and then reused multiple times [ McKinsey ]

» Dec 16 2013| U.S. crude oil production will surge faster than expected to a near historic high by 2016, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which sharply raised its annual output forecasts on Monday due to the breakneck speed of shale oil development. The EIA's forecasts show that shale will help oil output in the world's largest consumer increase by 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) every year until 2016, when it will total 9.5 million bpd, just below a 1970 record of 9.6 million bpd. That is some 2 million bpd higher than its forecast in last year's Annual Energy Outlook [ Reuters US ]

» Dec 16 2013| Abundant supplies of oil form the foundation of modern industrial economies, but the capacity to maintain and grow global supply is attracting increasing concern. Some commentators forecast a peak in the near future and a subsequent terminal decline in global oil production, while others highlight the recent growth in 'tight oil' production and the scope for developing unconventional resources. There are disagreements over the size, cost and recoverability of different resources, the technical and economic potential of different technologies, the contribution of different factors to market trends and the economic implications of reduced supply. Few debates are more important, more contentious, more wide-ranging or more confused. This paper summarizes the main concepts, terms, issues and evidence that are necessary to understand the 'peak oil' debate. These include: the origin, nature and classification of oil resources; the trends in oil production and discoveries; the typical production profiles of oil fields, basins and producing regions; the mechanisms underlying those profiles; the extent of depletion of conventional oil; the risk of an approaching peak in global production; and the potential of various mitigation options [ The Royal Society ]

» Dec 15 2013| Israel's peripheral diplomacy (or periphery alliances) concept takes roots from the late 1950's geopolitical context in the Middle East. The country, isolated then after 1956 Sinai campaign, sought relationships with regional non-Arab states and national minorities, with no formal treaties and agreements between Israel and its counterparts. It seems that through years the demand for foreign policy behavioral model similar to peripheral diplomacy came from Israeli political, military and intelligence establishments' understanding that regional hegemony coming out of battlefield victories and nuclear might is not the easiest challenging responsibility. This understanding prevailed until 1979 revolution in Iran. Iran's transformation into a strong and extremely hostile to Israel fundamentalist regime in early 1980's, as well as intensity and richness of geopolitics after collapse of the USSR and emergence of young secular Muslim post-Soviet nations in the South Caucasus and Central Asia regions[ natural gas europe ]

» Dec 13 2013| Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, was elected to office with two distinct, though related, missions: to diffuse the tensions with the West over Iran's nuclear program and to revive Iran's economy that has been languishing under bad management and severe international sanctions. Last month his team, led by foreign minister Javad Zarif, won domestic and international acclaim for succeeding in sealing an interim agreement with the P5+1 in Geneva. Travelling in eastern Iran, most people I talk to seem quite satisfied with Rouhani's first 100 days, especially with what he was able to achieve in Geneva. But they are also very worried that he will not be able to deliver on the economy. Ordinary Iranians are happy with the accord not because it has delivered anything yet, but because they saw for the first time their negotiating team treated as emissaries from an independent country and not from a client state. After more than three decades of overt hostility with the United States, and bearing much hardship due to unilateral sanctions imposed by the US, this feels like an important victory worth celebrating no matter what it means for their pocketbook [ belfercenter, Salehi-Isfahani ]

» Dec 13 2013| EU carbon prices edged higher on Thursday, after falling earlier in the day, as a late price surge due to a big purchase forced traders to cover positions they had taken on news that lawmakers favoured a weak version of a plan to cut supply next year [ CGES ]

» Dec 12 2013| Kazakhstan's super-giant Kashagan oilfield has failed to meet its deadline for declaring commercial production. Although output started in early September 2013, it was halted again after a series of leaks were detected. There will be no further production from the field until mid-2014 and some fear that, if the problems with the pipeline are severe, the outage could last until 2015. Will this be the case? [ CGES ]

» Dec 12 2013| University of Oxford, enrolment is open for the seven-week advanced online short-course Constructing and Applying High Resolution Climate Scenarios to commence Monday 17 February 2014. This course draws upon the world-class climate science expertise at the University of Oxford and the UK MET Office, and is taught online by Dr Friederike Otto and Dr Pete Walton at the Oxford Environmental Change Institute. It is designed to enable policy-makers and other professionals to gain the skills and scientific understanding necessary to support organisations in climate change policy and practice. The course provides a detailed investigation of regional climate modelling, examining how global climate change information can be 'downscaled' to regional levels, how this information can produce climate scenarios appropriate for input to impacts models, and how results from regional climate modelling systems can be interpreted and utilised. The course will also be of significant benefit to users of PRECIS. As an online course, it can be taken from anywhere in the world and is attractive to an international community. Participants are able to interact with one another and the course tutor online via our dedicated Virtual Learning Environment [ University of Oxford ]

» Dec 11 2013| The Chinese government said it was facing the difficult task of keeping its economy thriving while respecting the environment at the same time. With the International Energy Agency warning of an unstable future, the world's climate outlook may hinge on the development of major Asian economies. "Climate change is already a serious threat to food, water, ecological and energy security, and to people's lives and property," a report from the Chinese government said. "The mission to deal with climate change is very arduous, but knowledge in society and ability to do this are weak across the board." China in September surpassed the United States to become the largest oil importer in the world, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In a country profile, the EIA said the Chinese government has put a priority on developing a natural gas and renewable energy based power sector, though it still leads the world in terms of coal consumption. [ oilprice ]

» Dec 11 2013| Offshore top 5 projects 2013. The editors of Offshore have made their choices for the winners of the Five Star Award - the Top 5 offshore field development projects for 2013. The projects were selected on the basis of the best use of innovation in production method, application of technology, and resolution of challenges, along with safety, environmental protection, and project execution. Find out which projects received this prestigious recognition in the Top 5 Projects of 2013. Premieres LIVE: December 17, 2013, Register [ Offshore ]

» Dec 11 2013| The Nordic Climate Facility (NCF) has launched the Fourth Call for Proposals on this year's theme "Inclusive green growth projects contributing to private sector development". The deadline for submitting applications is 31 January 2014 via the on-line application platform. The aim of NCF is to promote the transfer of technology, expertise and innovative ideas between the Nordic countries and low-income countries facing challenges related to climate change. The main goal is to bolster the capabilities of low-income countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change challenges and implement sustainable development measures that will reduce poverty. Grant financing of up to EUR 500,000 can be granted to partnerships between relevant Nordic (Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland) institutions, organisations, companies, authorities and qualified local partners in low-income countries. A minimum of 20% co-financing is required. NCF is financed by the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) and administered by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). The total budget for the Fourth Call is EUR 4 million [ NDF ]

» Dec 11 2013| Eni has made a new offshore oil and gas discovery in the Norwegian Barents Sea, approximately 240km from Hammerfest. The well, which is located in the Skavl prospect in the PL532 license, has been drilled five kilometres south of the Johan Castberg area. It was drilled in approximately 349 metres of water and reached a target depth of 1,700 metres. The well has confirmed good quality oil and gas in Jurassic and Triassic sandstone, with volumes of recoverable oil estimated at between 20 and 50 million barrels. The discovery is part of Eni's joint venture exploration activity to develop the Johan Castberg field. Following completion of Skavl, the drilling rig will move 16 kilometres north where it will continue its exploration campaign in the execution of an additional exploration well on the prospect of Kramsno [ Eni ]

» Dec 10 2013| It often seems that many companies craft strategy in three-month increments, working toward their next earnings release. In this video interview, Harvard Business School professor and former Medtronic chairman and chief executive Bill George argues that this obsession with short-term performance comes at the detriment of long-term value creation. He urges executives and boards to take a longer-term view, criticizes the impact of activist investors, and believes companies ultimately succeed when they create customer value, which drives shareholder returns. This interview was conducted by Rik Kirkland, senior managing editor of McKinsey Publishing. An edited transcript of Bill George�s remarks follows [ Dec 10 2013, McKinsey ]

» Dec 10 2013| North Carolina (US) could add 55,000 jobs and nearly $4 billion to its economy if the state conducted offshore oil exploration, according to a new report from the American Petroleum Institute. About 10,000 jobs would come to the state by 2025 and 55,000 by 2035. Also, the offshore drilling, which would occur 3 to 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina, could bring in $885 million in annual rents and royalties between 2017 and 2035, according to the report. The API said most of the new jobs would come in retail, waste and social assistance and food services needed to support the growing oil and gas industry, the News & Observer reported. [ PennEnergy ]

» Dec 10 2013| Cut fossil fuel subsidies to cut climate change and poverty? Are fossil fuel subsidies undermining progress toward a greener, more climate-resilient global economy - and one that more effectively fights poverty? Governments each year spend around half a trillion dollars on fossil fuel subsidies - a huge expense that pulls investment away from other budget priorities that might more directly help the poor, including education, healthcare and infrastructure. Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and Venezuela each spend at least twice as much on fossil fuel subsidies as on public health, and studies show the subsidies disproportionately benefit the rich around the world, as well as making it harder for renewable energy to find support and funding. Is it time to reduce or eliminate them? How might that happen, and how could the political obstacles be overcome? What difference could lower fossil fuel subsidies make to poverty levels? Our experts take your questions. Hosted by Thomson Reuters Foundation and the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), Please contribute your comments and questions here or via Twitter hashtag #cutsubsidies for our expert panel: Carlo Sdralevich, deputy division chief, Middle East and Central Asia Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Shelagh Whitley, research fellow, Overseas Development Institute (ODI); Sanjay Vashist, director, Climate Action Network South Asia; Armsfree Onomo, project manager for civil participation, Heinrich Boell Foundation-Abuja, Nigeria. Join a live online debate: Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 12:00-13:00 GMT [ Trust ]

» Dec 09 2013| The Keeling Curve, which monitors the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, has been in the news as warnings of concentrations of CO2 are approaching 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in human history. As of 7th December the reading stands at 396.43 ppm. Updates will continue to be given via the website. Also, the IEA has release its World Energy Outlook 2013 which brings together the latest data and policy developments. It presents up to date projections of energy trends through to 2035, fuel by fuel, sector by sector, region by region and scenario by scenario. MEP's have also said that CCS projects should be encouraged as they have the potential to allow the EU to meet its low-carbon goals [ UCSD ]

» Dec 09 2013| The oil and gas industry investments in Norway will increase by 4 percent in 2014, Bloomberg reported. Statistics Norway released a statement saying investments will rise to an all-time high to 223.3 billion kroner ($36.2 billion). "A very high investment activity in many development projects is planned for next year," Statistics Norway said, according to Bloomberg. "Many of these will reach their investment peak in 2014." The statistics agency said field development investments are expected to reach 79.4 billion kroner ($1.45 billion) in 2014. As the world's eighth largest oil exporter, Norway's goal is to reduce oil and gas costs while increasing tax incentives for energy firms that explore offshore fields, according to Reuters [ Pennenergy ]

» Dec 09 2013| More than two dozen of the nation's biggest corporations, including the five major oil companies, are planning their future growth on the expectation that the government will force them to pay a price for carbon pollution as a way to control global warming.The development is a striking departure from conservative orthodoxy and a reflection of growing divisions between the Republican Party and its business supporters. A new report by the environmental data company CDP has found that at least 29 companies, some with close ties to Republicans, including ExxonMobil, Walmart and American Electric Power, are incorporating a price on carbon into their long-term financial plans [ NYTimes ]

» Dec 09 2013| the governments of the United Kingdom and Sweden and the Swiss-based Climate Cent Foundation have pledged more than $125 million for the World Bank's Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev). The Ci-Dev will use performance-based payments in the form of purchases of certified emissions reductions to support low-carbon investments with strong development benefits, mainly to support increased access to energy in low-income countries. With financing now in place, the Ci-Dev is inviting project developers and other interested parties to submit project ideas for consideration and possible funding. All information required for submission of project idea(s), including the Ci-Dev project selection criteria, are attached to this email and can also be found [ Ci-Dev ]

» Dec 08 2013| IPIECA launches new guide to Integrating Human Rights into Environmental, Social and Health Impact assessments for oil and gas sector projects. A new Guide offering practical advice on how human rights can be integrated into environmental, social and health impact assessments (ESHIAs) for oil and gas sector projects has been launched. Designed for industry ESHIA practitioners and consulting firms, the Guide is the outcome of a collaborative effort by impact assessment experts from global oil and gas companies brought together by IPIECA and human rights practitioners from the Danish Institute for Human Rights. Working together, they have attempted to bridge the gaps in terminology, processes and approaches between the ESHIA and human rights impact assessment communities. In addition to providing a brief introduction to human rights, the Guide explains why it is important for the sector to consider the potential human rights impacts of its projects and activities. It has three overarching objectives: foster the inclusion and, wherever appropriate, the integration of human rights into ESHIAs conducted for projects undertaken by the oil and gas industry; provide human rights insights on the key process steps in international standard ESHIAs, and provide a new practical reference point in an evolving field of assessing human rights impacts [ IPIECA ]

» Dec 06 2013| Smart grid infrastructure investment by 45 emerging market countries - including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - over the next decade will reach $274.9 billion, outpacing developed countries. This investment will be aimed at reducing electricity theft, improving reliability and incorporating renewable energy into electricity grids, according to a study released today by Northeast Group, LLC. The annual study, Emerging Markets Smart Grid: Outlook 2014, found that investments will include smart metering and advancements for transmission and distribution grids. Already, the 45 countries have deployed a total of 9.5 million smart meters with two-way communications and this number is set to reach 523 million by 2023. In 2014 alone, the 45 countries are projected to deploy 5.6 million smart meters. Electricity theft costs these countries $47 billion annually. Investment in distribution network technology, or distribution automation, will cumulatively reach $118.8 billion by 202 [ PennEnergy ]

» Dec 06 2013| Does air capture constitute a viable backstop against a bad CO2 trip?. Despite all the talk about reducing fossil fuel CO2 emissions, the amount produced each year keeps rising. In 1990, it was 20 billion tons. By 2013 it had risen to 32 billion tons. The content in our atmosphere which has increased from its natural level of 280 parts per million in 1850 to just under 400 parts per million (ppm) in 2013, is currently going up at a rate of 2.5 ppm per year. Recent discoveries of vast amounts of recoverable natural gas and petroleum insure a steady supply for many decades to come. This glut holds down the price of fossil fuel energy, setting back the thrust to substitute renewables. If population continues to rise one percent per year and if per capita fossil fuel energy use continues to rise by three percent per year, then the rate of CO2 rise will reach 5 ppm per year by 2030. Despite these sobering facts, little of consequence is being done to meet this challenge. We continue to nibble when bold action is needed. These nibbles by developed countries have been swamped by increased energy demand in traditionally poor countries. As long as this state of affairs persists, the world will continue to warm and at an ever faster pace. As in none of the areas of concern regarding the consequences of global warming can firm predictions be made, we are, in a sense, flying blind. We suspect that bad weather may lie ahead but can't seem to find a way to change course. As the late Roger Revelle often said, "we are conducting man's greatest geophysical experiment." And that it is. [...] Although there are several fledgling projects directed at air capture, only a few tens of million dollars has been spent on them. Three groups in the U.S. (Stolaroff et al., 2008; Choi et al., 2011; Lackner et al., 2012) and one in Switzerland (Baciocchi et al., 2006) have been pursuing research on air capture for over a decade, yet none of them have garnered the funds necessary to build and test a complete and automated proto-type. In the absence of such demonstration units, a very wide range of cost estimates float about. They range from Klaus Lackner's (2012) claim that it can likely be done for less than 100 dollars a ton of CO2, to an estimate by House et al. (2011) of 1000 dollars a ton of CO2 [ elementascience ]

» Dec 06 2013| CO2 Scorecard has been conducting detailed analysis on the environmental implications of the newfound popularity of natural gas. In May 2013 we demonstrated that only 25% of US emissions reductions were attributable to the switch from coal to natural gas in 2012. Energy efficiency and conservation contributed most to the annual decline. Last month the US Energy Information Agency (EIA) affirmed our main findings in their analysis of the 2012 CO2 trends. In our previous analysis, we showed that when there is an increase in electricity generation from natural gas, it does not necessarily substitute for coal�some replaces zero-carbon sources like hydro and nuclear. In such cases, every MWh of electricity from natural gas adds about half a ton of CO2. As reported by Bloomberg, this effect was most palpable in 2012 for the state of California, but it was present in other NERC regions too. But our analysis did not go far enough. Some natural gas leaks into our atmosphere long before it reaches the power plants where it is combusted to generate electricity. This un-burnt natural gas is mostly methane (CH4), a greenhouse gas that is nearly twenty five times more lethal than CO2. [ thenergycollective ]

» Dec 06 2013| There is a huge elephant in the room here in Moscow. The issue is permeating everything but remains off the official agenda. Even the media is treating it with kid gloves. It's the uprising in Ukraine. As the protests intensify in Kiev, the Kremlin has now entered into a huge tug of war with the European Union (EU) over access to and influence over Ukrainian energy policy. At issue is the direction of Ukraine's future partnerships�and who is likely to end up having influence over the crucial natural gas pipelines that span the country, moving more gas to Europe than any other venue. For years now, Kiev has maintained a steadfast refusal to allow Gazprom, the Russian gas behemoth, to gain control over those domestic pipelines. Gazprom, whose moves are clearly extensions of Russian foreign policy, has already taken over both the export pipeline network and the company responsible for the transit in neighboring Belarus. This arrangement allows Moscow to control the access to Europe � even though the pipeline crosses a separate sovereign state. But Ukraine has since made it clear it would not allow the same result [ oilandenergyinvestor ]

» Dec 05 2013| the European Climate Foundation launched its latest report, called: From Roadmaps to Reality: a framework for power sector decolonisation in Europe in Brussels. The report is the latest step in ECF's well-known Roadmap 2050 project. From Roadmaps To Reality finds that a fully integrated Internal Energy Market in Europe, in combination with a functioning Emissions Trading System, is the most cost-effective and sustainable pathway to decarbonisation. However, policy makers need to act to turn this vision into reality, by driving physical interconnections, activating the demand side, regionalising system operation and steering investments from high to low carbon assets. In the meantime, well-designed market interventions to support renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency and resource adequacy remain necessary. The challenge for EU policy is to capture the benefits of increased cross-border market integration while allowing careful use of administered interventions. The report brings together the successful team that wrote ECF's Roadmap 2050 and Power Perspectives 2030 reports. The group, led by the European Climate Foundation, is made up of policy and market experts at RAP and E3G, and legal experts at ClientEarth. They consulted with a large group of utility and energy companies, technology manufacturers, transmission system operators and NGOs to look at various policy, legal and governance solutions on the route towards an adequate framework to power sector decarbonisation. The report concludes that EU governments should work towards a stronger EU energy framework that aligns market liberalisation and decarbonisation objectives and defines clear governance structures - including on a regional level [ roadmap2050 ]

» Dec 05 2013| Removing carbon dioxide from power generation is critical to limit global temperature rise to 2 C. That decarbonisation involves three major challenges: replacing ageing conventional power plants, shifting to renewable energy, and reinforcing and expanding the transmission network to adapt to new, decentralised and variable generation. But existing market designs and regulatory frameworks can make it hard to guarantee a reliable and efficient electricity supply during the massive change. The IEA addressed those challenges in its Electricity Security Action Plan (ESAP), which member-country ministers endorsed at their 2011 Ministerial meeting. At the 2013 Ministerial, the IEA released Secure and Efficient Electricity Supply, which draws on the action plan to analyse electricity security challenges and point to the best policies for a successful transition [ IEA ]

» Dec 05 2013| The 164th Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was held in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, 4 December 2013. The Conference reviewed the oil market outlook, as presented by the Secretary General, in particular supply/demand projections for 2014. The Conference also considered the global economic outlook, again noting: the high sovereign debt in the Euro-zone; high unemployment in the advanced economies, especially the Euro-zone; and slow growth, coupled with inflation risk, in the emerging economies. Indeed, the biggest challenge facing global oil markets in 2014 is this global economic uncertainty, with the fragility of the Euro-zone remaining a cause for concern. It was also noted that, although world oil demand is forecast to increase during the year 2014, this will be more than offset by the projected increase in non-OPEC supply. Nevertheless, in the interest of maintaining market equilibrium, the Conference decided to maintain the current production level of 30.0 million barrels a day. In taking this decision, Member Countries re-confirmed their readiness to swiftly respond to developments which could have an adverse impact on the maintenance of an orderly and balanced oil market [ OPEC ]

» Dec 04 2013| Ukraine, which in Russian translates as 'on the border', is sitting on the fence in more than one way. The country is now in the news after its president single-handedly put the Association Agreement with the EU "on pause", in favor of a Eurasian customs union with Russia and regional allies. In dealing with Ukraine, the EU through its AA, proposed a Most Favored Nation trading partner status; this falls short of a customs union, not to mention, a commitment to EU integration, but it was worth striving for. In comparison, Russia proposed what on the face of it looks like a better deal, an integration in its customs union by 2015, and Russia accounts for 25% of Ukraine's exports trade. Russia also explicitly threatened Ukraine with trade retaliation if it signed the AA. Natural gas is one leverage Russia has used in 2006 and 2009, when it cut its supplies to Ukraine. The disruption of supplies to countries downstream of Ukraine backfired on Gazprom, which had prided itself in being a reliable supplier to Europe. Gazprom is unlikely to cut gas supplies to Ukraine in the future. However the selling price of gas continues to act as a barometer for Russia appreciation of successive Ukrainian governments. The price of gas at the Russian-Ukrainian border stands at a high $430 / kcm (thousand cubic meters) or $13.8 / MMBTU [ RCEM ]

» Dec 04 2013| A majority of the centre-right EPP group, the biggest party in the European Parliament, will vote against a plan to prop up carbon prices next week but this is unlikely to be enough to defeat the measure, a senior EPP member said on Tuesday [ pointcarbon-Reuters ]

» Dec 04 2013| The PoA Information and Assistance Platform will host its second webinar, which is part of a series of webinars covering the most important aspects of PoA development, implementation and management. The PoA Information and Assistance Platform is a web based platform aiming to help overcome possible hurdles in PoA implementation by providing consolidated information and active assistance to PoA stakeholders (e.g. CMEs, managers of CPAs). It has been commissioned by KfW under the PoA Support Centre Germany, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. The Platform is managed by South Pole Carbon and Perspectives Climate Change. The Platform aims at addressing the most crucial needs of developers and implementers of CDM Programmes of Activities (PoAs). It provides ample resources on PoAs and a Q&A section in which experts from South Pole and Perspectives respond to stakeholders' enquiries. The Q&A section features indexed and thematically sorted discussion threads for easy reference. Please join us for the next webinar on "Legal and financial aspects of PoAs" - December 5, 2013; 10:00 am CET. It can be accessed under [ poaplatform ]

» Dec 03 2013| COP 19's main lesson: More pressure needed to end the corporate control of politics. All seasoned observers of climate talks did not expect much to come out of the Warsaw climate negotiations. But Typhoon Haiyan's brutal devastation sent what seemed to many to be a signal to negotiators; with Filipino negotiator Yeb Sano articulating the need to 'stop the climate madness' more eloquently than anyone before at a climate meeting. Then, it seemed, for a brief moment, like maybe life could be different? May be the crying delegates from many countries would remember their children and act? It was not to be. Indeed, even to a long-term observer like myself, it was simply devastating to see how quickly business as usual, jockeying for positions, dragging of feet and time wasting were the order of the day again after the extraordinary first day of COP 19. Neither the rich countries nor BASIC countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) were willing to move forward in offering concrete measures to reduce their emissions, or even agree on a concrete date for doing so. Even though there is much to gain from climate action in terms of new jobs and avoided costs, the talks were once again conducted as if climate action was all about pain [ stakeholderforum ]

» Dec 03 2013| Russia's Rosneft and Italy's Eni have announced they will sign an agreement on mutual oil supplies to European refineries. The new agreement comes amid increased cooperation and burgeoning bilateral trade between Russia and Italy, which imports most of its oil and gas and is struggling to dig itself out of recession. Rosneft will supply Eni's refineries with 1 million tons of oil, while Eni will supply Rosneft refineries with 400,000 tons of oil under the agreement [ oilprice ]

» Dec 03 2013| Poland's Minister of the Environment Maciej Grabowski said the country will draft a new law to regulate shale gas exploration and production. The law would be sent to the government for approval before the end of 2013, he said, according to Reuters. [...] Grabowski was just recently appointed energy minister and formerly served as deputy finance minister, a post during which he drafted a bill to introduce new taxes on oil and gas production, Platts reported. That bill has not been approved yet by Poland's government, which has been arguing over new regulations for the shale gas industry for years. Oil and gas companies, both those in Poland and abroad, have said the country's existing regulation surrounding the industry do not entice them to invest in projects, Platts reported. One issue is the lack of clarity surrounding the government's legal entitlement to convert exploration licenses to production licenses [ ogfj ]

» Dec 03 2013| The development of shale gas in Europe could add as many as one million jobs to the economy, make industry more competitive and decrease the region's dependence on energy imports, according to a new study [...] The research, commissioned by The International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP) and carried out by the independent consultancies Poyry Management Consulting and Cambridge Econometrics, has quantified for the first time how much Europe's economy could benefit from domestic shale gas production. Shale gas could add a total of 1.7 trillion to 3.8 trillion euros to the economy between 2020 and 2050 [ ogfj ]

» Dec 03 2013| Implementation through multilateral co-operation. The recently released Energy Technology Initiatives 2013 highlights the most significant recent achievements of the IEA Implementing Agreements (IAs). At the core of the IEA energy technology network, IAs provide a flexible mechanism for governments, industries and businesses, and international and non-governmental organisations, to leverage resources and multiply the results of research thus facilitating the entry of new and improved energy technologies into the marketplace [ IEA ]

» Dec 03 2013| Oil & Gas UK has responded to the Scottish government's White Paper on the country's future, assuming the electorate votes to withdraw from the United Kingdom. Chief executive Malcolm Webb said: "Both the UK and Scottish governments recognize the importance of the UK oil and gas industry and are aware the industry must be able to work in a secure and predictable fiscal regime. With 10 months until the referendum, it is essential the constitutional debate does not create instability for our industry. "We welcome the publication of the�White Paper�and hope it may bring greater clarity to this debate� [ offshore-mag ]

» Dec 02 2013| Under the UNFCCC Parties agreed to mobilise USD 100 billion by 2020 from public and private sources to help developing countries to address climate change. However, accessing climate finance and using it effectively poses substantial challenges for many institutions in these countries, particularly due to the complexity of the international climate finance architecture. Against this backdrop, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ's Climate Protection Programme for Developing Countries commissioned the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) to conduct further work on assessing the readiness needs in developing countries. This series of publications proposes a framework to better assess and understand readiness needs in developing countries and provides first empirical insights for the Southern Africa region in the cases of Zambia, Tanzania and Namibia. It considers in particular the challenges related to: planning for climate finance; governance; engaging the private sector; access modalities; and monitoring and accountability [ GIZ ]

» Dec 02 2013| Japan's top shippers plan to order around 90 new liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers worth about 1.8 trillion yen ($17.61 billion) by 2020 as they gear up to transport rising volumes of the super chilled fuel from North America and Australia. The expansion plans reflect rising LNG demand in nuclear-free Japan to generate electricity and also in other Asian countries such as China and South Korea. Global LNG trading volume is expected to grow to 400 million tonnes (1.1023 ton) in 2020 from 250 million tonnes in 2012, according to industry data [ Reuters ]

» Dec 02 2013| A shift from economical use of limited resources to the unlimited use of clean energy is the ultimate dream of all mankind. The LUNA RING, our lunar solar power generation concept, translates this dream into reality through ingenious ideas coupled with advanced space technologies. Virtually inexhaustible, nonpolluting solar energy is the ultimate source of green energy that brings prosperity to nature as well as our lives. Shimizu Corporation proposes The LUNA RING for the infinite coexistence of mankind and the Earth [ SHIMZ ]

» Dec 01 2013| Connecting Evaluators and Implementers of Low Carbon Policies and Programmes Policies and programmes for increased energy efficiency, energy savings and reduction of GHG emissions are ranked as top priorities by EU, IEA and UN to help the world face the critical issues of climate change and resource conservation. The increasing focus on energy policy and programmes has resulted in more challenging objectives and growing investment. There is therefore a need to improve the assessment of potential and actual impacts and to really understand what works and what does not. That's why high-quality evaluation practices are essential: to overcome the barrier due to the lack of confidence in the results, and to foster experience sharing. International Energy Policies & Programmes Evaluation Conference (IEPPEC), CALL FOR ABSTRACTS CLOSES DECEMBER 16, 2013 [ Dec 1 2013, IEPEC ]

» Dec 01 2013| Emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), an often-overlooked yet potent gas, could nearly double by 2050 and thus potentially undermine gains in the ozone layer recovery and exacerbate climate change. Drawing Down N2O to Protect Climate and the Ozone Layer, a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), warns that nitrous oxide is now the most important ozone-depleting emission and the third most potent greenhouse gas released into the atmosphere. While N2O exists naturally in the atmosphere in trace amounts, human activities have increased its concentrations since the industrial revolution. The UNEP report, produced in conjunction with scientists and experts from more than 35 organizations, points out that with determination and commitment to act it is possible to draw down nitrous oxide emissions. Reducing N2O emissions has major cost benefits since emissions are connected to diverse economic sectors from agriculture, chemical manufacturing and electricity production to waste management, transportation and fish production. Gains from emissions reduction will include increased crop and livestock productivity, poverty alleviation, improved human health and reduced environmental degradation. An earlier study quoted by the report indicated that an across-the-board improvement in nitrogen use efficiency of 20 per cent would cost around US$12 billion annually, but would save around US$23 billion in annual fertilizer costs alone [ Dec 1 2013, UNEP ]

» Dec 01 2013| At the recently concluded UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw (COP19/CMP9), countries have decided to advance the engagement of local governments in the global climate regime. The decisions include (1) facilitating the exchange of experiences and best practices between cities and subnational authorities in identifying and implementing opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, and (2) convening a specific forum as part of the UN Bonn Climate Conference in June 2014. Leading global cities network ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability welcomes this outcome and aims to further contribute through its various programs on climate action, including the Resilient Cities congress series, the global platform for urban resilience and climate change adaptation hosted every year in Bonn, Germany [ ICLEI ]

» Dec 01 2013| Agriculture in Africa must undergo significant productivity improvements to meet the combined challenges of population growth and climate change. A proposed means of achieving such improvements is increased use of a 'climate-smart agriculture' approach to agricultural development policy-making, which emphasizes the use of farming techniques that (1) increase yields, (2) reduce vulnerability to climate change, and (3) reduce greenhouse gas emissions [ FAO ]

» Nov 28 2013| UN-led negotiations on Climate change are to deliver an agreement in Paris in 2015. In parallel to the efforts within the UNFCCC some countries have decided to create or join climate inititives, so called clubs. The G8, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), and the Major Economies Forum (MEF), are prime examples of these climat eclubs. While some observers put great faith in these clubs, others see a risk that the proliferation of climate clubs should undermine the UNFCCCb>. This report is an attempt to address this question. The results of this study show that there are few signs of a conflictive relationship between the clubs and the UNFCCC, and that they could play an important role in paving the road to Paris. While the current set of clubs are not challenging the current climate governance architecture, it should be noted that some clubs are more conducive to the UNFCCC than others [ FORES ]

» Nov 28 2013| Global temperature rise since industrialization has not been uniform. A statistical analysis suggests that past changes in the rate of warming can be directly attributed to human influences, from economic downturns to the regulations of the Montreal Protocol [ Nature ]

» Nov 28 2013| Over the past several years, supermajor BP has built up reserves by acquiring acreage in some of the world's most challenging deepwater basins, including the Gulf of Mexico's ultra-deepwater Paleogene, Egypt's West Nile Delta, and offshore Azerbaijan, where reservoir pressures and temperatures exceed the industry's current technology capacity. It stands to reason, then, that BP has taken a leading position in the effort to develop that technology. Early last year, the company announced Project 20K, a multi-pronged research and development program to "develop, by the end of the decade, the technologies to be able to drill, complete, produce, and intervene in deepwater reservoirs that have (pressures of) 20,000 psi at the mudline," as BP's Project 20K leader in Houston, Kevin Kennelly, puts it. "Today's limit is at 15,000 psi. So this is an evolution up to the next spec break in equipment." [ Offshore-mag ]

» Nov 27 2013| The Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) - assigned by the Government of Norway - has established a new global carbon procurement facility to selectively acquire Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project activities or Programmes of Activities (PoAs) registered under the Kyoto Protocol of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (UNFCCC). The NEFCO Norwegian Carbon Procurement Facility (NorCaP) is wholly funded by the Norwegian government. NorCaP will purchase CERs for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol to be used by Norway to cover a part of its commitments under the Protocol. The principal objective of NorCaP is to prevent reversal of emission reduction activities in existing projects whose survival depend on a higher carbon price than achievable under current market conditions. [...] The NEFCO Norwegian Carbon Procurement Facility (NorCaP) has today launched its first Call for Proposals. NEFCO is inviting Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project participants to submit proposals for delivery of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) from commissioned CDM projects that are vulnerable to the current low CER prices. The Letter of Invitation, guidelines for submission and other relevant documents of the Call for Proposals can be found online [ NEFCO ]

» Nov 27 2013| Iran says its nuclear deal with US and EU has made it easier and cheaper to trade oil, due to an easement of insurance restrictions for purchasing countries. According to Reuters, the deal between Iran and six other countries offers partial relief from a shipping insurance ban that has forced some counties to reduce or avoid imports from the Middle Eastern nation. Although the deal does not put an end to US or EU sanctions, it does allow existing Iran crude oil customers to increase or resume shipments altered or reduced in light of the insurance ban [ PennEnergy ]

» Nov 27 2013| Novatek's CEO, Leonid Mikhelson, and Eni's CEO, Paolo Scaroni, signed today a Memorandum of Understanding which will pave the way for future co-operation between the two companies. The MoU, signed in the presence of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Italy's Prime Minister, Enrico Letta, confirms the intention of Novatek and Eni to jointly participate in future offshore projects in the Mediterranean Sea [ Eni ]

» Nov 27 2013| Pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO)), sulphur dioxide (SO2), sulphur trioxide (SO3), carbon dioxide (CO2), mercury (Hg) and particulate matter (PM), are formed when coal is combusted in a power plant boiler. With the concern over the environmental and health consequences of these pollutants, legislation and regulations have been implemented limiting the amounts that can be emitted to the atmosphere. Emission control systems on conventional coal-fired power plants typically employ technologies designed to remove one specific pollutant. These are then combined, in series, to remove several pollutants in order to meet the emission regulations. This report discusses multi-pollutant systems which remove two or more of the principal regulated pollutants (SO2, NOx, mercury, particulate matter and CO2) in a single reactor or a single system designed for the purpose. The emphasis is on commercial or near commercial processes, and those that are under active development [ IEA Clean Coal Center ]

» Nov 27 2013| A weak deal at U.N. climate talks in Warsaw underlines how hard it will be for EU leaders to forge an agreement on 2030 environment and energy goals early next year as some governments and businesses seek to place economics first [ pointcarbon ]

» Nov 26 2013| the Interim deal that Iran reached with world powers over the weekend will reduce concern about oil supply disruption, IHS CERA predicted today. "This lowers anxiety about worsening relations between Iran and world powers," it pointed out. "This means that there is less concern about the risk of a disruption to oil supplies from the critical Gulf region because of military action or tighter sanctions while negotiations continue." In addition, the EU has agreed under the interim accord to suspend sanctions on shipping insurance, a change that could facilitate Iranian oil shipments within the volumetric limits that the US set on buyers of Iranian crude. [ fairplay ]

» Nov 26 2013| The Unconventional gas revolution has precipitated numerous infrastructure projects to move and process previously unanticipated natural gas supplies. Those projects, in turn, have caused opponents to embrace new and innovative strategies designed to derail these projects. Many of these strategies are environmental, and they could be successful if pipeline companies, foundation shippers, and LNG project sponsors do not adapt their approach to project development [ OGFJ ]

» Nov 26 2013| EU carbon dipped on Monday as the market came under pressure from two government sales totalling 7 million permits [ Reuters ]

» Nov 26 2013| Enel Green Power SpA, a unit of Italy's biggest utility, began construction on Chiles largest solar farm in the northern Atacama desert. The $60 million Diego de Almagro project will have 36 megawatts of capacity, Rome-based Enel SpA said today in a statement on its website. It will produce enough power for about 45,000 homes. Chile has five solar plants online with a total of 6.9 megawatts of capacity, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. [ Bloomberg New Energy Finance ]

» Nov 25 2013| Since 1978, when China launched its "opening up" reform, a range of large-scale national science and technology programs have been implemented to spur economic development. Energy has received significant attention and has become a growing priority in the past years. In this paper we have analyzed the goals, management, and impact over time of China's three largest national programs: Gong Guan, 863, and 973 Programs. Using quantitative metrics to describe the input and output, by conducting semi-structured interviews with officials, scientists, and other decision makers, and by reviewing available documents as well as a case study on the coal sector we examined the changes in the decision making process, particularly in regard to the role of scientists. We found that the changes in strategic priorities set by China's high level political leaders were implemented and then transformed into outputs by using scientists as inputs or policy tools. The decreased role of scientists has been driven by two forces: (1) periodic changes in national strategy emphasizing technology commercialization; and (2) changes in the management structure involving low tolerance of risk. We suggest four ways that the government's efforts to turn China into an innovation oriented country [ Energy Policy ]

» Nov 25 2013| European Projects Can Excite Appetite of Financial Investors. There is plenty of opportunity for enhancing the "conservative" financing schemes of oil and gas companies, while maintaining strong cooperation between private companies and public authorities to increase the confidence needed by institutional funds to invest their big money in the European energy markets. Prospects for European gas markets are not that bleak. This was one of the messages delivered by the session "Investing in Gas Infrastructure" at the European Autumn Gas Conference, which also saw the unveiling of the forthcoming plans for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) [ Naturalgaseurope ]

» Nov 25 2013| Despite the uncertain political context, biofuel consumption growth was firm in European Union, rising to almost 14.4 Mtoe in 2012 (14.0 Mtoe in 2011). Increase in EU biofuel consumption in transport: +2.9% from 2011 to 2012 (+5.3% from 2010 to 2011); The biofuel incorporation rate in transport across the EU: 4.7% in 2012 [ EurObserv'ER Biofuels Barometers ]

» Nov 25 2013| A recent Wood Mackenzie analysis predicts that the Lower Tertiary play will drive long-term production growth in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico, with an expected $50 billion in development capex through 2020. Analyst Jackson Sandeen stated, "The commercial success of the Lower Tertiary has been robust, leading all other plays in our probable (commercial, pre-FID) development category with 54% of recoverable reserves. "Our base case model for a generic 300 MMboe Lower Tertiary field indicates a total valuation of $575 million, but this does not come without uncertainty. Reservoir characteristics can greatly impact project value depending on initial production rates and the pace of well decline. If the recovery factor in our base case is increased by 2%, an additional $462 million could be realized." [ Offshore-mag ]

» Nov 25 2013| Interior Department has collected and disbursed over US$14.2 billion this week courtesy of a record royalties and fees windfall from oil & gas drilling on public land and US territorial waters for the fiscal year ending September 30. The figure is the second-highest collection on file and represents an annualised increase of $2 billion over the last fiscal year. Fracking and horizontal drilling coupled with increasing interest in offshore E&P are being seen as the drivers. There is one caveat though, the figure does include proceeds of a bonus licensing bid in the Gulf of Mexico that took place in 2012, but was put on ledgers for 2013 [ Nov 25 2013, Oilholics ]

» Nov 24 2013| What have Iran and the P5+1 agreed? On 24 November 2013, negotiators reached an interim deal after intensive talks in Geneva. It marked the biggest breakthrough in about a decade of on-off meetings. Iran agreed to curb its enrichment activities in return for an easing of some sanctions. This "first step" agreement will apply for six months, giving time for a "comprehensive solution" to the crisis to be found. [...] Why is there a crisis? In short, because world powers suspect Iran has not been honest about its nuclear programme and is seeking to build a nuclear bomb. Iran says it has the right to nuclear energy - and stresses that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only. [...] What led to the crisis? Iran's nuclear programme became public in 2002, when an opposition group revealed secret activity including a uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and a heavy-water reactor at Arak. The Iranian government subsequently agreed to inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) [ BBC ]

» Nov 22 2013| When we examine the full costs of public programs that pay for disaster relief and recovery from extreme weather events - ad hoc disaster assistance appropriations, flood insurance, crop insurance, wildfire protection, and state run "residual market" insurance programs - we can begin to understand the price to U.S. taxpayers of inaction on climate change. As the frequency and severity of extreme weather events intensify with the effects of climate change, our federal and state disaster relief and insurance programs will become increasingly unsustainable as losses from such events increase. The net present value of the federal government's liability for unfunded disaster assistance over the next 75 years could be greater than the net present value of the unfunded liability for the Social Security program. Boosting our resiliency [ Ceres ]

» Nov 22 2013| Nuclear generation in Japan represented about 26% of the power generation prior to the 2011 earthquake and was one of the country's least expensive forms of power supply. Japan replaced the significant loss of nuclear power with generation from imported natural gas, low-sulfur crude oil, fuel oil, and coal that caused a higher price of electricity for its government, utilities, and consumers. Fuel import cost increases have resulted in Japan's top 10 utilities losing over $30 billion in the past two years. Japan spent $250 billion on total fuel imports in 2012, a third of the country's total import charge. Despite strength in export markets, the yen's depreciation and soaring natural gas and oil import costs from a greater reliance on fossil fuels continued to deepen Japan's recent trade deficit throughout 2013. [...] Japan is the world's largest liquefied natural gas importer, second largest coal importer, and third largest net oil importer. Japan has limited domestic energy resources. It meets less than 15% of its own total primary energy use from domestic sources. It is the third largest oil consumer and importer in the world behind the United States and China. Furthermore, it ranks as the world's largest importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and second largest importer of coal behind China. In light of the country's lack of sufficient domestic hydrocarbon resources, Japanese energy companies have actively pursued participation in upstream oil and natural gas projects overseas and provide engineering, construction, financial, and project management services for energy projects around the world. Japan is one of the major exporters of energy-sector capital equipment, and has a strong energy research and development (R&D) program supported by the government. This program pursues energy efficiency measures domestically in order to increase the country's energy security and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions [ EIA ]

» Nov 21 2013| South Africa will soon connect 633MW of onshore wind projects to the electricity grid. South Africa is quickly becoming the most exciting onshore industry in the world as the country's first round of projects near connection dates. Get exclusive insight into Eskom's views of onshore wind in South Africa [...] Development Pathways: Take note from an industry expert on how a sustainable development pathway can be reached through the evolution of the onshore community. Grid connection strategy: Understand how the SA utility grow their knowledge of onshore wind to ensure smooth grid integration. Future Foresight: Hear what is needed for the SA onshore industry to continue its growth into a profitable successful market [ windenergyupdate ]

» Nov 21 2013| In its "Short-Term Energy Outlook," the US Energy Information Administration forecast that prices for crude and oil-based fuels will continue to fall through the end of the year and will average lower in 2014. The EIA lowered its projection for the average price of regular gasoline for the fourth quarter of 2013, cutting it by 10 cents to $3.24 per gallon Since the beginning of September, the weekly national average price of gasoline has dropped by more than 40 cents. For the year, EIA expects gasoline to average $3.50 per gallon, down 13 cents from last year's average. The agency expects it to fall further in 2014, averaging $3.39. The price cuts come as US oil production soars. In October, the country produced more crude than it imported, for the first time since February 1995. The EIA forecasts that US oil production will jump by 1 million barrels per day next year, reaching 8.5 million barrels per day. As the US pumps more oil, the EIA forecasts that the crude oil prices will decline. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, will drop from an average of $97.74 per barrel this year to $95 per barrel in 2013. Brent crude, the international benchmark, is projected to fall from $108.01 to $103 per barrel [ OGFJ ]

» Nov 21 2013| 2014 will be the most significant year for North Sea stakeholders in decades. The vote for Scottish Independence has dominated the news and as the date comes closer (18/9/2014), there are still many questions to be answered - in particular, the decommissioning of North Sea assets. DecomWorld has interviewed Professor John Paterson, Chair of Law at the University of Aberdeen, to get a legal perspective of the ramifications for decommissioning under an independent Scotland. Highlights include Insight into maritime boundaries, the evolution of the UK's fiscal approach to decommissioning, an evaluation of the SNP's pledge and the obligations for companies under and independent Scotland [ DecomWorld ]

» Nov 21 2013| Eni signed an agreement to sell its 60% stake in Arctic Russia to Yamal Development, a joint venture equally owned by Novatek and GazpromNeft. Artic Russia owns 49% of Severenergia, which holds four licenses for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the region of Yamal Nenets. The transaction is subject to receipt of necessary approvals. The sale price is 2.94 billion dollars, which will be paid in cash at closing. Following the closing of the transaction, Eni will no longer hold a stake in Severenergia. With this sale Eni monetizes its investment in Siberian upstream assets, which have been significantly matured, coherently with its objective of creating value for shareholders [ Nov 21 2013, Eni ]

» Nov 20 2013| The persistence of climate change negotiators huddled together in Warsaw from over 190 countries is laudable. Even when countries are failing to reign in their greenhouse emissions that is causing a rise in global temperatures, the negotiations keep going. This is their 19th attempt under the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which meets every year to get member countries to take action on climate change. But 'action' seems to be an elusive and a constantly receding goal. [ Vikas Nath ]

» Nov 20 2013| BP gas discovery in Egypt's East Nile Delta. A major gas discovery in Egypt underlines BP's long-term commitment to the North African country despite this year's civil unrest and political developments. One of the deepest exploration wells ever drilled in the country, the Salamat well reached nearly seven kilometres, in a water depth of 649 metres. It is the first well to be drilled in the North Damietta offshore concession, granted to BP and partners in early 2010. BP has all of the equity in the Salamat discovery. Striking gas at Salamat is important, not only for BP Egypt's hydrocarbon portfolio, but also as a demonstration of the company's continuing investment in the country during challenging times, according to regional president for Egypt, Hesham Mekawi [ BP ]

» Nov 20 2013| The pumps market reached $35.3 million in revenues in 2012 thanks to large shale gas reserves in Europe encouraging companies to drill for oil and gas, according to a new Frost & Sullivan report. The Strategic Analysis of the Pumps Market in the European Shale Gas Industry report said the market will likely reach $47.7 million in 2017. "Vast shale gas reserves across Europe and the economic benefits of shale gas exploration will encourage exploration," said Niranjan Paul, Frost & Sullivan industrial automation and process control research analyst. "However, the potential growth of pump manufacturers targeting the region's shale gas industry will vary according to the country [ PennEnergy ]

» Nov 20 2013| Side-event on Stepping up climate action in the Mediterranean region - the role of the Union for the Mediterranean at the occasion of the 19th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change / CMP 9, to be held in Warsaw, 21 November 2013 at 13:00 by European Commission - DG Climate Action in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean. The event will aim to present the climate change related activities and initiatives promoted and facilitated in the Mediterranean region by the Union for the Mediterranean. It will also introduce the role of the UfM Secretariat and animate discussion on possible future initiatives and enhanced cooperation on the topic as supported by the EU. Particular focus will be given to concrete actions on mitigation, illustrated by some existing and planned initiatives/ projects, such as the Mediterranean Solar Plan and the Sustainable Consumption and Production models/patterns. Finally, the event will tackle possible ways towards increasing cooperation on similar activities in the region [ UMF ]

» Nov 19 2013| CDP at COP 19. A high-level event with the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Creating business value by taking climate action. The 2013 CDP S&P 500 climate change report presents the progress achieved by 3341 S&P 500 companies in reducing emissions, responding to climate-related risks and opportunities, and mobilizing influence to manage climate change. This year's responses demonstrate a significantly more mature level of climate change management - as well as a drive to lead among peers. [ ... ] The 3% Solution report is the result of a six-year effort that builds on the input and expertise of a wide array of climate, energy and corporate sustainability experts [...] A 2020 science-based emissions target for the U.S. economy breaks down to about a 3% average annual reduction by all U.S. companies. The key question posed in this report is: How far can a business case take us toward that goal? The 3% Solution shows that we can reach this entire 2020 goal, profitably [ cdproject ]

» Nov 19 2013| Deadly rainstorm floods Italian island. At least 17 killed and several missing as flash floods submerge large parts of Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The death toll from torrential flash floods that whipped the Italian island of Sardinia has increased to 17, the island's governor said. Hundreds were forced to evacuate after the floods hit, with bridges felled by gushing, muddy rivers and water levels reaching three metres high in some places. Olbia Mayor Gianni Giovanelli told news agency Sky TG24 early on Tuesday that the city had been destroyed by the "apocalyptic'' storm [ aljazeera ]

» Nov 18 2013| The global market for drilling fluids is expected to grow to $12.31 billion by 2018, thanks to an uptick in onshore and offshore oil and gas drilling activities, according to a new report from Transparency Market Research. In 2007, the drilling fluids market was valued at $7.2 billion, the report stated. Deep sea reserves, however, are expected to drive much of the growth in the market. Deep sea offshore drilling activities are more expensive to complete, which generates more revenue for drilling fluid manufacturers. "This trend is expected to drive the global demand for drilling fluids over the forecast period," the report said. "Increasing exploration of shale gas, coal bed methane (CBM) and other unconventional resources promotes the use of horizontal drilling, which is also expected to boost market revenue for drilling fluids." The environmental concern over disposal of drilling fluids is expected to hinder growth of the market, according to the report. Geopolitical issues in Middle Eastern countries, which are major global producers of oil, will also keep the market from expanding more through 2018 [ PennEnergy ]

» Nov 18 2013| The issues of long-term national commitments to reduce ghg emissions is being negotiated in Warsaw under the Durban Platform. The Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) is a subsidiary body of the UNFCCC that was established by a decision of the Durban COP in December 2011. The mandate of the ADP is to develop a protocol, another legal instrument, or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties, which is to be completed no later than 2015 in order for it to be adopted at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and for it to come into effect and be implemented from 2020. Among many other issues, the new treaty will need to take a position on several issues relating to national ghg emissions obligations after 2020. The last entry in this series examined some of the most recent scientific evidence that has concluded that the world is rapidly running out of time to prevent dangerous climate change<. The staggering magnitude of the challenge facing the international community to limit warming to 2 degrees C can be visualized by understanding the following chart that depicts three ghg emissions reductions pathways which would allow the world to stay within a specific remaining budget to achieve a specific atmospheric concentration of ghgs. As we explained in the last entry, the IPCC has in September of this year described a budget that would give the world a 66% confidence of preventing the 2 degree C warming limit which the international community has agreed upon. Any atmospheric ghg concentration target can only state the warming that will be experienced at the concentration limited by a probability statement because there is scientific uncertainty about climate sensitivity, a term which is used to describe the warming that will be caused by different concentration of atmospheric ghgs. The level of certainty that we should seek to limit warming to a specific atmospheric concentration is itself an ethical question, not just a scientific question which often goes unexamined by the scientific community when discussing warming limits and emissions budgets to achieve warming limits. [ Ethics and climate, Donald Brown ]

» Nov 16 2013| South East Europe at biggest risk of Ukraine-Russia gas row [...] Potentially worst hit by a renewed gas crisis would be the far southeast of Europe, where there are no major gas links with neighbours. "If the gas stops flowing, there is a very dark scenario for Bosnia, which has no reserves and nearly all gas comes from Russia. On top of that, BH Gas has no funds to buy gas on the spot market," said Almir Becarevic, an advisor to Bosnia's indebted main gas distributor BH Gas. In a drive to dampen the effect of future rows between Russia and Ukraine in central and southern Europe, Gazprom and its partners, Italy's Eni, France's EDF and Germany's Wintershall has begun building the South Stream pipeline, which plans to start exporting Russian gas via the Black Sea into southern and eastern Europe from 2015, again avoiding transit through Ukraine. But until then, the region remains vulnerable to such disputes and Italy, one of Europe's biggest economies and gas users, could also be hit. Italy receives almost 40 percent of its gas from North Africa, but supply disruptions in Libya and general concern over North African stability have sparked efforts to shift towards more Russian imports, which currently meet 35 percent of needs [ Reuters UK ]

» Nov 15 2013| There are five major oil and gas trends that have the ability to take us back to those first golden days of the industry, but the golden days won't last forever and before we know it, deep-waters won't look so deep, and the unconventional will become the new conventional. [...] Around 30% of oil and gas extracted in the world is from off-shore oil & gas production, and most of that offshore production is from shallow water wells. Only 9% of that oil and gas is being recovered from deep-water wells, but this is changing - rapidly. Over the next 15 to 20 years the industry expects offshore oil and gas production will equal on-shore production. Most onshore fields have matured, but the ocean holds vast untapped potential, and the oil industry is betting its future on deep-water drilling. The industry is spending some $27 billion annually on subsea facilities -for wells at depths of 7,000 feet or more. That number is set to grow almost five times to $130 billion in 2020. [...] Another game-changing dynamic in the industry is the increasing application of supercomputers that make exploration fast and easy. Supercomputing and use of massive amounts of seismic imaging data help us to find the sweet spots for exploration without tons of expensive and time-consuming drilling. Supercomputers can find the same amount of oil in weeks that it used to take decades to hit. [...] In recent years the industry has added 4D imaging, which unlocks a variable that allows oil and gas companies not only to determine the geological characteristics of a potential play, but also gives them a look at the how a reservoir is changing-in real time. Then we have the rise of US natural gas exports and the race to build infrastructure to get liquefied natural gas (LNG) to international markets that are scrambling for more. Finally, we have the shale revolution that is waiting to explode outside of North America, with much of Europe dawdling on this, but Ukraine ready and waiting for the investor onslaught, Russia prepping its 75 billion barrels of recoverable shale oil and Argentina doing the same with its 27 billion barrels of recoverable shale oil and 802 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas-among many other potential venues [ oilprice.com ]

» Nov 15 2013| Saudi Arabia accounted for 32.3% of OPEC's total output in 2013 (to October), an increase from 31.6% in 2012, as it continues to act as OPEC's swing producer, offsetting continuing disruptions in both Libyan and Nigerian output during the year. Saudi Arabia has been enjoying a greater output share since 2011, boosting production to make up for both Libya's output outages throughout 2011 and the loss of Iranian crude due to sanctions. However, Saudi Arabia may see its percentage share drop in 4Q13 and beyond, due in part to a seasonal fall in local demand after the summer peaks, but also an increase in Iraqi output, which is expected to reach 3.5 mbpd by the end of this year [ Nov 15 2013, CGES ]

» Nov 14 2013| IEA releases latest statistics on global CO2 emissions from fuel combustion. "CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2013 - Highlights", a free document including all the latest information on the level and growth of CO2 emissions and their drivers, has been released by the IEA to provide input and support for the UN climate negotiations in Warsaw. Key findings include: Global CO2 emissions increased by 49% since 1990, reaching 31.3 GtCO2 in 2011. Despite some decoupling between economic growth and energy use, increasing wealth and population, with a practically unchanged carbon intensity of the energy mix, drove such dramatic emissions increase; In 2011, two-thirds of global emissions originated from just ten countries, with the shares of China and the United States far surpassing those of all others. Coal drove a significant emissions increase in developing countries, while developed countries slightly decreased their emissions compared to 2010; Emission levels for the group of countries participating in the Kyoto Protocol were in 2011 about 12% below 1990, collectively, although large differences were observed on a country basis. The full-scale study CO₂ Emissions from Fuel Combustion 2013 includes even more comprehensive information, such as tables and graphs by country and region. Complete time series of CO2 emissions data and indicators are also found at the IEA online data services. The document is available for download in pdf and excel formats at: [ IEA ]

» Nov 14 2013| The Arab world's energy exporting states are not saving enough of their oil windfall and as a group may start running a fiscal deficit in 2016 if current policies do not change, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday. "Together with substantial oil revenue risks, this prospect underscores the need for countries to build or strengthen their fiscal and external buffers," the IMF said in a report. In 2012, total state spending in the six Gulf Cooperation Council members - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain - climbed 9.7 percent, a Reuters calculation based on IMF data shows. That is much less than the 17.7 percent jump in 2011, when governments boosted social welfare and infrastructure spending to ease social tensions during the Arab Spring uprisings. The IMF expects growth in the GCC's state spending to slow further in coming years; it forecasts an average rise of just over 4 percent annually in 2013-2018, compared to the 15 percent clip seen over the last decade, its data shows. But on current indications, this spending restraint will not be enough to prevent state budgets in many countries from going into the red, the IMF predicted. Bahrain is currently the only GCC country in the red; it is expected to be followed by Oman as soon as in 2015, and Saudi Arabia in 2018. [...] Even as spending grows too fast, revenues are threatened by the risks of lower oil prices and a drop in global demand for Arab oil, the IMF added. Oil export receipts account for over 80 percent of government revenues in the region, and the IMF said the most important threat to revenues was now the possibility of excess supply in the global oil market [ Zawya ]

» Nov 13 2013| Light tight oil does not diminish the importance of Middle East supply, IEA says in latest World Energy Outlook. Technology and high prices are opening up new oil resources, but this does not mean the world is on the verge of an era of oil abundance, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) 2013 edition of the World Energy Outlook (WEO-2013). Although rising oil output from North America and Brazil reduces the role of OPEC countries in quenching the world's thirst for oil over the next decade, the Middle East - the only large source of low-cost oil - takes back its role as a key source of oil supply growth from the mid-2020s. The annual report presents a central scenario in which global energy demand rises by one-third in the period to 2035. The shift in global energy demand to Asia gathers speed, but China moves towards a back seat in the 2020s as India and countries in Southeast Asia take the lead in driving consumption higher. The Middle East also moves to centre stage as an energy consumer, becoming the world's second-largest gas consumer by 2020 and third-largest oil consumer by 2030, redefining its role in global energy markets. Brazil, a special focus in WEO-2013, maintains one of the least carbon-intensive energy sectors in the world, despite experiencing an 80% increase in energy use to 2035 and moving into the top ranks of global oil producers. Energy demand in OECD countries barely rises and by 2035 is less than half that of non-OECD countries. Low-carbon energy sources meet around 40% of the growth in global energy demand. In some regions, rapid expansion of wind and solar PV raises fundamental questions about the design of power markets and their ability to ensure adequate investment and long-term reliability [ IEA ]

» Nov 13 2013| Libyan minority protesters shut a gas export pipeline to Italy Nov. 11th. The Amazigh, or Berber, protestors are demanding more representation in the government, the Global Times reported. They entered the Green Steam pipeline plant in western Libya and forced staff to shut down the facility and pipeline. [...] The incident came a day after the General National Congress turned down a proposal from the Amazigh High Council regarding the voting mechanism on a constitutional panel that handles sensitive national issues like national languages and cultural identity, the Global Times reported. Italy is the only customer of the Green Steam pipeline. Italy also relies heavily on gas from Russia. But Ukraine recently halted gas imports from Russia, which may impact Italy's supplies [ PennEnergy ]

» Nov 13 2013| New oil and gas sector report highlights need to adapt to climate change risks. Today, there is growing worldwide recognition of the need to adapt the way societies live, work and govern themselves in response to the accumulating effects of climate change. Across the public and private sectors, from national to local governments, and from companies and business associations to communities, there is widespread adoption and implementation of policies and plans to adapt to climate change. In fact, climate change adaptation is now ranging alongside mitigation at the top of the climate issues agenda. This summer, IPIECA, the oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues, made its first significant step in this direction with the publication of a report, Addressing Adaptation in the Oil and Gas Industry. The report points out: 'As responses to climate change impacts extend beyond greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, governments and companies increasingly recognize the need to integrate adaptation planning and implementation into balanced risk management strategies.' Accordingly, the report examines oil and gas industry awareness of climate change-related risks, and identifies potential responses and ways in which these responses are being integrated into broad risk management frameworks [ outreach, stakeholderforum ]

» Nov 12 2013| As the costs to people and planet continue to rise, how can disparate sectors be encouraged to find common solutions to common problems? Live chat: how to build a global coalition to end climate change. As he delivered the closing address at the Bond annual conference on Tuesday 5 November, Kevin Watkins, identified a problem that most would agree exists but few know quite how to solve. The executive director of the Overseas Development Institute said that the development community spoke often about climate change but in reality . [...] Join theGuardian expert panel on Thursday, 14 November, from 1-3pm GMT. The outcomes from the live chat will be fed into a Connect4Climate workshop at COP19 on 20 November [ theGuardian ]

» Nov 12 2013| The autonomous region of Kurdistan within Iraq's borders is drawing 'crude' headlines yet again. It's that old row about who controls what and gives rights for E&P activity in the region - the Federal administration in Baghdad or the provincial administration in Erbil? The historical context is provided by Gulf War I, when allied forces imposed a no-fly zone, and the Kurds subsequently pushed Saddam Hussein's forces back outside the provincial border. That was 1991, this is 2013 - a lot has changed for Iraq, but one thing hasn't - Iraqi Kurdistan is as autonomous today, as it was back then. In fact, it is more prosperous and an oasis of calm compared to the rest of the Federal state. One simple measure is that the rest of Iraq ravaged by sectarian conflict and Gulf War II still only provides its citizens with about an average of 6 to 7 hours of electricity per day. The average resident of Erbil gets 22 hours and sees infrastructural spending all around, driven by targeted revenue from oil and gas licensing and exports. Since 2006, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been granting rights for exploration within its borders to firms from Norway to the US, with much gusto and on better terms, many say, than the Federal administration in Baghdad. The Iraqi government in turn says KRG has no right to do so [ oilholicssynonymous ]

» Nov 11 2013| The Changing Geopolitics of Natural Gas: The Case of Algeria. Some of the most dramatic energy developments of recent years have been in the realm of natural gas. Huge quantities of unconventional U.S. shale gas are now commercially viable, changing the strategic picture for the United States by making it self-sufficient in natural gas for the foreseeable future. This development alone has reverberated throughout the globe, causing shifts in patterns of trade and leading other countries in Europe and Asia to explore their own shale gas potential. Such developments are putting pressure on longstanding arrangements, such as oil-linked gas contracts and the separate nature of North American, European, and Asian gas markets, and may lead to strategic shifts, such as the weakening of Russia's dominance in the European gas market. [...] The Algerian case points to the possible effect of three factors in the global gas market: 1) the changing relationship between spot pricing and long-term contract prices, 2) the effect of unconventional gas development (in the United States and eventually in Europe and Asia) on the supply and price of natural gas, and 3) the apparent movement from regional gas markets and dynamics to global interconnectedness of gas supply and prices [ Harvard Belfer Center ]

» Nov 11 2013| OECD/IEA Climate Change Expert Group (CCXG) papers. Establishing and Understanding Post-2020 Climate Change Mitigation Commitments, A new international climate change agreement that will have legal force and be applicable to all countries is being negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement is to be adopted by 2015 and come into effect from 2020. An effective agreement would include quantitative mitigation commitments from all major emitters and result in concrete actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while catalysing long-term transformations to low-carbon and climate-resilient economies. The aim of this paper is to explore what mitigation commitments put forward under the 2015 agreement might look like, what guidance might be agreed regarding the type of commitments proposed, and which "rules of the game" would need to be agreed before draft commitments for the post-2020 period are put forward. The paper outlines what ex-ante information would need to be provided in order to understand commitments, and explores whether guidance could take the form of "bounded flexibility" for the various dimensions describing mitigation commitments in order to provide a basis for post-2020 emissions accounting and tracking progress. It also describes possible stages of the process for establishing commitments for the 2015 agreement. [...] Exploring climate finance effectiveness. This paper explores how different communities view climate finance effectiveness; the policies or institutional pre-conditions that facilitate effectiveness; and how effectiveness is currently monitored and evaluated. [...] concludes by discussing the conflicts and trade-offs encountered in assessing effectiveness and a possible way forward in balancing multiple views and priorities [ OECD ]

» Nov 09 2013| Ukraine may be a step closer to strengthening its energy independence. The nation signed a $10 billion agreement with Chevron Corp. to explore shale gas [...] Chevron's agreement with Ukraine was supported by the U.S. as part of its national security strategy to help reduce Russia's hold on Europe and Kiev [...] The U.S. administration has also promoted the so-called Southern Corridor series of pipelines, a transit route for gas coming from the Caspian Sea basin to Europe, as a means to diversify Europe's energy without having to rely on Russian gas that passes through Ukraine [ ibtimes ]

» Nov 09 2013| A new report by the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) examines how insurance fits into comprehensive climate risk management strategies of countries. The report explores how insurance can enhance existing risk management approaches to assist affected populations and enhance prevention and risk reduction. Including risk transfer tools like insurance may in some cases also speed up recovery efforts after extreme weather events. By transferring some of the risk and the financial burden to a third party, the report finds evidence that some insurance programs have shielded national budgets of governments. Insurance availability is correlated with better economic performance after shocks such as weather-related hazard events. On the household level, insurance has been shown to manage risks that would be too large for individuals to cover on their own after losing their assets in a natural catastrophe [ climateinsurance ]

» Nov 08 2013| Energy markets are at a crossroads. The level of investments in electricity recently reached an unprecedented $700 billion a year. Private funds are progressively redirecting their attention to emerging markets, looking for more profitable business opportunities. Investors are increasingly global. This was one of the messages delivered at The Changing Dynamics of Global Energy Markets, a two-day conference organized by the London-based think-thank . At the same time, the participants suggested that European countries cannot remain idle. National governments are called to facilitate investments and actively promote indigenous production. The record investment registered in the North Sea in 2012 was given as the example of a centrally induced production. European governments are called to follow similiar examples and intervene now. The so-called developed countries are competing with new markets both as producers and investors, while striving to promote integration of still-inefficient continental markets. [ naturalgaseurope ]

» UNFCCC Adaptation Committee new report on the State of Adaptation under the Convention. The Adaptation Committee seeks to raise awareness and understanding of the variety of adaptation-bodies, programmes and workstreams under the Convention and how they contribute jointly to enhanced action on adaptation. This report is structured as follows: section II provides some background on the adaptation challenge. Section III elaborates on the evolution of adaptation under the Convention, while section IV provides some insights on support available for adaptation under the Convention, including finance, technology and capacity-building. Engaging stakeholders is discussed in section V. The report concludes with a description of how the implementation of adaptation-related provisions under the Convention is facilitated by the secretariat (section VI). [ Nov 08 2013, UNFCCC ]

» Ukraine and Chevron announced they have officially signed a deal to explore the European country's shale gas reserves. The $10 billion deal is one of the biggest of its kind in Europe, the Financial Times reported, and grants U.S. energy company Chevron the rights to drill in two Ukrainian regions estimated to hold 2.98 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves [ Nov 07 2013, PennEnergy ]

» new Report. The Taxation of Upstream Oil provides insights into the complex and evolving world of upstream taxation. It offers an understanding of the fiscal analysis from the perspective of both Government and industry. What are the fundamental fiscal constructs? What factors drive fiscal choices and what can we expect in the decades to come in terms of further fiscal evolution? The report explains the characteristics of oil and gas operations which in turn shape fiscal outcomes. It highlights the evolution of petroleum fiscal regimes since the beginning of the oil industry. Throughout, the report provides examples of fiscal behaviour from major oil producing countries to help illustrate the issues. [ Nov 07 2013, cges ]

» Thanks to a policy decision among its Executive Committee, the ETDE World Energy Base (ETDEWEB) has now been opened to everyone. The largest single resource for energy-related research information, ETDEWEB has close to 5 million citation references and nearly 500,000 PDFs directly and freely available to view/download. Well over a million more have links to articles on publisher sites or the originating organization. ETDE covers all kinds of energy information, from renewables, to clean coal, nuclear, materials, engineering, and lots of science. Environmental and policy aspects, conservation, efficiency, energy storage, sustainability and more can all be found in ETDEWEB. Previously, ETDEWEB access had been limited to countries participating in the ETDE information exchange agreement and some developing countries. Now, anyone can search the database. [ Nov 07 2013, ETDEWEB ]

» LIBYA is facing an oil production crisis which is having a devastating effect on the country's economy. Onshore oil fields, installations, and port facilities have been hit by strikes, sabotage and cuts, which have nearly halted both production and exports. Months of disruption by protesters, armed industrial action, and political rivalries between different groups vying for control of local oil and gas resources have seen a significant fall in both oil production and exports. This has come two years after Libya's former leader Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011 after falling into rebel hands. In October 2013, militias in eastern Libya seized control of key oil infrastructure as they demanded the centres of oil power move east from the central government in Tripoli to Benghazi, home of the civil war that ultimately brought an end to the Gaddafi era. Oil is the main source of revenue for the North African country and the disruptions have cost the government and economy billions of dollars [ Nov 06 2013, worldreview, C. Nakhle ]

» Climate change policy-making has traditionally been the remit of environment ministries, but foreign ministries can play a valuable role in climate diplomacy by signalling high-level political commitment, contributing a better understanding of the interests and domestic drivers of climate policy in partner countries, and adding a more significant strategic dimension to climate diplomacy. The creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in 2010 provided the European Union with an opportunity to build a European diplomacy that could place greater emphasis on climate change and other contemporary global issues. In its current form, however, the EEAS has limited capacity for climate diplomacy, and the external capacity of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Climate Action is similarly constrained [ Nov 06 2013, FIIA ]

» Eni signed an agreement with Quicksilver Resources to jointly evaluate, explore and develop unconventional oil reservoirs (shale oil) onshore US. Eni will earn a 50% share in 52,500 gross acres held by Quicksilver in the Leon Valley area, located in Pecos County (West Texas) approximately 800 km northwest of Houston, Texas. The terms of the agreement calls for an initial three phase program that includes the drilling of up to five exploration wells and the acquisition of a 3D seismic survey, aimed at determining the hydrocarbon potential of the area and the subsequent development plan. In order to earn a 50% interest in Quicksilver acreage, Eni will pay up to $52 million representing 100% of the drilling, completion and seismic costs. Following this initial investment, any future expenditure will be shared equally between Eni and Quicksilver [ Nov 06 2013, Eni ]

» The Clean Energy Solutions Center in partnership with the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) is pleased to present a webinar exploring the key findings of REN21's Renewables 2013 Global Status Report and IEA's Medium-Term Renewable Energy Market Report 2013: Market Trends and Projections to 2018. REN21's Renewables 2013 Global Status Report (GSR) speaks to the cumulating effect of steady growth in renewable energy markets, support policies and investment over the past years. The latest report provides a comprehensive and timely overview of renewable energy market, industry, investment and policy development worldwide. Event time | 0700 PST | 0800 MST | 0900 CST | 1000 EST | 1600 CET [ Nov 06 2013, cleanenergysolutions ]

» SFEN (Societe Francaise d'Energie Nucleaire), "Nuclear Energy and the Power grid", Atoms for the Future 2013 has gathered 250 attendees in Paris, France. Download all the materials and slides presented by high ranking speakers coming from AREVA, EDF, CEA, RTE, ErDF, CRE, E.On, OECD, IAEA, IEA, etc. [ Nov 05 2013, SFEN ]

» Report of the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) to the Conference of the Parties (COP) is now published on the UNFCCC website. This report contains information and recommendations on the work of the SCF in 2013, including: the report on the first forum of the SCF; draft arrangements between the COP and the Green Climate Fund (GCF); the outcome of the discussions on the draft updated guidelines for the fifth review of the financial mechanism of the Convention; elements of draft guidance to the Global Environment Facility; elements of draft initial guidance to the GCF; the objective and scope of, and a tentative timeline for, the first biennial assessment and overview of climate finance flows; and the workplan of the SCF for 2014-2015 [ Nov 05 2013, UNFCCC ]

» Gulf operators advance plans for deepwater development. As operators and E&P firms seek to develop and produce oil and gas further out into the Gulf of Mexico, vendors and suppliers are facilitating these projects with a range of new and proven technologies designed to perform in harsh, deepwater environments [ Nov 04 2013, offshore mag ]

» The global power landscape is undergoing a profound change. Driven by a confluence of forces - chief among them being environmental concerns, worries over energy security, and advances in technology - countries are beginning to move away from conventional, fossil-fuel-based power generation in favor of renewable-energy sources, distributed generation, and managed demand. Increasingly, they are even rethinking their use of nuclear power - for safety reasons in some countries, for economic reasons in many others. As this trend, which is still in its early stages, broadens and gathers pace, it will transform virtually every aspect of how electricity is generated and consumed, with the long-term potential for a cleaner environment, greater energy security, and increasingly competitive electricity prices [...] Germany, whose government has defined a vision for the country's energy future that strongly emphasizes renewable sources and energy efficiency, is at the forefront of this move away from conventional generation [ Nov 04 2013, bcg.perspectives report ]

» The Saudis Are Mad? Tough! [...] Saudi royals have been rattled by the events in their region and beyond. They sense that the discontent that launched the Arab Spring is not absent in their own populace. They fear the rehabilitation of Iran. They also know that the U.S. might very soon find itself entirely independent of Middle Eastern oil [ Nov 02 2013, Time Magazine ]

» What is clear is that world energy demand is set to grow. In OPEC's World Oil Outlook, world energy demand rises by 52 per cent over the period between 2010 and 2035. Renewables, from wind, solar, small hydro and geothermal, are expected to grow at over seven per cent per year, often as a result of government support and incentives. They certainly hold promise; but globally their share of the energy mix will still be less than three per cent by 2035, given their low initial base. Both the share of biomass and nuclear remain at steady levels throughout the period 2010-to-2035, at around nine per cent and just below six per cent respectively. It is clear that fossil fuels will continue to play the dominant role in meeting demand, although their overall share will fall from 82 to 80 per cent. Throughout most of this period, oil will remain the energy source with the largest share, although its overall share declines from 33 to 27 per cent. Coal's share remains relatively stable at around 27 per cent. The share of natural gas, however, is expected to rise from 22 to 26 per cent [ Nov 01 2013, OPEC ]

» Kazakhstan may hold 30 billion barrels of proven oil reserves< - nearly half of which are located in the Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Kashagan field has the fifth-largest oilfield volume in the world, and is estimated to hold 13 billion barrels of oil, the EIA said. The agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, updated its assessment of Kazakhstan Oct. 28 [ Oct 31 2013, PennEnergy ]

» The "carbon bubble" is a concept that has been gaining momentum over the past year. In brief, the theory claims that in order to avoid catastrophic climate change, the world must remain within its "carbon budget"- the volume of CO2 that can be emitted before the Earth's temperature is pushed over the 2ºC benchmark agreed upon by the international community. However, according to the IEA, "no more than one-third of proven reserves of fossil fuels can be consumed prior to 2050 if the world is to achieve the 2ºC goal, unless carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology is widely deployed." Following this theory to its logical end, the remaining two-thirds of global fossil fuel reserves are "unburnable"- that is, worthless. Addressing the market implications of this reality, HSBC published a report that found that a carbon-constrained future could dramatically reduce the market value of major fossil fuel firms- up to 60%, depending on demand repercussions [...] Anne Stausboll, chief executive of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), said, "we have a fiduciary duty to ensure that companies we invest in are fully addressing the risks that climate change poses." CalPERS is the largest pension fund in the United States with almost $260 billion in assets [ Oct 31 2013, nakedcapitalism ]

» Metals for low carbon society. Renewable energy requires infrastructures built with metals whose extraction requires more and more energy. More mining is unavoidable, but increased recycling, substitution and careful design of new high-tech devices will help meet the growing demand [ Oct 30 2013, Nature geoscience ]

» Environment and energy. ICC business perspective on climate change negotiations: Competitiveness - Opportunity - Partnership. Business is part of the solution to addressing the impacts of climate change and moving towards a "green economy" - "inside" the UNFCCC and "outside" in intergovernmental and national fora, including the G20 and WTO. Companies have been taking actions that address climate change impacts and lower emissions of greenhouse gases through investment, research and deploying innovative technologies, processes, products and services. ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) and its members have consistently shared their expertise and views. As we look upon a new global climate agreement under the UNFCCC, it is urgent that governments find sufficient political will to resolve the highly complex, but not insurmountable issues at stake and create a new global climate agreement under the UNFCCC. Warsaw (COP19) can lead the way by fostering an international environment conducive to a true collaboration on climate action. ICC and its members stand ready for constructive engagement and dialogue in Warsaw and beyond, recognizing the important role for business alongside governments to tackle global challenges associated with climate change in a sustainable manner. It will be important that governments identify the elements of the 2015 agreement in Warsaw. At present, the lack of clarity and predictability on the provisions of a new 2015 agreement makes it impossible to assess how this framework should work in practice [ Oct 30 2013, ICC ]

» Eni announces the successful completion of the Evans Shoal North-1 appraisal well in the Evans Shoal gas field in the Timor Sea, Australia. The field is located offshore in the NT/P48 exploration permit in the north Bonaparte Basin, some 300 km northwest of Darwin. The Evans Shoal North 1 well, drilled in 111 meters water depth and to a target depth of 3955 meters, is 12 km away from the Evans Shoal-2. Results indicate that these wells share common reservoir characteristics and are in hydraulic communication. During the well production test the gas flow reached the facility constraint of 30 MMscf/day. Eni estimates that the Evans Shoal gas field contains at least 8Tcf of raw gas in place [ Oct 29 2013, Eni ]

» In a first of its kind effort, a group of 70 investors managing more than $3 trillion of collective assets, have written to 45 of the world's top oil and gas, coal and electric power companies asking them to assess the financial risks that climate change poses to their business plans. In order to achieve the international goal of limiting global warming to 2ºC, the world will need to live within a set carbon budget, and a significant portion of proven global fossil fuel reserves will need to be left in the ground [ Oct 29 2013, CERES ]

» Fossil fuel subsidies and other state support for fossil fuels are forbidden by the Kyoto Protocol and other international treaties. However, they are still commonly used. This publication presents and analyses diverse state support mechanisms for fossil fuels in Finland in 2003-2010. Total of 38 support mechanisms are covered in quantitative analysis and some other mechanisms are mentioned qualitatively only. For some mechanisms the study includes a longer historical perspective. This is the case for tax subsidies for crude oil based traffic fuels that have been maintained in Finland since 1965 [ Oct 28 2013, Stromstad Akademi ]

» We may be about to witness one of the most profound transitions ever to occur in the utility industry. Challenged by the surge in distributed renewables and a strong decline in revenues, one of Europe's largest largest utilities, RWE, is reportedly planning to completely transform itself from a traditional electricity provider into a renewable energy service provider. The utility's new philosophy: either adapt - or wither away and die. "The massive erosion of wholesale prices caused by the growth of German photovoltaics constitutes a serious problem for RWE which may even threaten the company's survival," wrote the utility in a recent strategy paper [ Oct 26 2013, theenergycollective ]

» To indicate the magnitude of the US shale gas revolution's impact on the country more than one commentator has pointed to the refitting of LNG import terminals as export facilities. In reality however, the anticipated US LNG export renaissance has to date been a modest affair. Despite US gas producers lobbying for the continuation of LNG export licensing as European and Asian gas prices reach multiples of US price levels, fears about the impact of US LNG exports on domestic pricing has kept the US Department of Energy (DOE) from issuing any exporting licenses since May of 2011 [ Oct 25 2013, European Energy Review ]

» Israel Electric Corp. is encouraging the country to build more natural gas pipelines to continue power supplies. Israel currently has one pipeline delivering gas from fields to the Mediterranean coast. That pipeline used to transport gas from the now depleted Yam Thetis field. The pipeline was rerouted to the Tamar field, but IEC chair Yiftach Ron-Tal said at least one more pipeline is needed. Ideally, he said, four more gas pipelines would be built, two in the south and two in the north [ Oct 24 2013, PennEnergy ]

» A contribute to the rapid development and deployment of energy storage technologies.The DOE (US Department of Energy) International Energy Storage Database provides free, up-to-date information on grid-connected energy storage projects and relevant state and federal policies. All information is vetted through a third-party verification process [ Oct 24 2013, geoengineering consortium ]

» Johns Hopkins University's Energy Policy & Climate program and the School of International Service at American University recently established the Washington Geoengineering Consortium (WGC) to provide a forum for stakeholders to engage in an ongoing discussion of climate change geoengineering. We held a roundtable discussion on the topic last week at Hopkins as part of the Hopkins EPC Forum series. You can listen to an audio recording of the event at: [ Oct 23 2013, geoengineering consortium ]

» The US and Canada combined will be self-sufficient in total liquids before 2020 [...] The key implications of adding eight million barrels of liquids from tight plays in North America from 2010 to 2020 (see references in May and July 2013 issues of OGFJ). Our previous articles have been acknowledged by the industry, academics, analysts, and officials on one side and even the best-informed shale skeptical bloggers and peak oil advocates on the other side. Consensus is being established around this forecast given the key assumptions of flat oil prices and gradually decelerating activity as breakeven oil prices catches up with the initial learning curves. Our forecast is getting more 'in the money' as the tight liquids production rate for North America passes four million barrels per day as you read this article (including NGL). Monthly additions from the top three plays amounted to 50 kbbl/d per month for the second quarter of the year (excluding NGL), with 50% of growth coming from Eagle Ford and the remainder being equally shared between Permian Midland and Bakken (ref Rystad WellData). We now expect North Dakota Bakken oil production at the end of the third quarter to approach 800 kbbl/d if weather allows operators to reduce the backlog of completions that climbed after last year's winter storms and the recent Missouri flooding [ Oct 23 2013, O&GFJ ]

» The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) lifted the force majeure on Bonny Light exports effective noon today (October 18) following repair of recent spill points on the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP). The force majeure was declared on October 10 as a result of production deferment from the spills which were recorded on the 24-inch line of the TNP at B-Dere and Nonwa-Tai. Production was switched to the 28-inch line of the TNP, which was also briefly shut down for repair following a fire at Patrick Waterside, Bodo and reopened on October 16. Repair of the 24-inch line is progressing and it remains shut in [ Oct 22 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Economics of climate change in East Asia. This regional study includes the People's Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Mongolia and examines how strategies for adapting to climate change up to 2050 can be combined with measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in East Asia. Besides discussing climate model results for costs of adaptation in infrastructure, coastal protection, and agriculture, the study estimates costs for sector-specific mitigation options and the total abatement potential for 2020 and 2030. Long-term strategies for addressing the impacts of climate change in East Asia are explored with a focus on the linkages between adaptation and mitigation taking account uncertainty about key climate variables. Finally, it discusses opportunities for enhancing the effectiveness of some critical climate change policies such as regional carbon markets [ Oct 22 2013, Asian Development Bank ]

» A major new report from investment banking giant Citi has highlighted the dramatic changes sweeping the world's energy industry, and is being used as a clarion call to review the estimated $37 trillion that will be invested in energy infrastructure and projects over the coming two decades. In a study titled "Energy Darwinism - the evolution of the energy industry" - Citi says the global energy mix is shifting more rapidly than is widely appreciated, and this has major implications for generators, utilities, and consumers, and for exporters of fossil fuels such as Australia. [...] It says the pace of change in the last five years has been dramatic and will likely accelerate, not slow. These changes will flow through to suppliers. Conventional fuels and technologies are likely to be substituted, or suffer reduced demand in the best case scenario. (It should be noted here that the six analysts involved are the managing directors of research in Citi's mining, oil and gas, utilities, commodities and alternative energy sectors, so they are not just a band of beatific beatniks). Citi says fossil fuels further up the cost curve are most at risk, and new projects built now will face competition with new technologies within the first quarter of their anticipated 25-year life. [ Oct 21 2013, reneweconomy ]

» One Columbia researcher thinks a solution to global warming could lie beneath our feet. The main constituent of the earth's mantle, peridotite is normally hidden ten miles or more below ground. But a series of tectonic flukes under the Arabian Peninsula pushed a big chunk of mantle upward, forming the Hajar Mountains and making this one of the few places in the world where peridotite is accessible to scientists. Kelemen hoped that by studying the rock's chemical composition he could reveal secrets about the extraordinarily hot, pressurized, and unstable subterranean world from which it came. The problem was that wherever peridotite had come into contact with carbon dioxide, the two had reacted to form a limestone-like solid. Much of the peridotite exposed to air or water was thus converted into a chalky substance, making it difficult for scientists to find clean samples.Kelemen and Matter estimated that the peridotite was absorbing about 100,000 tons of carbon annually, far more than geologists had previously believed. [..] Kelemen et al. soon published a study theorizing that this natural process could be accelerated a million-fold in some places. Their idea was to pierce the Hajar Mountains, a range the size of Massachusetts, with boreholes and then pump huge quantities of CO2-infused water into the ground. Even considering the economic and engineering challenges involved, Kelemen and Matter concluded that it would be feasible to store several billion tons of CO2 per year, or roughly 10 percent of all of the CO2 that humans are now producing. Alternatively, they proposed drilling boreholes off the coast, which would permit seawater to permeate the mantle rock beneath the ocean floor and deposit its CO2 there [ Oct 21 2013, Columbia.edu ]

» Facilitating trade in goods that can promote sustainable energy is intuitive and potentially powerful in the search for energy security, the provision of access to energy, and the mitigation of climate change. Much less recognised, however, is that the global market in services related to sustainable energy is closely linked to the goods market and it is much larger. [ Oct 18 2013, ICTSD ]

» Fresh water, clean air, fertile soil, fish stocks and forests are all examples of the natural capital on which human wellbeing and economic prosperity depend. Yet these natural assets do not appear on traditional balance sheets and can therefore be invisible in decision-making. As a result, we are losing natural capital faster than ever before. A recent report by the TEEB for Business Coalition estimates the cost of environmental externalities at a staggering US$7.3 trillion annually. But we can't manage what we don't measure. A revolution is taking place in how businesses and governments account for natural capital. The inaugural World Forum on Natural Capital (21-22 november, Edimburgh) will be the first major global conference devoted exclusively to turning the debate on natural capital accounting into action. It will build on the enormous private sector interest shown at the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio in June 2012 and the many developments that have taken place since. Against a backdrop of growing global awareness that our ecosystems and biodiversity underpin both wealth creation and human security, the Rio Earth Summit saw the launch of the Natural Capital Declaration, a global finance-led initiative convened by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative and the Global Canopy Programme [ Oct 18 2013, Natural Capital Forum ]

» We live in a time where rapid change is pretty much the only certainty, but one thing that continues to rather stubbornly maintain the status quo is our energy mix. As shown below, fossil fuels still completely dominate global energy consumption and, since the nuclear boom ended a little more than two decades ago, those dirty old fossils have doggedly hung on to a roughly 87% share. [ Oct 18 2013, theenergycollective, Cloete ]

» Timur Gul - Directorate of Global Energy Economics, IEA - presentation, IPIECA workshop on short-lived climate forcers (Rome, 9 october 2013). Redrawing the energy-climate map. Climate change is slipping down the policy agenda, even as the scientific evidence continues to accumulate. Energy sector accounts for two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions. Mixed news on energy trends: Price dynamics between gas and coal support emissions reductions in some regions, but impede them in others; Renewables are on the rise, but investment slowed in 2012; Efficiency policies are gaining momentum in many countries; Nuclear is facing challenges and CCS still remains distant. [...] Four measures can stop the growth in emissions by 2020 at no net economic cost, reducing emissions by 3.1 Gt, 80% of the savings required for a 2 ºC path: Partial removal of fossil-fuel subsidies; Implement selected energy efficiency policies; Limit use of inefficient coal power plants; Reduce methane releases from upstream oil and gas [ Oct 17 2013, IPIECA ]

» The UK government is keen to replicate the United State's successful shale gas experience - but many analysts doubt this will ever happen. The UK is second after Poland in pursuing its shale potential in Europe. Drilling for shale gas in the UK started in 2010. But only when drilling takes off will there be a better understanding of what resource is there and, more importantly, what is economically recoverable. A limited onshore domestic service industry, geological complexities, no private ownership of mineral rights, high population densities, strict environmental regulations, and local opposition, among other obstacles, all add to the costs and time of exploiting shale gas. The government is trying to compensate by offering financial incentives but it remains to be seen whether the oil majors, who continue to explore for opportunities in the North Sea, will be convinced by the shale gas venture. Although gas production in the UK peaked in 2000 and has been in decline since, it still supplies the equivalent of 52 per cent of the UK domestic gas needs. The UK also continues to export gas to continental Europe - mainly to Ireland (5.3 billion cubic metres - bcm), Belgium (4.6 bcm) and the Netherlands (2.1 bcm), as of 2012. The decline in production at home, however, has led to increasing dependence on imports - both by pipeline, 76 per cent of which comes from Norway and as Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), mainly from Qatar (98 per cent). The UK net gas imports (imports minus exports) are set to increase from 47 per cent of demand in 2012 to 76 per cent by 2030, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change [ Oct 16 2013, WRF ]

» Countries should annually report on how their economies are developing with respect to resource efficiency. Engagement of not only UN institutions but also the civil society is necessary for achieving transparency and accountable monitoring. Reforms in the financial sector - which is seen as disconnected from the real economy - and fiscal and behavioural policies targeted at company and household level were recommended. Taxes should shift away from renewable resources and labour to fossil fuels. A tenfold increase of resource productivity was regarded as feasible by fiscal reforms and other financial incentives. These are the main conclusions of the draft chair's summary of the World Resources Forum (WRF), the Swiss based multi stakeholder platform on global resource management. Members of the European Parliament, UNEP's International Resource Panel, government and non-governmental delegates from over 50 countries, including leading scientists of engineering and social sciences, were among the experts who debated on international resource governance during the annual 3-day conference in Davos [ Oct 15 2013, WRF ]

» The global LNG market could be facing even more disruption with a combination of the American shale gas revolution, a disparity in shale gas prices in North America, Europe and Asia, and the potential game-changing impact of China's shale gas development, the World Energy Congress heard today. Energy leaders from the US, Australia, Indonesia and Japan discussed the new dynamics of Asian LNG markets in a panel session moderated by Dr. Tatiana Mitrova, head of the oil and gas department at the Energy Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences [ Oct 15 2013, PennEnergy ]

» The "User's Guide to Emissions Trading in China," is the first attempt by IETA to take a closer look at all aspects of the pilot emissions trading systems under design and implementation in China, with a long view for the prospects of a national carbon market. We've provided briefings on each of the pilots in China for IETA members over the last 18 months, and this guide complements those briefings by stringing them together and understanding how they will fit into the designs of a national market and incorporate the newly-launched CCCER offset methodology [ Oct 15 2013, IETA ]

» The World Bank Group (WBG) is a major provider of risk mitigation instruments ranging from insurance policies and guarantees aimed at improving the creditworthiness of projects, to contract-based instruments targeting the volatility of commodities and currencies. In this study, CPI (Climate Policy Initiative) provides an overview of general risk coverage offered through the WBG's various member institutions, potential gaps compared to existing demand, and trends of risk coverage commitments for climate change [ Oct 14 2013, CPI ]

» The CEOs of 10 utilities companies, which together own half of Europe's electricity generating capacity, are calling for an end to subsidies for wind and solar energy, which they say add too much power to a market already struggling with overcapacity. The CEOs in the so-called Magritte Group also call for a Europe-wide capacity mechanism that would pay utilities for keeping electric power generating capacity on standby and want the EU to boost its carbon emissions scheme, whose low prices have failed to boost low-carbon fuels like natural gas and nuclear energy. First gathered this spring in the Brussels museum of Belgian surrealist artist Rene Magritte, the informal group has , which they say has failed to achieve its triple goal of lowering prices, reducing carbon emissions and securing energy supply. The group - which includes top utilities such as France's GDF Suez, Germany's E.ON, Spain's Iberdrola and Italy's - has made an impact, as several countries, including Spain, Germany and France, have reviewed or are reviewing support schemes for renewable energy [ Oct 14 2013, Euroactive ]

» Australia, The economic impacts of a domestic gas reservation. The development and expansion of Australia's liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry presents an unprecedented opportunity for national income growth. With forecast investment in LNG production standing in excess of $190 billion, the development of Australia's gas export industry has been heralded as an opportunity which, by 2017, could generate $53 billion in export earnings. This would make Australia the world's largest gas exporter [ Oct 11 2013, Deloitte ]

» With the recent publication of its 5th Report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) proclaimed once again that the Earth is warming up and that mankind is responsible for this through the burning of increasing amounts of CO2-emitting fossil fuels. The 4th IPCC report had informed us in 2007 that there was a 90% probability that global warming - better known these days by the euphemism 'climate change', covering a variety of disparate climatic events supposedly linked to the same cause - was anthropogenic. Six years later, the 5th report talks with almost unshakeable certainty about a 95% probability that the growing use of hydrocarbon fuels will lead to ever higher worldwide temperatures, despite acknowledging for the first time that over the last 15 years there has been no discernible increase in global surface temperatures. While successive IPCC reports keep repeating the same mantras, key questions continue to demand answers: [...] If carbon emissions are to blame, is it sensible for certain parts of the world to decarbonise while most of the others choose to carry on regardless? Do those countries that are reducing their emissions have the right to compel others to do the same? [ Oct 10 2013, CGES ]

» European gas contracts on the prompt edged higher on Wednesday, extending the previous day's gains, as and lower gas supplies into the continent boosted market sentiment. Day-ahead gas contracts on the trading hub rose to Eur26.50/MWh by midday Wednesday, up 20 euro cent from the previous day. On the neighboring German markets, the NetConnect Germany next day gas contract was last seen trading at Eur26.80/MWh, up 5 euro cent on the day. The GASPOOL spot contract posted stronger gains compared with its NetConnect counterpart to change hands at Eur26.75/MWh, up 35 euro cent from the previous close. The French PEG Nord day-ahead contract was unchanged at Tuesday's closing price of Eur26.90/MWh at 1200 BST Wednesday [ Oct 09 2013, Platts ]

» Penn State University is leading a study on the South Newark Basin - a shale formation in southeast Pennsylvania beneath Bucks and Montgomery counties. The study, commissioned by the state's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, will include reviewing existing geophysical data of the basin to determine its potential, PhillyBurbs.com reported. The university is also monitoring 21 seismograph stations in the state, as part of its contract [ Oct 09 2013, PennEnergy ]

» 'Stranded assets', where assets suffer from unanticipated or premature write-offs, downward revaluations or are converted to liabilities, can be caused by a range of environment-related risks. This report investigates the fossil fuel divestment campaign, an extant social phenomenon that could be one such risk. We test whether the divestment campaign could affect fossil fuel assets and if so, how, to what extent, and over which time horizons. Divestment is a socially motivated activity of private wealth owners, either individuals or groups, such as university endowments, public pension funds, or their appointed asset managers. Owners can decide to withhold their capital - for example, by selling stock market-listed shares, private equities or debt - firms seen to be engaged in a reprehensible activity. Tobacco, munitions, corporations in apartheid South Africa, provision of adult services, and gaming have all been subject to divestment campaigns in the 20th century [ Oct 09 2013, SSEE, University of Oxford ]

» Millions of words have been written about the new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). [...] two key messages stand out - one for its importance, the other for its lack of importance, relative to the attention that it has received. Since our interactive graph about temperatures in your lifetime has generated so much interest, I thought I'd do a graph to explain each of these two points too [...] Any evidence that the climate is less sensitive to carbon than we previously thought is good news: it means we can expect less warming from any given carbon concentration, reducing the risk of dangerous impacts. But as my first graph makes clear, the gains are actually rather small. It shows four IPCC emissions scenarios, from the highest (RCP 8.5, which so far reflects business as usual) to the lowest (RCP 3PD, which involves actions well beyond the scope of what is currently seen as politically plausible, with emissions falling steeply almost straight away and humans becoming carbon negative later in the century) [ Oct 08 2013, The Guardian, D. Clark ]

» This paper analyzes the effects of providing feedback on electricity consumption in a field trial involving more than 1500 households in Linz, Austria. About half of these households received feedback together with information about electricity-saving measures (pilot group), while the remaining households served as a control group. Participation in the pilot group was random, but households were able to choose between two types of feedback: access to a web portal or written feedback by post. Results from cross section OLS regression suggest that feedback provided to the pilot group corresponds with electricity savings of around 4.5% for the average household. Our results from quantile regressions imply that for households in the 30th to the 70th percentile of electricity consumption, feedback on electricity consumption is statistically significant and effects are highest in absolute terms and as a share of electricity consumption. For percentiles below or above this range, feedback appears to have no effect. Finally, controlling for a potential endogeneity bias induced by non random participation in the feedback type groups, we find no difference in the effects of feedback provided via the web portal and by post [ Oct 07 2013, Energy Policy ]

» The U.S. is overtaking Russia as the world's largest producer of oil and natural gas, a startling shift that is reshaping markets and eroding the clout of traditional energy-rich nations. U.S. energy output has been surging in recent years, a comeback fueled by shale-rock formations of oil and natural gas that was unimaginable a decade ago. A Wall Street Journal analysis of global data shows that the U.S. is on track to pass Russia as the world's largest producer of oil and gas combined this year - if it hasn't already. The U.S. ascendance comes as Russia has struggled to maintain its energy output and has yet to embrace technologies such as hydraulic fracturing that have boosted American reserves [ Oct 07 2013, WSJ ]

» Municipal Solid Waste Landfills are the third-largest human-generated source of methane emissions in the US (EPA, 2011). Local governments can benefit from this decomposing solid waste and transform methane into usable energy sources through landfill gas-to-energy projects. Landfill Gas-to-Energy projects can help communities achieve economic and environmental benefits. The City of Albuquerque, NM and Will County, IL have successfully implemented this renewable energy technology and will be discussing program design and lessons learned in this webinar, oct 17 [ Oct 04 2013, Will County Land Use Department, Resource Recovery & Energy Division ]

» The 29 September attacks in Kurdistan demonstrate that even this bastion of security in a chaotic region is not immune to terrorism. But it isn't likely to shake investor confidence in what is undoubtedly one of the hottest emerging venues right now. Take it from Anglo-Turkish Genel Energy, the largest producer in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). What it all comes down to is balancing geological potential and political risk, from Africa to the Middle East. In an exclusive interview with Oilprice.com, former BP chief and current CEO of Genel Energy, Tony Hayward, discusses: Why Kurdistan is a great place to be right now; Why the attacks in Erbil won't shake investor confidence; What the next milestone will be - and when; How the relationship with Turkey is helping Kurdistan forge oil and gas independence; How Kurdistan's oil and gas progress could benefit Iraq as a whole; What we can expect for future exploration The massive geological potential and high political risk of Somaliland; What we can expect to find in Ethiopia; What makes Malta and Morocco high-impact prospects; Why investors should be excited about offshore Cote d'Ivoire; How to strike the right balance in frontier venues [ Oct 04 2013, oilprice.com ]

» Discussions on how to define, design, and implement sustainable development goals (SDG) have taken center stage in the United Nations since the Rio+20 summit. Energy is one of the issues that enjoyed consensus, before and after Rio, as an important area for SDGs to address. Many proposals have been put forward on how SDGs should be formulated and what areas they should cover, but there have been few attempts to develop a generic integrated framework within which diverse areas can be accommodated and treated in a coherent way. The purpose of this paper is to develop such a framework for SDGs and to demonstrate its application by elaborating specific target areas for the energy sector [ Oct 03 2013, Journal of Sustainability, M. Nilsson et al. ]

» Shale gas revolution II, Credit Suisse report. The story is still in its early stages and presents end markets that display a secular growth quality. Oil and gas production in the US has continued to surpass expectations and the path to energy self-sufficiency has shortened. The global potential for shale is as yet untapped [ Oct 03 2013, Credit Suisse ]

» Carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels in the United States peaked at more than 1.6 billion tons of carbon in 2007. Since then they have fallen 11 percent, dropping to over 1.4 billion tons in 2013, according to estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Emissions shrank rapidly during the recession, then bounced back slightly as the economy recovered. But shifting market conditions, pollution regulations, and changing behaviors are also behind the decline [ Oct 03 2013, earthpolicy ]

» The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is hosting a webinar, 2 and 8 October 2013, on the skills and education needed to build a robust renewable energy workforce. The webinar aims to highlight the skills in demand in the public and private sectors, to identify skills shortages within sub-sectors, and to collect information on training and education, critical to develop a strong workforce in the renewable energy arena. The webinar will examine barriers and consider steps to address the skills needs in the sector [ Oct 02 2013, IRENA ]

» Increased political tension in the Middle East following the coup in Egypt in August, as well as serious port strikes in Libya and the confrontation between the US and Syria over chemical weapons have all had a highly visible impact on oil prices and the oil market recently. The increased geopolitical premium in the price of oil is a reflection of the deeper strains across the region and the threats they may pose to oil supplies and investments. Since the emergence of the so-called Arab Spring and the upheavals that have followed, the political structures of the most important oil-producing region in the world have been shaken to their foundations. The unfolding repercussions of these changes require constant monitoring by anyone in the international energy business because of their potentially profound implications. Special Energy Intelligence White Paper [ Oct 02 2013, Energy Intelligence ]

» Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently said he believes the Obama administration will approve the Keystone XL pipeline proposed by TransCanada Corp. Harper said he remains in regular communication with President Barack Obama on the project and Obama has assured him a decision will be made with the best interests of the United States in mind, The Wall Street Journal reported. Though, Harper also said a rejection of the project proposal by Obama would be unacceptable [ Oct 01 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Russia and the European Union will find a solution to the present impasse over the Third Energy Package. Speaking in Milan on Friday at a conference hosted by Natural Gas Europe | Gas Dialogues, Anatoly Yanovsky said that negotiations will ensure a solution to the problems raised by the EU's legislative package of gas market reforms, which seeks to "unbundle" ownership of natural gas production and transmission lines such as those operated by Gazprom, and is seen as a roadblock to the development of South Stream Pipeline project. [...] In remarks at the conclsuion of recent meetings of EU energy ministers, Gunther Oettinger said, "South Stream is an addition, but it does not give us access to any new sources of energy and it does not increase the competitiveness of the energy market in European Union." [ Oct 01 2013, naturalgaseurope ]

» Since 1978, when China launched its "opening up" reform, a range of large-scale national science and technology programs have been implemented to spur economic development. Energy has received significant attention and has become a growing priority in the past years. This paper analyzed the goals, management, and impact over time of China's three largest national programs: Gong Guan, 863, and 973 Programs. Using quantitative metrics to describe the input and output, by conducting semi-structured interviews with officials, scientists, and other decision makers, and by reviewing available documents as well as a case study on the coal sector we examined the changes in the decision making process, particularly in regard to the role of scientists. We found that the changes in strategic priorities set by China's high level political leaders were implemented and then transformed into outputs by using scientists as inputs or policy tools. The decreased role of scientists has been driven by two forces: (1) periodic changes in national strategy emphasizing technology commercialization; and (2) changes in the management structure involving low tolerance of risk [ Sept 30 2013, Belfercenter ]

» IEA Clean Coal Centre webinar on The status of advanced ultrasupercritical pulverised coal technology on Wednesday 9 October at midday (UK time). This webinar summarises recent developments in advanced ultrasupercritical (AUSC) pulverised coal technology. Increasing the maximum steam of the steam cycle increases the electrical efficiency, which in turn lowers both coal consumption and flue gas emissions. However, the maximum steam temperature is limited by materials that can operate at these conditions for practical lengths of time without failure. The EU, USA, Japan, India and China all have research and development (R&D) programmes for AUSC technology which involve numerous industrial and academic establishments. This webinar reviews the developments and current status of these major R&D programmes [ Sept 30 2013, IEA ]

» The Energy Information Agency projects that global energy consumption will increase 56 percent by 2040. Yet, energy companies' collective failure to engage proactively with a global population jeopardizes sustainable energy solutions and hydrocarbon development. This shortsightedness presents strategic risks for energy companies and global energy consumers. This is not simply a "dirty" energy problem, though oil and gas provide particularly easy targets. A 2011 study identified 351 US energy projects that were delayed or abandoned due to public opposition or regulatory issues; 45 percent were renewable energy projects. Globally, there is growing opposition to windpower, biofuel and solar energy solutions. Australia's goal to generate 20 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2020 is threatened by windpower opponents. Biofuels raise sustainability and cost issues. Solar development on public lands in the western US has encountered strong opposition. And these are day-to-day issues, not reactions to world-changing events such as the Deepwater Horizon spill or Fukushima. To mitigate future strategic risks, energy leaders might consider the following points: [ Sept 30 2013, RCEM ]

» The latest report on global warming brings yet another rise in confidence that human actions are altering the Earth's climate. But in contrast to its 2007 predecessor, it is unlikely to cause a stir. Readers of the fifth assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may well feel that they have seen much of it before. The report from Working Group I is due for final approval and publication just before this Editorial is published. However, earlier drafts have been widely reported, following leaks during the lengthy period of assemblage, review and re-review. Perhaps more importantly, many of the key quantifications of change have stubbornly remained within very similar uncertainty ranges over the set of five assessment reports since 1990. [...] This is not to say that there has been no progress. Cloud feedbacks, an issue of long-standing debate over the years, are now assessed as likely to be positive overall. Patterns of projected precipitation change, another conundrum, are emerging with high confidence [ Sept 27 2013, Nature geoscience ]

» On Friday September 27, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will release the first part of its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), which will set the benchmark in the world's understanding of the causes, impacts and potential solutions to climate change. In partnership with the IPCC, theClimategroup are hosting an invite-only briefing event on the AR5 for members and partners, featuring a live video link from Stockholm with some of the report's authors, who will have concluded the report launch immediately prior to the broadcast. TheClimategroup will be live-tweeting from Climate Week NYC and an event summary will be available online afterwards. The first half of the live-streamed event is available for the public to view. [ Watch the live briefing from 8.30am-9.10am EDT, Sept 27 2013 ]

» The US government must use an official estimate of the "social cost of carbon" (SCC) to estimate carbon emission reduction benefits for proposed environmental standards expected to reduce CO2 emissions. The SCC is a monetized value of the marginal benefit of reducing one metric ton of CO2. Estimates of the SCC vary widely. The US government uses values of $11, $33, and $52 per metric ton of CO2, classifying the middle value as the central figure and the two others for use in sensitivity analyses. Three other estimates using the same government model but lower discount rates put the figures at $62, $122, and $266/ton. In this article, we calculate, on a centsper-kilowatt-hour basis, the environmental cost of CO2 emissions from fossil fuel generation and add it to production costs. With this, we compare the total social cost (generation plus environmental costs) of building new generation from traditional fossil fuels versus cleaner technologies. We also examine the cost of replacing existing coal generation with cleaner options, ranging from conventional natural gas to solar photovoltaic. We find that for most SCC values, it is more economically efficient (from a social cost–benefit perspective) for the new generation to come from any of these cleaner sources rather than conventional coal, and in several instances, the cleanest sources are preferable to conventional natural gas. For existing generation, for five of the six SCC estimates we examined, replacing the average existing coal plant with conventional natural gas, naturalgas with carbon capture and storage, or wind increases economic efficiency. At the two highest SCCs, solar photovoltaic and coal with carbon capture and storage are also more efficient than maintaining a typical coal plant [ Sept 26 2013, Journal of environmental studies and sciences ]

» Oil output in the United Arab Emirates rose 1.8 percent in the second quarter of 2013, the International Energy Agency reported. Output hit 2.72 million barrels per day between April and June compared to the 2.67 million bpd in the first quarter of the year. UAE had a sustainable oil production capacity of 2.9 million bpd and a crude supply of 2.69 bpd in the first six months of the year, the data showed. However, August oil output in UAE was down from the 2.75 million bpd seen in July. Average oil output in 2012 was 2.65 million bpd for the UAE [ Sept 26 2013, PennEnergy ]

» On Friday, September 27, 2013, Widener University Law School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania will hold a first-of-its-kind conference on sustainability and Marcellus Shale development. The conference will be streamed live from this link: conference live. It will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Materials for the conference, including PowerPoint presentations, will also be available at this site. Pennsylvania is the epicenter of a rapidly evolving national effort to develop deep shale gas reserves. This conference will assess what we have learned from Pennsylvania's experience to date about the role of law in fostering sustainability of shale gas production, how this translates elsewhere, and what needs to be done so that hydraulic fracturing contributes to a sustainable future. Panels of distinguished experts will discuss the issue from environmental, community, public health, energy and climate change, and governance perspectives. A detailed agenda as well as registration information are available at [ Sept 25 2013, Widener University ]

» In early September, the European Commission decided on the amount of free allowances attributed to industrial installations for phase 3 of the EU ETS, thus completing a process begun in 2009. This decision followed the examination of Member State proposals and their National Implementation Measures (NIM) with regard to two principal criteria: their compatibility with harmonized allocation rules and their consistency with benchmark values. The allocation proposals of all States were all approved with the exception of the allocation of 20 installations which are to be revised. In line with the ETS Directive, a correction factor was then applied so that these allocations do not exceed the maximum amount of free allocation allowed [ Sept 25 2013, cdcclimat ]

» Crude oil prices started the week on the decline ahead of this week's summit at the U.N. General Assembly. At center stage this week will be Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose Western charm offensive is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise troubled region. A weekend report suggested Rouhani's moderate stance may be enough to convince British authorities to let BP work again with Iran at a North Sea natural gas field hampered by sanctions. India, meanwhile, is eager to see how close to the sanctions envelope it can get with Iranian oil imports. speaks Tuesday. His speech may have wide-ranging repercussions across the global energy sector. Crude oil for November delivery was down Monday, on average, by more than $1 from last week on signs at least some of the tensions in the Middle East were subsiding [ Sept 24 2013, Oilprice ]

» Decommissioning activity in the North Sea is officially on the rise; £31.5 Billion is required to decommission existing installations. A key phase which can determine the success of a decommissioning project occurs in the removal process. With the cost of decommissioning so closely related to weight of materials being removed, a presentation given by AF Decom Offshore, offers insight into: Lessons from AFDO projects and the development of AFDO's Piece Medium approach to develop your project planning; Bundling and flexibility providing you with the opportunity to make huge cost savings in decommissioning [ Sept 24 2013, Decomworld ]

» Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp. signed an agreement covering major terms and conditions of supplying natural gas from Russia to China via the eastern route, in accordance with terms previously reached. Earlier negotiations covered the supply of 30 billion cu m (bcm)/year over 30 years starting in 2015. Pricing will not be linked to the Henry Hub. Previous talks focused on Gazprom's Eastern Gas Program as favorable to the signing of long-term agreements for gas supply from Russia to China. Gazprom began building the Sakhalin-Khabarovsk-Vladivostok (SKV) gas transmission system as a key component of the Eastern Gas Program in May 2009. The 1,830-km pipeline entered service in September 2011 at an initial capacity of 7 bcm/year, expandable to 47 bcm/year [ Sept 23 2013, OGJ ]

» Recent advances in hydraulic fracturing ( or "fracking") technology leading to a rapid expansion in domestic oil and gas production. The pace of growth is driving many communities to make decisions without access to comprehensive and reliable scientific information about the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on their local air and water quality, com­munity health, safety, economy, environment, and overall quality of life. If you are an active citizen in a community facing decisions about fracking, this toolkit is for you. It provides practi­cal advice and resources to help you identify the critical questions to ask and get the scientific information you need when weighing the prospects and risks of shale oil or shale gas development in your region [ Sept 23 2013, UCS ]

» A new study on methane and fracking released this week is a big deal - or it should have been - but it's a topic that is as polarizing as the circus-like debate over climate change, or worse yet, global warming. Depending on who has read the report and on which side of the fracking fence they fall, the methane study tells us either that fracking isn't as bad as we thought for the environment, or that this is the definitive evidence we need to catapult us into the anti-fracking club. Predictably, the pro-fracking camp will read good news for fracking here because it can be interpreted as a friend to the climate because it's making it possible to replace dirty coal with plentiful natural gas and has in all likelihood contributed to a 12% drop in US carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions since 2005. Equally as predictable, the anti-fracking camp will hone in on the methane leaks from shale, which - depending on how much methane is actually leaking out - would contribute to worsen climate change. This camp will recognize the uncertainty about the actual level of methane leaks from shale. The study, conducted by the University of Texas [ Sept 23 2013, Oilprice.com ]

» "The Influence of Economic Growth, Population, and Fossil Fuel Scarcity on Energy Investments" examines the dynamics of energy investments and clean energy Research and Development (R&D) using a scenario-based modeling approach. Starting from the global scenarios proposed in the RoSE model ensemble experiment, we analyze the dynamics of investments under different assumptions regarding economic and population growth as well as availability of fossil fuel resources, in the absence of a climate policy. Our analysis indicates that economic growth and the speed of income convergence across countries matters for improvements in energy efficiency, both via dedicated R&D investments but mostly through capital-energy substitution. In contrast, fossil fuel prices, by changing the relative competitiveness of energy sources, create an economic opportunity for radical innovation in the energy sector. Indeed, our results suggest that fossil fuel availability is the key driver of investments in low carbon energy innovation. However, this innovation, by itself, is not sufficient to induce emission reductions compatible with climate stabilization objectives [ Sept 20 2013, FEEM ]

» The Roadmaps towards Sustainable Energy futures (RoSE) project aims to provide a robust picture on energy sector transformation scenarios for reaching ambitious climate targets. A broad and systematic exploration of decarbonization scenarios for the energy system is indispensable for better understanding the prospects of achieving long-tern climate protection targets. RoSE is assessing the feasibility and costs of climate mitigation goals across different models, different policy regimes, and different reference assumptions relating to future population growth, economic development and fossil fuel availability, in order to provide vital insights into the overarching policy question: What are robust roadmaps for achieving a sustainable global energy future? RoSE Policy Brief (1st edition), Reports and working papers [ Sept 20 2013, RoSE ]

» Shale has transformed the economics of oil and gas production in the US and is creating an era of lower cost energy. Attractive rates of return are bringing producers to profitable shale plays like bees to a honey pot. Among the keys to those attractive rates of return are high initial production and high cumulative production rates in the early years of typical shale wells. Today we continue our rundown of shale production financial return calculations with a review of well production estimation techniques [ Sept 19 2013, OGFJ ]

» OPEC Monthly oil market report. The OPEC Reference Basket averaged $107.52/b in August, representing an increase of $3.07 over the previous month. All Basket component values improved, except Ecuador's Oriente. Prices were generally supported by tightness in the Brent market. The Basket's year-to-date value stood at $105.32/b, a decline of $4.81 or 4.8% from the same period last year. In August, international crude oil futures soared on both sides of the Atlantic, as a result of seasonal increases in demand, some supply outages, and geopolitical worries. Money managers capitalized on the combination of higher political risks and supply disruptions to push crude prices higher as net length for ICE Brent crude futures and options reached all-time highs. Nymex WTI rose $1.84 to an average of $106.54/b. ICE Brent jumped $3.02 to an average of $110.45/b [ Sept 19 2013, OPEC ]

» Norwegian company Hoegh LNG has tapped a group of Asian banks for US$310mn to complete the Lampung floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Indonesia. Five banks participated in the lending, namely DBS Bank, the Korea Development Bank, Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Standard Chartered and the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ. The South Korean export credit agency (ECA) K-Sure has provided a guarantee for 75% of the overall financing package, which has a tenor of eight years. The loan will fund the Lampung floating storage and regasification vessel (FSRU) and mooring project, which will provide LNG to the capital city of Jakarta, sourced from elsewhere in Indonesia [ Sept 19 2013, GTReview ]

» The demand for energy is rising, and power from renewable sources is becoming ever more important. Topics Renewables from Munich Re illuminates the opportunities and risks involved in renewable energies from an insurance perspective. Fascinating content, image galleries, interactive graphics and videos: Find out about the technical aspects, in-depth background information and innovative insurance solutions that support a successful energy transition [ Sept 18 2013, Munich Re app ]

» Climate change mitigation has become one of the most relevant topics today, and it will continue for years to come. It is a concern that has implications in economics, law, science, human rights, technology, international relations and ethics, to name but a few fields of knowledge. Climate change is a global problem that knows no geographical barriers. International law is not well equipped to face the challenges of climate change. Global climate is an indivisible public good. International law currently faces the challenge of fragmentation and the need to bring greater coherence to a fragmented system in combating climate change. The aim of this article is to explain the trade implications of climate change mitigation policies by analyzing a couple of areas where the international regimes for trade and climate change mitigation/energy may potentially clash: 1) border carbon adjustments and 2) applying subsidies and similar measures in order to encourage environmentally-friendly technologies. After the introduction, Section 2 provides an analysis on the link between the legal regimes of international trade and climate change. Section 3 compares both regimes and Section 4 offers an overview of unilateral trade-related climate change measures. Section 5 examines the main WTO provisions on subsidies and analyzes the WTO cases on subsidies for renewable energy. Section 6 focuses on the inclusion of aviation in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the potential expansion of the EU ETS to the shipping industry [ Sept 18 2013, The Journal of World Investment and Trade ]

» The HVJOC joint venture has received approvals from the Vietnamese government of an updated full- field development Plan for the Ca Ngu Vang (CNV) project. The CNV field is in block 9-2 in the Nam Con Son basin offshore southern Vietnam. According to partner SOCO International, the new program includes drilling of the CNV-7P development well, which will access the previously undrilled southwestern corner of the field. Drilling should start in 2Q 2014, with the well coming onstream as a produce in 3Q. In block 16-1, the HLJOC joint venture spudded the TGT-10X exploration/appraisal well in mid-June on H5, the main undrilled fault block in the Te Giac Trang field. The location is 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the H4 wellhead platform. During drilling into the Oligocene D2 section, the well encountered higher formation pressure than predicted, SOCO said. Due to difficulties running a liner over the Miocene and Oligocene reservoir horizons, the partners agreed to re-drill the reservoir section in which the liner was to be run [ Sept 17 2013, Offshoremag ]

» Proved oil and gas Reserves of the top 15 International Integrated Companies decreased in 2012, down from 122.75 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2011 to 121.46 billion boe in 2012. Exxon Mobil Corporation had the highest proved oil and gas reserves of 25,165 million barrels of oil equivalent mmboe among the top 15 International Integrated Companies. The total cost incurred by top 15 International Integrated Companies was US$204 billion in 2012, increase by 3% from the previous year [ Sept 17 2013, industryreportsore ]

» Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and Down To Earth teams present in depth analysis of the debate surrounding hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), in the latest issue of Down To Earth. As we have seen in the recent past, there has been increased political momentum to shift the HFC discussions from United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to the Montreal Protocol. Earlier in the year, we saw US Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama address the public on this issue. More recently, the G-20 summit at St Petersburg endorsed the view that Montreal Protocol should discuss HFCs, while the accounting and reporting of the greenhouse gases should be under the UNFCCC [ Sept 16 2013, DTE ]

» Climate justice seeks to address the unjust distribution of climate change costs (in other words the externalised costs of industrial development) by putting a human-rights based approach at the centre of international development initiatives. Globally, private sector investments have made huge contributions to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, but are largely failing to address the costs imposed on developing countries of adapting to climate change and achieving resilience. In Scotland, business people want to identify and evaluate a range of options for funds that could be put into climate justice programmes. The private sector will need scalable mechanisms with low transaction costs if their contributions are to achieve significant outcomes. Developments in Scotland's Climate Justice Fund could present Scottish enterprise with a range of ways to make such contributions [ Sept 16 2013, IIED ]

» Eni has been confirmed in the FTSE4 Good Index, one of the world's most respected corporate social responsibility stock-market indexes. Eni, member of the index since 2007, confirms with this recognition the company's excellence in environmental sustainability, human rights' respect, transparency, relationship with stakeholders and local communities. It is on these parameters that an expressly established independent committee from FTSE Group, founder of the FTSE4Good, selects which companies to be included in the excellence index. [ Sept 15 2013, Eni ]

» New Publication: Water and Climate Change Adaptation. Policies to Navigate Uncharted Waters. This publication provides guidance to policy makers to prioritise action and to improve the efficiency, timeliness and equity of adaptation decisions. It sets out a risk-based approach to achieve resilient water security in a changing climate. It also documents key trends and highlights best practice from the OECD Survey of Policies on Water and Climate Change Adaptation, which covers all 34 OECD countries and the European Commission. Finally the report examines options to improve the flexibility of water governance, policy and financing approaches. [ Sept 15 2013, OECD ]

» In response to recent articles about forthcoming meetings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC would like to note that: Contrary to the articles the IPCC is not holding any crisis meeting. The IPCC will convene a plenary session to finalize the Working Group I contribution to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report, in line with its normal procedures, in Stockholm on 23-26 September 2013. The session has been scheduled for several years and this timetable has been repeatedly publicized by the IPCC. As part of the IPCC's regular procedures, member governments were invited to comment on the final draft of the Summary for Policymakers of the Working Group I report ahead of the Stockholm meeting. Over 1,800 comments were received - a typical number for this exercise - and they will be considered as planned at the meeting in Stockholm. The Summary for Policymakers is due to be released on 27 September 2013. The accepted Final Draft of the full Working Group I report, comprising the Technical Summary, 14 Chapters and three Annexes, will also be released online in unedited form, on Monday 30 September. Following copy-editing, layout, final checks for errors the full Working Group I report "Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis", and its Summary for Policymakers will be published online in January 2014 (tbc) and in book form by Cambridge University Press a few months later [ Sept 13 2013, IPCC Press Office, Email: ipcc-media@wmo ]

» BP Egypt reported what it was calling a "significant gas discovery" with its deepwater Salamat exploration well in the East Nile Delta. BP said Salamat is the deepest well ever drilled in the Nile Delta. It is the first well in the North Damietta Offshore concession granted in February 2010 and operated by BP. The well, which reached a total depth of 7,000 m, was drilled in 649 m of water using the sixth-generation Maersk Discoverer semisubmersible rig. The wireline logs, fluid samples, and pressure data confirmed the presence of gas and condensate in 38 m net of Oligocene sands in Salamat, BP said. Further appraisal will be required to better define the field resources and to evaluate the options for developing the discovery [ Sept 13 2013, O&Gj ]

» Eni announces today that first oil from the giant Kashagan oil field has been produced. The oilfield is located in the North Caspian Sea, approximately 80 kilometres southeast of Atyrau, in Kazakhstan. Eni holds a 16.81% stake in the consortium for the development of Kashagan and through Agip KCO is responsible for developing and start of production of the field. The other partners in the consortium, represented by the operator NCOC (North Caspian Operating Company) which operates within the North Caspian Sea Production Sharing Agreement (NCSPSA), are KazMunayGas (16.81%), ExxonMobil (16.81%), Shell (16.81%), Total (16.81%), ConocoPhillips (8.4%) and Inpex (7.56%). In the initial phase output will grow up to 180,000 barrels per day. Afterwards, the production will increase progressively up to 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Kashagan is one of the largest oil fields discovered in the last 40 years, with estimated reserves of 35 billion barrels of oil in place. Considering the size, the specifications, the environmental and logistical characteristics, Kashagan is one of the most complex and challenging industrial projects worldwide. [ Sept 12 2013, Eni ]

» The Global Atlas IRENA is the comprehensive information platform on the potential of renewable energy. It provides resource maps from leading technical institutes worldwide and tools for evaluating the technical potential of renewable energies. It can function as a catalyst for policy development and energy planning, and can support investors in entering renewable energy markets [ Sept 12 2013, IRENA ]

» The first section of Phase-II of the Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline was brought into operation on 7 September at Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. The Phase-II pipeline starts at Beyneu in Kazakhstan's Mangystau Province, and will ultimately connect to the Central Asia-China gas pipeline at Shymkent in South Kazakhstan Province. This 1,454 km long pipeline is designed to transport 10 Bcm/a of natural gas and has a potential to expand its capacity up to 15 Bcm/a. The Phase-II project consists of two sections. The first section from Bozoy in Aktobe Province to Shymkent, 1,143 km in length, is now ready for gas delivery after construction started in July, 2012. The second section, 311 km long from Beyneu to Bozoy, is expected to be completed in 2015 [ Sept 12 2013, Pipelineinternational ]

» TransCanada Corporation today released the results of a report by Deloitte & Touche LLP (Deloitte) that examines the jobs and economic benefits associated with the company's $12-billion Energy East Pipeline project. The report commissioned by TransCanada highlights that Energy East will deliver significant economic benefit to the entire country, with all six provinces along the pipeline's route projected to see job creation, economic growth and increased tax revenues related to the proposed pipeline's construction and operation for decades to come. The analysis conducted by Deloitte estimates that Energy East will generate $35 billion in additional gross domestic product (GDP) for Canada during six years of development and construction, and over 40 years of operation. The report also estimates more than 10,000 full-time jobs will be directly supported during [ Sept 11 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Proposals to respond to climate change by geoengineering the Earth's climate system, such as by regulating the amount of sunlight reaching the planet, may be seen as a radical fulfillment of Heidegger's understanding of technology as destiny. Before geoengineering was conceivable, the Earth as a whole had to be representable as a total object, an object captured in climate models that form the epistemological basis for climate engineering. Geoengineering is thinkable because of the ever-tightening grip of Enframing, Heidegger's term for the modern epoch of Being [ Sept 11 2013, clivehamilton ]

» On behalf of the United States Institute of Peace and the Water Communication Consortium, webcast of Summit on Water Security and Conflict Prevention, to be held at the US Institute of Peace, 2301 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037. This summit is also the launch of the "Water Security and Conflict Prevention Trust" initiative that includes a range of scientific, military, economic, diplomatic, and national security leaders and experts who will outline and contrast issues and solutions to the conflicts surrounding Nigeria and the Niger, and Pakistan and the Indus river basins. Specifically, this summit will bring attention to the growing trend in water scarcity and the risks for increased conflict, and will call for conflict-sensitive and preventative solutions, which are of strategic and economic interest to all parties involved. Approximately 200 senior level thought leaders on water security and management from the private sector, civil society, academic, military and government communities are expected to attend. Event begins at 9:15 AM, EDT, Tuesday September 10. Live webcast can be seen at: [ Sept 10 2013, usip live ]

» the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) will be hosting a webinar on the skills and education needed to build a robust renewable energy workforce. The webinar aims to highlight the skills being demanded in the public and private sectors, to identify skills shortages within sub-sectors, and to collect information on training and education, which is critical to the development of a strong workforce in the renewable energy arena. The webinar will examine barriers and consider steps to address the skills needs in the sector. IRENA estimates that the renewable energy sector employed as many as 5.7 million people worldwide in 2012. Yet despite this, there remains a critical shortage of skilled personnel to develop, design, finance, build, operate and maintain renewable energy projects, representing one of the greatest barriers to the wider diffusion of renewable energy technologies. Webinar schedule: Wednesday, 2 October, 6:00-7:00 PM GST; Tuesday, 8 October, 10:00-11:00 PM GST; Tuesday, 8 October, 11:00-12:00 PM GST. To register and learn more about this webinar [ Sept 10 2013, IRENA ]

» A new study illustrates the far-reaching economic contributions of unconventional oil and natural gas development, particularly in the manufacturing sector, says API Vice President for Policy and Economic Analysis Kyle Isakower. [...] The study by IHS Global Insight, "America's New Energy Future: The Unconventional Oil and Gas Revolution and the Economy - Volume 3: A Manufacturing Renaissance," expands on IHS's earlier research into unconventional oil and natural gas - resources generally unlocked from shale deposits and other tight formations using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The latest report outlines the full chain of economic activity resulting from unconventional development, from drilling and refining to petrochemical supplies and manufacturing. According the study, the full unconventional value chain supported 2.1 million jobs last year, and is projected to support 3.9 million jobs by 2025, including 515,000 manufacturing jobs. [ Sept 09 2013, PennEnergy ]

» As part of the European Environment Agency's major publication "Late lessons from early warnings: science, precaution, innovation" (EEA, Copenhagen, 2013) Hartmut Grassl and Bert Metz wrote a chapter on "Climate change: science and the precautionary principle" that analyses the interplay between science and politics on climate change over the last 25 years. As a result, the main question for policy becomes 'how can we achieve the socio-economic goals of growth and development, while addressing climate change risks?' This question in turn demands answers to scientific questions: 'how can dependence on energy imports be reduced by developing domestic renewable energy resources?', 'how can air quality be improved to eliminate health hazards by shifting from fossil fuel-based energy production and transport systems to clean energy and electric cars?' and 'how can agriculture be made more productive and less vulnerable to climate change by sequestering more carbon in agricultural soils?' These questions require a more integrated analysis and assessment than earlier questions that regarded climate change mitigation as largely separate from other policy areas [ Sept 09 2013, controllingclimatechenge ]

» IPIECA-OGP compendium of energy efficiency technologies and good practice. This database provides a compendium of energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) efficiency technologies and practices. It aims to raise awareness and uptake of such measures across the oil and gas industry. The examples are based largely on existing documentation, and build on this by providing case studies wherever possible. Whilst there are existing sources of information on upstream and downstream energy efficiency and GHG emissions reductions for our industry, these are disparate and not always clearly signposted or freely available. The database seeks to go some way in correcting this [ Sept 06 2013, IPIECA ]

» An Harvard Project on Climate Agreements discussion paper analyzes global climate policy as the problem of transforming governance of the atmosphere from an open-access into a global commons regime. This involves several challenges. First, setting an atmospheric stabilization goal requires balancing risks of climate change and risks of mitigation. Second, limiting the atmospheric disposal space for carbon devalues fossil resources and creates a novel climate rent, thus raising distributional issues. Third, policy instrument choice needs to consider the supply side dynamics of global fossil resource markets. Fourth, global climate policy entails strong free-riding incentives. The article reviews incentives for unilateral action and policy instruments as well as alternative conceptualizations of the emissions game that may somewhat alleviate this collective action problem. Finally, the literature on fiscal federalism and fiscal decentralization is considered, promising novel perspectives on designing an efficient decentralized governance regime of the atmospheric commons [ Sept 06 2013, Belfercenter, Harvard ]

» Using all fossil fuels will breach the global carbon dioxide budget. In 2010, governments confirmed in the Cancun Agreement that emissions should be reduced to avoid a rise in global average temperature of more than 2ºC above pre-industrial levels, with the possibility of revising this down to 1.5ºC. The modelling used in previous analyses by Carbon Tracker and the IEA showed that the carbon budget for a 2ºC scenario would be around 565 - 886 billion tonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide (CO2) to 2050. This outcome assumes that non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. methane and nitrous oxide) remain high. This budget, however, is only a fraction of the carbon embedded in the world's indicated fossil fuel reserves, which amount to 2,860GtCO2. A precautionary approach means only 20% of total fossil fuel reserves can be burnt to 2050. As a result the global economy already faces the prospect of assets becoming stranded, with the problem only likely to get worse if current investment trends continue - in effect, a carbon bubble. [ Sept 06 2013, carbontracker, London School of economics ]

» Eni has made a new high impact discovery at Agulha exploration prospect, in Area 4, offshore Mozambique. Preliminary estimates show that the Agulha structure could contain 5 to 7 Trillion cubic feet of gas in place. Eni and its Area 4 Joint Venture partners are finalizing the assessment of the discovery and planning the appraisal strategy. Agulha well, which led to the discovery, is the tenth well drilled back to back in Area 4, where exploration has achieved a 100% rate of success. Agulha was drilled in 2,492 meters of water and reached a total depth of 6,203 meters. The well is located in the southern part of area 4, approximately 80 kilometers off the Cabo Delgado coast, and was drilled to assess new exploration targets and to test the hydrocarbon potential of geological sequences which are older than the ones drilled in the Mamba complex. Agulha encountered about 160 meters of wet gas pay in good quality Paleocene and Cretaceous reservoirs. [ Sept 05 2013, Eni ]

» Siri Island in the Persian Gulf is set to become Iran's gas export hub, Mahmoud Zirakchianzadeh, the managing director of the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) announced. The island is connected to the Salman oil field in the Persian Gulf via a 91-mile pipeline. It is also connected to a 194-mile pipeline from Assaluyeh, a 41-mile pipeline to the Mobarak offshore platform and a 49-mile pipeline to Sharjah, the Tehran Times reported. Zirakchianzadeh also said Siri Island services the Alvand, Dena, Esfand, Sivand and Mobarak oil fields. A natural gas liquids plant on the island - the largest one in the Persian Gulf - came online in February. It's expected the plant will produce about 1,400 barrels of gas condensates, 4,000 barrels of butane, 1,500 barrels of pentane and 8,000 barrels of propane per day [ Sept 04 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Climate variability and change affect virtually all physical, biological and human systems on the planet. A major challenge of the research community is to provide relevant information to policymakers on vulnerability, impacts and adaptation (VIA) in the context of a changing climate and to do so in a coherent and coordinated way. The Programme of Research on Climate Change Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation (PROVIA) aims to respond to this challenge by harmonizing, mobilizing and communicating the growing nowledge-base on VIA to relevant audiences. The report Research Priorities on Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation: Responding to the Climate Change Challenge consists of 33 topics presented in three sections: Information to Support Policymaker Decisions, Systems and Regions and Emerging Topics. Each of the 33 topics includes a description of why the research is needed, followed by several paragraphs describing specific activities that respond to that need. A short bulleted list thereafter highlights representative examples of critical activities from the broader set of proposed activities for each Research Topic. While many of the activities are specific research tasks, others describe the support needed to conduct scientific research on VIA. An example of the latter includes fostering technological innovation, such as optimizing the integration of remotely sensed and groundbased information. [ Sept 04 2013, PROVIA UNEP ]

» Seadrill sees strong demand for ultra-deepwater floating drilling rigs (up to 7,500 ft, or 2,286 m) from Africa over the next few years. There will likely be a sharp increase in drilling activity off Angola and Nigeria, the contractor claims, due to a backlog of exploration work and the need to develop several large discoveries. Seadrill also foresees increasing activity in East Africa with active exploration programs planned off Mozambique, Tanzania, and Kenya. In Brazil, the recent license awards in frontier deepwater regions should further drive demand for ultra-deepwater rigs, while in the US Gulf of Mexico, development work is growing as the market returns to normal operating conditions following Macondo. Seadrill expects a knock-on requirement for longer-duration drilling contracts. The market for harsh environment drilling rigs remains very tight, the contractor adds, with increasing demand offshore northern Norway, Russia, and other Arctic regions likely to tighten supply further [ Sept 03 2013, Offshoremag ]

» The systemic waste of oil and gas in the Gulf is eroding economic resilience to shocks and increasing security risks, including to citizens' health. Success or failure in setting and meeting sustainable energy goals in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will have a global impact. The six GCC countries - Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE and Bahrain - now consume more primary energy than the whole of Africa. Yet they have just one twentieth of that continent's population. Energy intensity in the region is high and rising in contrast to other industrialized regions and is driven by systemic inefficiencies. The report, Saving Oil and Gas in the Gulf, proposes specific measures that should be investigated at the GCC level, including the potential for setting common prices for electricity trading and fuel. Countries should cooperate to establish common appliance efficiency standards for buildings, appliances and vehicles, with air conditioning a priority area. Establishing a common buildings code and building materials standard could bring step changes in energy and water efficiency. This would reduce costs for each country and allow the region to punch above its weight internationally in emissions reduction commitments. [ Sept 02 2013, Chathamhouse ]

» Permafrost-carbon complexities. The thawing and decomposition of carbon stored in permafrost generates greenhouse gases that could further intensify global warming. Currently, most of the thawed carbon is assumed to be converted to greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, and carbon decomposition is thought to only occur at the [ Aug 30 2013, Nature geoscience ]

» the Carbon Market Institute's report 'The State of the Australian Carbon Market 2013'. The first year of the Australian Carbon Pricing Mechanism ran from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013. This report provides a snapshot of the domestic market in its first year of existence. The report aims to increase overall market transparency through the analysis of key fundamental and transactional data, thereby assisting participants to better understand the market's composition and characteristics. In addition to the CMI analysis, a lot of the data contained in the report is drawn from the extensive and comprehensive databases maintained by the Clean Energy Regulator. The report includes some key findings including: Given the first compliance year has a fixed price of A$23 per carbon unit, the Carbon Market Institute estimates the total value of the Australian carbon market at approximately A$6.58 billion. The figure is based on the estimated notional value of freely allocated carbon units and units purchased by liable entities. In total, 372 liable entities were included in the scheme on the basis that their annual scope one emissions were greater than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e). Of these 372 liable entities, 258 of the largest emitters were required to surrender carbon units for 75% of their liability in the June 2013 interim surrender. Units surrendered by top 20 liable entities equated to A$3.1 billion. A total of 103.7 million free permits were issued under the Jobs and Competitiveness Program to 121 entities that included both liable and non-liable entities. The value of the permits in the first year was A$23 per tonne, which equates to A$2.2 billion of free permits issued to liable entities and A$114 million free permits handed out to non-liable entities. The Clean Energy Regulator issued 1,750,179 ACCUs in the first year of operation. Almost all of the issued ACCUs, 97%, were purchased by 18 liable entities to meet part of their compliance obligations. [ Aug 29 2013, CMI ]

» Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) are increasingly used for addressing sustainable development goals by including provisions on climate change and sustainable energy. This paper examines that trend and presents an overview of different categories of such provisions in a broad sample of recent RTAs, identifying current regulatory challenges and highlighting obstacles in addressing climate change. It appeals to the necessity of securing flexibility for regulators in targeting new climate threats and the need for cooperation to implement international and national objectives in the efforts to enhance low-carbon technologies. After a preliminary assessment of the potential legal effects of the provisions, the authors make recommendations intended to optimize the potential of promoting the development of a sustainable low-carbon economy through trade agreements. [ Aug 28 2013, ICTSD ]

» TransCanada Corp is moving forward with its 1.1 million b/d Energy East Pipeline project based on binding, long-term contracts received from producers and refiners. A recent open season on the pipeline concluded with the company having signed 900,000 b/d of firm, long-term contracts to transport crude oil from Western Canada to Eastern Canadian refineries and export terminals (OGJ Online, Apr. 2, 2013). Eastern Canada currently imports 700,000 b/d of crude oil, according to TransCanada. TransCanada expects the Energy East Pipeline to enter service by late-2017 for deliveries in Quebec and 2018 for deliveries to New Brunswick. The project involves converting about 3,000 km of gas pipeline on TransCanada's existing Canadian Mainline to crude service and building 1,400 km of new pipeline. Energy East will transport oil from receipt points in Alberta and Saskatchewan to delivery points in Montreal, the Quebec City region and Saint John, NB, enhancing Western Canadian producer access to Eastern Canadian and international markets [ Aug 27 2013, OGJ ]

» As part of President Obama's commitment to promoting safe and responsible offshore oil and gas development, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) Director James Watson today announced another key step to strengthen both human safety and environmental protection on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The proposed rule, which will be published in the Federal Register, implements best practices and updates regulations regarding production safety systems and equipment used to collect and treat oil and gas from offshore production facilities [ Aug 26 2013, PennEnergy ]

» During 2014-2015, DONG Energy and its licence partner Bayerngas will be establishing the Hejre field in the North Sea. The field entails the largest individual investment in the Danish sector of the North Sea in recent years and significantly boost Denmark's status as self-sufficient in oil and gas. As of today, you can follow the development of the North Sea field on its own website and subscribe to news on the most significant activities and incidents of the development project. The Hejre field which is located approximately 290 kilometres north-west of Esbjerg requires construction of a new combined Production, Drilling and Living Quarters platform with production from five new wells [ Aug 20 2013, PennEnergy ]

» BP recently gave an exclusive presentation about Structural Integrity Management Future Challenges and Risks, which highlights some key issues including: SIM challenges associated with ageing offshore structures highlighting issues associated with fabric maintenance and caisson integrity; Identification of structural integrity risk, including trends, gaps and areas for future focus A pragmatic approach to Life Extension [ Aug 17 2013, decomworld ]

» What a difference a year makes. In the summer of 2012 shale gas exploration in the United Kingdom was subject to a moratorium following earth tremors allegedly linked to drilling in Lancashire, North-West England. Prior to that, shale exploration had been met with caution from the UK government and strong opposition from environmental and local action groups. Now, a year later, not only has the UK government brought the moratorium to an end, but has taken active steps to kick-start a British shale revolution. Rising domestic energy prices, a flat-lining economy, diminishing production from the North Sea, and encouraging reports of reserves (and a few jealous glances across the Atlantic) have persuaded the UK government finally to embrace shale. How will the UK encourage investment in this fledgling industry? How does it plan to handle the competing dynamics of encouraging investment, generating tax revenue, and addressing the still active concerns of local communities? The main measures currently being considered by the government can be divided into three categories: A tailored tax regime; Planning and regulatory reform; and Local community benefits [ Aug 14 2013, OGFJ ]

» Greater Himalayan glaciers are retreating and losing mass at rates comparable to glaciers in other regions of the world. Assessments of future changes and their associated hydrological impacts are scarce, oversimplify glacier dynamics or include a limited number of climate models. Here, we use results from the latest ensemble of climate models in combination with a high-resolution glacio-hydrological model to assess the hydrological impact of climate change on two climatically contrasting watersheds in the Greater Himalaya, the Baltoro and Langtang watersheds that drain into the Indus and Ganges rivers, respectively. We show that the largest uncertainty in future runoff is a result of variations in projected precipitation between climate models. In both watersheds, strong, but highly variable, increases in future runoff are projected and, despite the different characteristics of the watersheds, their responses are surprisingly similar. In both cases, glaciers will recede but net glacier melt runoff is on a rising limb at least until 2050 [ Aug 7 2013, Nature geoscience ]

» Oil companies with smaller market shares in the United States are seeing a spike in output and profits as they incorporate higher-margin domestic crude oil wells into their portfolios, according to a Bloomberg report. One such company, Houston-based EOG Resources Inc., could more than triple its profits to an estimated $1.92 billion in 2013. The price increase "is bullish for U.S. shale development and benefits producers with a high U.S. production profile," said Gianna Bern, founder of Brookshire Advisory and Research Inc. [ Aug 6 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Climate change, sustainable development and security are coming together, and Asia must drive the post-2015 global agenda and global goals. There is an ongoing debate within the United Nations whether a sustainable development and a security lens will be needed for dealing with climate change, the most important challenge of our times. The new High level Political Forum on Sustainable Development recently established in the United Nations (A/67/L.72 dated 27 June 2013) to replace the Commission on Sustainable Development will review progress of all major conferences and result in a "negotiated ministerial declaration", blurring the distinction with arrangements like the climate treaty. A recent article in 'Nature' (21 March) argues for sustainable development goals that consider both people and planet. Will the goals now being negotiated in the United Nations General Assembly for the post- 2015 global agenda also deal with climate change along with development? [ Aug 5 2013, India environment portal, Mukul Sanwal ]

» At the UN climate negotiations in , UNFCCC Parties essentially agreed to negotiate a legally binding framework until 2015, including emissions mitigation obligations for all countries from 2020 onwards. In addition, they agreed to keep global temperature rise below 2 °C and to close the ambition gap before 2020. Hence it is not enough to concentrate on post-2020 action. In its important "The Emissions Gap Report", UNEP showed that the current national mitigation pledges in the UNFCCC context are necessary to reduce the gap between business-as-usual emissions and what is needed by 2020 to stay below 2 °C, but will not suffice. Therefore, a "Workplan" on enhancing mitigation ambition to identify options for Parties to close the ambition gap was launched in Durban and procedural steps until the year 2015 concretized in Doha (2012). Short-term mitigation action needs to be enhanced at all levels between now and 2015 in order to ensure that the gap is closed. In September 2014, Heads of State and Government as well as groups of countries are supposed to meet at the envisaged World Leaders' Summit of UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, which provides an important milestone. At that occasion, they should come forward with concrete plans for higher ambition and additional action. These enhanced efforts of states, alliances, as well as other actors should then be formalized under UNFCCC and other international fora. This paper, "Short-Term Mitigation Ambition Pre-2020 - Opportunities To Close the Emissions Gap", provides an overview of the variety of options available at all three dimensions (multilateral negotiating, national acting, and alliances between states and/or non-state actors) to close the emissions gap and thus highlights the possibility of complying with the 2 °C limit. Ultimately, whether we can keep global warming at a level that avoids the worst for humanity and our planet depends on political will [ Aug 5 2013, Charlotte Cuntz, Germanwatch ]

» During the last few years, Anglo-French oil and gas company Perenco began a quest to explore the oil reserves in the Peruvian Amazon. According to The Guardian, the area's oil supply was deemed commercially viable in December 2006. Alan Garcia, Peru's president at the time, subsequently visited the site and called the oil "a miracle." He asserted the country would soon become a net exporter of the fossil fuel and save $1 billion a year [ Aug 3 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Areva has been awarded a contract for the fabrication of fuel assemblies for five reloads for the single-unit Gosgen nuclear power plant in Switzerland. It will deliver 180 fuel assemblies to the Swiss utility, Gosgen-Daniken AG (KKG), starting in 2018. Areva constructed the Gosgen nuclear power plant and has been fabricating its fuel elements since it began commercial operaion in 1979. The Areva group is currently retrofitting the reactor's instrumentation and control technology. [ Aug 1 2013, nucnet ]

» Connecting local changes to global audiences. As changes to ecosystems and the environment continue to occur in response to growing population pressure and natural processes, ways to measure and observe these changes on a regular basis will become increasingly important. Satellite imagery offers an important way to provide evidence of such changes and connect local changes to wider audiences. A significant area of Earth's surface that is susceptible to slow-onset or rapid environmental change is referred to here as a 'hotspot' and is explained through the use of two or more satellite images showing change over time (a 'change pair'). A positive outlook for the future is captured through the concept of a ‘hopespot' which encompasses areas where actions have led to, or are leading to, positive changes. These images, when accompanied by a short storyline and ground photos, are an important method for communicating environmental changes and their impacts to the international community and can ultimately function as a unique decision-support tool. [ July 31 2013, UNEP ]

» Climate change is a cross-cutting issue that affects advice and decision-making in many different professions to an increasing degree. From architects and engineers advising in the construction of a factory that will produce greenhouse gases, to professional foresters or biologists advising on the longterm survival of a forest ecosystem type, professionals are advising clients on climate change and its implications. However, despite the work being done by professionals on the ground in terms of responding to climate change, there has been little discussion of the professional obligations related to this work. Professional associations, often created by government, govern the activities of their members through codes of conduct and ethics, standards of practice, requirements for continuing professional development, policy statements, and other guidelines. What do these rules say about climate change? [ July 30 2013, WCEL ]

» Coal has been the primary fuel behind China's economic growth over the last decade, growing 10 percent per year and providing three quarters of the nation's primary energy supply. Like China's economy, coal's use, sale and broader impacts are also dynamic, changing with technology and spurring policy interventions. Currently, China's coal sector from mine to boiler is undergoing a massive consolidation designed to increase efficiency. Coal's supreme position in the energy mix appears to be unassailable. Will Coal Remain King in China's Energy Mix? [ July 29 2013, theenergycollective, M. Davidson ]

» The U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) recently released International Energy Outlook 2013 (IEO2013) projects that world energy consumption will grow by 56 percent between 2010 and 2040, from 524 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) to 820 quadrillion Btu. Most of this growth will come from non-OECD (non-Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, where demand is driven by strong economic growth. Renewable energy and nuclear power are the world's fastest-growing energy sources, each increasing 2.5% per year. In the Reference case, the renewables share of total energy use rises from 11 percent in 2010 to 15 percent in 2040, and the nuclear share grows from 5 percent to 7 percent. Almost 80 percent of the projected increase in renewable electricity generation is fueled by hydropower and wind power. Of the 5.4 trillion kilowatt-hours of new renewable generation added over the projection period, 2.8 trillion kilowatt-hours (52 percent) is attributed to hydroelectric power and 1.5 trillion kilowatt-hours (28 percent) to wind. However, fossil fuels continue to supply nearly 80 percent of world energy use through 2040. Natural gas is the fastest-growing fossil fuel, as global supplies of tight gas, shale gas, and coalbed methane increase. [ July 27 2013, PennEnergy ]

» New website featuring renewable power statistics from around the World, covering biomass, geothermal, hydro, solar and wind power. Over 200 market profiles are currently available, with thousands of statistics and charts and a large range of downloadable factbooks. The site differs from other renewable energy news sites in that the focus is not on the news but rather on detailed and comprehensive industry and market analysis for all markets around the World, utilizing data compiled from a range of public, governmental and media sources. The site is currently in beta and subject to funding availability, is looking to expand to include e.g. sub-national level capacity or generation analysis, renewable policies, power plant directories etc. [ July 26 2013, renewablefacts.com ]

» Climate change: some reasons for our failures. The nations of the earth are doing very little to avert an impending, entirely foreseeable catastrophe. There are many reasons why - some obvious, others less so. Twenty five years ago, scientists with an interest in the climate were moving towards a consensual understanding, that primarily through the burning of fossil fuels human beings were responsible for potentially catastrophic global warming. At present, at least 97% of climate scientists have reached that conclusion. [...] The conference which was supposed to find a replacement for Kyoto - Copenhagen in 2009 - was a comprehensive failure. There is at present no reason to suppose that the next major international conference on which hopes now rest - Paris in 2015 - will succeed [ July 25 2013, the Guardian ]

» Norway a Driving Force of the European Region in Terms of Offshore Reserves and Development Projects - It is expected that fresh offshore development projects commencing in the next one to two years in Norway will stabilize hydrocarbon production by late 2013 or early 2014. Hydrocarbon production will then remain steady through to 2017. In terms of exploration activity, there were 13 new discoveries offshore Norway in 2012, possessing together about 132 MMcmoe (million cubic meters of oil equivalent) of fresh hydrocarbon reserves. The economies of both Norway and the UK have benefited from successful explorations by Statoil. Statoil has submitted plans for four new major projects, with an estimated capital expenditure of $23 billion. There have been considerable offshore developments in Norway in the recent past. In the North Sea, Statoil plans to produce 225 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) of hydrocarbon from the Dagny oil and gas field. BP plc (BP) has commenced production from the Skarv oil and gas field, in the Norwegian Sea. The capital expenditure allocated for the project is about $7 billion [ July 24 2013, industryreportstore ]

» What we mean by global energy security is the satisfaction of humankind's energy needs to maintain lifestyle levels in the developed world and to promote development and improve the quality of life across the world, including least-developed and developing countries. The paper focuses on the global energy economy, its fragmented governance and its implications for global energy security. Inter-State governance over the global energy economy is neither global nor cohesive. Rather, the various aspects pertinent to it - amongst others, economic development, climate change, trade, investment protection, finance and human security - are managed in a disparate and disjointed manner. What is more, the absence of a global energy security regime to address global - i.e., humankind's collective - energy needs justifies the need to investigate the implications of the current state of play for global energy security. To do so, the paper will examine all relevant institutions and processes linked to the global energy economy in order to assess their individual and combined implications for global energy security. This paper therefore aims to promote an understanding of, and an attitude towards, the global energy economy that acknowledges that it is a composite affair with a high degree of interplay between its constituent parts, and that there are systemic reasons why the current state of play fails to address global energy security needs. The aim of the paper is to perform an extensive mapping-out and analysis of the institutions and processes linked to the governance of the global energy economy, and of those purportedly concerned with global energy security [ July 23 2013, R. Leal-Arcas, A. Filis ]

» Many new stake holders will make Japan's conservative energy business unsustainable. Japan will almost certainly reduce its dependence on nuclear power. But will it alternatively shift to renewable energy? At first glance, this may seem likely. After Fukushima, Japan's green energy sector has expanded. Investors have rushed to build solar parks, bio gas installations and wind farms. This new clean energy capacity roughly equals the output of two nuclear plants. But according to promoters of renewables, Japan has not only acted too late and too slow in allowing the development of alternatives for nuclear and fossil-fuel fired power plants. In their view, Japan's delayed surge of green energy may even stall as a result of counteraction and reluctance [ July 19 2013, European Energy Review ]

» Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has signed a co-operation agreement with Greek natural gas transmission system operator DESFA. TAP and DESFA plan to enter into an agreement on the day-to-day technical operation and maintenance for the Greek section of the TAP. Other joint activities will include the review of interconnection points with the DESFA pipeline system to further enhance security of supply and technical co-operation. The agreement follows the announcement on 28 June that TAP has been chosen by the Shah Deniz Consortium in Azerbaijan as the best pipeline route to export Azerbaijani gas to Europe [ July 18 2013, Pipelineinternational ]

» Investment for shale development has been increasing in emerging countries such as Poland, Argentina, Australia, and China. Argentina made substantial investments in shale gas, amounting to around US%2.05 billion, between 2009 and March 2013. In 2010, shale gas investment in Argentina amounted to an estimated US%513.85 MM, which increased to around US%1.42 billion in 2011. In Australia, gas shale investment amounted to an estimated US%1.26 billion during the 2009-March 2013 period. In 2009, shale gas investment in Australia was estimated at around US$128 MM, which increased to around US%678.81 MM by 2012. In Poland, gas shale investment amounted to an estimated US%296.66 MM during the period 2009-March 2013. In 2009, shale gas investment was estimated at around US%21.33 MM [ July 17 2013, Industryreportstore ]

» Shell Oil and affiliated partnerships agreed to spend at least $115 million to resolve federal air pollution charges stemming from flaring and other activities at its Deer Park, Tex., refinery and chemical plant near Houston, the US Department of Justice and US Environmental Protection Agency jointly announced. They said the US subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell PLC also agreed to pay a $2.6 million fine, spend $1 million on a state-of-the-art system to monitor benzene levels at the facility's fence line near a residential neighborhood and school, and make the data publicly available online. Shell will spend $100 million to control emissions from industrial flares at the installation, DOJ and EPA said. Specifically, it will take steps to recover and recycle waste gases (which it can then reuse as a fuel or other product), limit how much waste gas can be flared, and install and operate instruments and monitoring systems to ensure that gases sent to flares are burned with 98% efficiency. [ July 16 2013, O&GFJ ]

» Shale oil production in the US and Canada added one million barrels to domestic production over the last year. Current activity may bring North American shale oil supply from 3.5 million to 8 million barrels per day before 2020 (see OGFJ, May 2013). Such rapid growth from new oil wells has not been seen since Saudi Arabia increased its oil production capacity in the early 1970s. The timing for the world economy is ideal: the global oil supply balance was stretched to its limits in 2007-2008; Saudi expansion since then has mostly been to balance decline from northern Ghawar, and BRIC demand and Iraq supply now appear increasingly fragile. We believe the world would be headed into an oil-driven recession without the North American shale oil revolution. [ July 15 2013, O&GFJ ]

» Addressing adaptation in the oil and gas industry. The briefing is intended for anyone with an interest in the role of adaptation planning in the industry. It examines oil and gas industry awareness of climate change-related risks, and identifies appropriate responses and ways in which these responses are being integrated into broad risk management frameworks. Structured to provide an overview of the adaptation planning process, the document includes: examples of climate risks identified by the oil and gas industry; an outline of risk evaluation processes related to specific potential impacts, and in-use examples of risk adaptation and management [ July 12 2013, IPIECA ]

» The Kyoto Protocol's clean development mechanism (CDM), the international market-based tool that incentivizes greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction projects in developing countries, has passed the 7,000 registered projects milestone. The 7,000th project will capture and destroy biogas created at two livestock (pig and chicken) farms in Cebu, Philippines, reducing annual emissions by 48,000 tonnes; the equivalent of removing 10,000 passenger cars from the road each year. The project will also reduce air pollution and odour, reduce instances of mosquito-borne illnesses, such as dengue fever, and increase job opportunities for the local community. There are registered CDM projects in 88 developing countries. Over the past 10 years the CDM has spurred more than USD 215 billion of low-carbon investment in developing countries, issued credits equal to 1.3 billion tonnes of CO2, and added more than 110,000 Mega Watts of renewable energy to global electricity grids. [ July 11 2013, Unfccc ]

» Eni believes in creating a competitive advantage through technological innovation and research. The recovery project will turn the Gela refinery into a technological hub. Eni has met with National and Regional Institutions and with the Trade Unions to announce a project for the renovation and recovery of the Gela refinery. The aim of the new project is to create an economically sound refinery capable of meeting the challenges of a competitive and constantly evolving market. The refinery will also be redesigned to be more environmentally friendly and respectful of the local area. The refining industry is experiencing a structural crisis in Europe, particularly in the Mediterranean. The fall in demand for oil products has created excess capacity of approximately 100 million tons per year, equivalent to 1.5 times the entire annual consumption in Italy. This has resulted in a change in refinery utilisation rates from 95% in 2005-2008 to the current 70% and a simultaneous fall in refining margins, causing significant losses for the industry. [ July 10 2013, Eni ]

» Amid growing alarm over the rising atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases, increasing attention is being given to 'geo-engineering' technologies that could counteract some of the impacts of global warming by either reducing absorption of solar energy (solar radiation management (SRM)) or removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Geo-engineering has the potential to dramatically alter the dynamics of global climate change negotiations because it might cool the climate without constraining fossil fuel use. Some scholars have expressed concern that certain states may be tempted to act unilaterally. This paper assesses the approach that China is likely to adopt towards governance of SRM and the implications this holds for broader international climate negotiations. We survey Chinese public discourse, examine the policy factors that will influence China's position, and assess the likelihood of certain future scenarios. While Chinese climate scientists are keenly aware of the potential benefits of geo-engineering as well as its risks, we find that no significant constituency is currently promoting unilateral implementation of SRM. China will probably play a broadly cooperative role in negotiations toward a multilaterally governed geo-engineering programme but will seek to promote a distinctive developing world perspective that reflects concerns over sovereignty, Western imperialism and maintenance of a strict interpretation of the norm of common but differentiated responsibility. [ July 09 2013, The Pacific Review ]

» Statoil and its partners have made the investment decision for a joint oil export solution for the Edvard Grieg and Ivar Aasen fields. The oil will be transported via a 43-kilometre oil pipeline from Edvard Grieg to the Grane oil pipeline, and then on to Sture. The transport solution is a precondition for developing the Edvard Grieg (operated by Lundin) and Ivar Aasen (operated by Det norske oljeselskap) fields. Edvard Grieg is scheduled to start producing in 2015 and Ivar Aasen in 2016. The new pipeline will be called the Edvard Grieg oil pipeline. Statoil is a partner in both fields and operator for the joint venture for oil transport. [ July 08 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Are climate finance contributor countries, multilateral aid agencies and specialized funds using widely accepted best practices in foreign assistance? How is it possible to measure and compare international climate finance contributions when there are as yet no established metrics or agreed definitions of the quality of climate finance? As a subjective metric, quality can mean different things to different stakeholders, while of donor countries, recipients and institutional actors may place quality across a broad spectrum of objectives. This subjectivity makes the assessment of the quality of climate finance contributions a useful and necessary exercise, but one that has many challenges. This work seeks to enhance the development of common definitions and metrics of the quality of climate finance, to understand what we can about those areas where climate finance information is available and shine a light on the areas where there is a severe dearth of data. Allowing for comparisons of the use of best practices across funding institutions in the climate sector could begin a process of benchmarking performance, fostering learning across institutions and driving improvements when incorporated in internal evaluation protocols of those institutions. In the medium term, this kind of benchmarking and transparency could support fundraising in contributor countries and help build trust with recipient countries. As a feasibility study, this paper attempts to outline the importance of assessing international climate finance contributions while describing the difficulties in arriving at universally agreed measurements and indicators for assessment. In many cases, data are neither readily available nor complete, and there is no consensus on what should be included. A number of indicators are proposed in this study as a starting point with which to analyze voluntary contributions, but in some cases their methodologies are not complete, and further research is required for a robust measurement tool to be created [ July 05 2013, brookings ]

» Global shale gas deposits are estimated to be 7,229 tcf, revised up by 10% from 6,622 tcf in the 2011 report, while reserves of technically recoverable shale oil were estimated at 345 bn bbls. Russia is estimated to have the largest reserves of shale oil, totalling 75 bn bbls mainly in the West Siberia basin, followed by the US, China and Argentina. Top shale oil reserves according to the EIA [ July 04 2013, CGES ]

» Half a decade ago, Europe embarked towards three goals: competitiveness, security of supply and fighting climate change. After a promising start, as Benoit Leguet stressed, the fleet's flagship - the EU ETS - is in distress. A first attempt to dampen a torrent of excess quotas into its cargo bay has failed; new attempts are unlikely to succeed before 2015. EU ETS troubles, however, are a symptom of a deeper failure to stay the course toward the three goals. As former IEA DG Claude Mandil put it when concluding an insightful CGEMP Electricity Markets meeting at Paris Dauphine, Europe has come to disregard both 'climate' and 'market'. A surprising statement at a time when every other line in the EU's prose is a call for action on these two fronts. But an accurate diagnosis of how inefficiently the promising 2008 vision is being pursued. [ July 03 2013, cdcclimat ]

» Cogeneration and trigeneration technology is growing in popularity due to its economic and production efficiency, and its positive impact on carbon emissions. With the increase in use of 's short- and medium-term power generation future, cogeneration and trigeneration technologies will play a vital role in energy efficiency and emission reductions. These technologies are also important because of their versatility - they can increase the efficiencies of renewable as well as fossil fuel energy sources, and are suited for small, medium and large-scale applications [ July 02 2013, gastoday ]

» The concept of greening has been part of the public discourse for some time. The greening of energy, which is seen as essential for green growth and a green economy, which in turn is seen as essential for sustainable development, is part of this public discourse. Media is seen to be important in shaping public opinion. We investigated how two national Canadian newspapers (Globe and Mail and National Post) and two regional (Alberta) newspapers (Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal) cover greening as it relates to energy issues. The key findings were: although 88% of newspaper articles that covered greening also covered energy issues, only 0.15% of the articles that covered energy issues also contained the term greening; greening was mostly framed in economical not environmental protection terms; many themes were covered but often only once in a given article and often in less than 10% of the overall articles. This analysis could give guidance to stakeholders such as industry and non-governmental organizations on how greening is discussed in relation to energy issues. The analysis suggests that there is a need for increasing the visibility of greening in energy covering articles, that a more analytical approach is needed linking it for example to the greening indicator discourse as indicators are envisioned to give guidance as to what to do how and that a rethinking of how stakeholders distribute their greening message as it relates to energy issues might be warranted. [ July 01 2013, Journal of sustainable development ]

» There are several issues in the current debate on the so-called U.S. tight and shale oil ... revolution that contribute to reinforce extreme and seemingly irreconcilable attitudes. One of the central questions revolves around the real potential of this revolution and can be formulated simply as follows: Is oil production from shale formations just a temporary bubble or is it an event capable of significantly altering the U.S. - and possibly global - energy outlook? This study addresses such questions on the basis of a general analysis of more than 4,000 shale wells and a much more focused analysis of 2,000 of these wells along with the activities of about one hundred oil companies involved in shale oil exploitation. The main results of such analysis are multifaceted [ June 28 2013, Belfercenter, L. Maugeri ]

» Dramatic changes in oil and gas production in the United States have resurrected public interest in "energy independence". This interest came up very rapidly - the rhetoric only 5-7 years ago was dramatically different. This attraction likely stems in part from a connotation that "independence" equals resiliency and stability of energy services without risk of volatility. However, both domestic energy issues and geopolitics are considerably more interrelated than this argument allows. In addition, the vocabulary used is often imprecise. We briefl explore aspects of the concept, and argue that although politically seductive, energy independence can distract from sound decision-making in the energy sector. [ June 27 2013, Linking Energy Independence to Energy Security, iaee ]

» Barack Obama pledges to bypass Congress to tackle climate change. US president says country is already paying price of inaction and backs nuclear energy and fracking in comprehensive strategy. Barack Obama has taken an historic step forward in confronting climate change, asserting his power as US president to cut carbon pollution and protect future generations from catastrophic global warming. In a speech on Tuesday at Georgetown University, delivered outdoors on a sweltering hot day, Obama went further than any previous US president in outlining a comprehensive strategy for dealing with climate change. He also said he would continue to press the issue as a priority of his second term even in the face of implacable opposition from Republicans in Congress. [ June 26 2013, theguardian ]

» Nexus thinking is a new way of thinking which recognises the crucial interdependence of WATER, ENERGY and FOOD, and highlights the need for an integrated approach by policy-makers. The IIEA (Institute of International and European Affairs)/European Parliament Environment Nexus is an online hub for EU environment policy. Under three themes - water; agriculture and food security; and energy and climate - you will find visual, informative video interviews, animations, interactive infographics, country comparisons, voting polls, frequently asked questions, short articles and analytical policy reports that explain some of the most important environmental issues facing Ireland and the EU. [ June 25 2013, IIEA ]

» Two years ago in June 2011 the forward curve for NYMEX natural gas pointed to $5/MMBtu for gas in 2012 - rising to $8/MMBtu by 2022. This week (June 2013) the forward curve structure looks much the same except that expected prices in 2022 are down two bucks at $6/MMBtu. In between those forward curves, spot prices for natural gas plunged to less than $2/MMBtu in April 2012 and climbed back up to $4/MMBtu a few weeks ago. Today we consder how changing production and new patterns of demand look set to change gas market price structures for good. This is the fifth and final episode in a series based on Rusty's keynote presentation at Benposium on May 14, 2013 titled "Why What We Thought We Knew About the North American Hydrocarbon Market No Longer Matters". Despite the complicated title, it boiled down to a simple premise. If we look back to see what folk were forecasting for North American energy markets two years ago in 2011 and then compare that to today's actual data and forecast, what would that tell us about the changing pace of North American energy production? [ June 24 2013, O&Gfj ]

» This paper closely models the conditions under the EU ETS for Polish industrial sectors, under a range of allocation scenarios and carbon prices. It finds that with benchmarked free allocations under Phase III of the EU ETS and with carbon price scenarios of between 20 and 30 Euro/ton, Polish energy intensive industrial sectors will face small to negligible direct carbon costs compared to their profit margins. Indirect carbon price costs (an increase in the price of electricity) can also be compensated for directly under measures intended to protect electricity-intensive industries. Taking a moderate compensation rate and carbon prices of between 20-30 Euro/ton, Polish electricity-intensive industries do not seem to be exposed to significant indirect carbon costs. The study also shows that the vast majority of Poland's trade in these sectors takes place within the EU, which suggests the importance of maintaining a harmonized European climate policy in the future in order to avoid the risk of distortions to the internal market. [ June 21 2013, An Empirical Assessment of the Risk of Carbon Leakage in in Poland, IDDRI ]

» North Dakota's oil production in April rose 1.3 percent to more than 793,000 barrels of oil per day during the state's coldest April on record, Reuters reported. Home to the Bakken shale formation, production is expected to continue growing as forecasters say as many as 850,000 bpd could be reached by the end of the year [...] Production in North Dakota was greater than Britain and Ecuador combined and came in second behind Texas for the greatest oil production in the United States, according to the report. Oil production of more than 800,000 bpd could come within the next month depending on how the weather plays out in the state [ June 20 2013, PennEnergy ]

» The uncertainty surrounding the future of existing carbon markets in recent years has prevented valuable resources from being channeled to low-carbon investments, particularly from the private sector. Following the economic downturn in 2008-2009 and slow economic recovery in major economies, industrial output plummeted and the demand for carbon assets used for compliance also fell. With limited support, prices reached historic lows. At the same time, several national and sub-national carbon pricing initiatives are emerging. It is not surprising that several of these new carbon pricing initiatives also include design features intended to prevent similar developments in the future. These emerging initiatives are being tailored to national circumstances and include a range of novel design features, including mechanisms to stabilize the carbon price. [ June 19 2013, World Bank report ]

» Ireland's energy minister Pat Rabbitte announced the country is encouraging oil and gas exploration, according to Platts. The energy minister also feels the country can learn lessons from Norway's success in the industry. "It is only through active exploration, especially drilling, that the potential [oil and gas] will be proven," said Rabbitte. "It is a key government policy objective to encourage investment in oil and gas exploration off the Irish coast and to optimize the value of any oil and gas finds for Ireland." More than 70 companies were at the event where Rabbitte highlighted the potential economic benefits and opportunities the Irish could gain from furthering the country's investment in offshore oil and gas exploration, the source reported. Rabbitte hopes a renewed interest in the Celtic sea will increase business development as well as create jobs and other economic benefits. [ June 18 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Iraq enjoyed significant oil production growth in 2012, with its output rising from less than 2.7 mbpd at the start of the year to a peak of 3.2 mbpd in November, and the government plans for this trend to continue in 2013. This year, the Iraqi government is targeting a year-end output capacity of 3.8 mbpd, firmly establishing it as OPEC's second largest producer, a position it has not held since before its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. With the two of three new single point mooring export terminals installed and operating in the Gulf, some of the bottlenecks that have restricted output growth are beginning to ease, but as one is eliminated, others emerge. [ June 17 2013, cges ]

» The Bloomberg administration on Monday issued new warnings about New York City's vulnerability to climate change, offering updated data to encourage businesses, residents and perhaps even future mayors to better prepare against hotter weather, fiercer storms and increased rainfall. Administration officials estimated that more than 800,000 city residents will live in the 100-year flood plain by the 2050s. That figure is more than double the 398,000 currently estimated to be at risk, based on new maps the Federal Emergency Management Agency released Monday. Many more businesses and jobs will also be at risk. The data was released a day before Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was to issue a report on how the city can better prepare for major weather events, including those like Hurricane Sandy [ June 14 2013, NY Times ]

» Renewable Energy: World Invests $244 billion in 2012, Geographic Shift to Developing Countries. Installed capacity continues to grow as solar prices drop 30-40%, new wind installations surge. For only the second time since 2006, global investments in renewable energy in 2012 failed to top the year before, falling 12% mainly due to dramatically lower solar prices and weakened US and EU markets. There was a continuing upward trend in developing countries in 2012, with investments in the South topping $112 billion vs $132 billion in developed countries - a dramatic change from 2007, when developed economies invested 2.5 times more in renewables (excluding large hydro) than developing countries, a gap that has closed to just 18%. [ June 13 2013, UNEP-Bloomberg ]

» In 2010, over 30 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere worldwide - that is an enormous amount of the greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. The upcoming International Standard ISO 14067, Carbon footprint of products - Requirements and guidelines for quantification and communication, is being developed to increase transparency in quantifying and reporting CO2 emissions over the entire lifecycle of products and services - from production to recycling or waste disposal. The document is currently at the stage of Draft International Standard (DIS) and expected to be finalized for publication in March 2014 [ June 12 2013, ISO ]

» Estimated shale oil and shale gas resources in the United States and in 137 shale formations in 41 other countries represent < and 32% of the world's natural gas technically recoverable resources, or those that can be produced using current technology without reference to economic profitability, according to a new report released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). More than half of the identified shale oil resources outside the United States are concentrated in four countries - Russia, China, Argentina and Libya - while more than half of the non-U.S. shale gas resources are concentrated in five countries - China, Argentina, Algeria, Canada, and Mexico. The United States would be ranked second after Russia for shale oil resources and fourth after Algeria for shale gas resources if compared with the 41 countries assessed [ June 12 2013, PennEnergy ]

» On Iran's Nuclear Program, Obama Should Take a Cue From JFK and 'Go First'. Fifty years ago, President John F. Kennedy delivered a commencement address at American University whose message echoes down the decades to the challenges America faces today - including the challenge of Iran. Only months after the Cuban Missile Crisis brought the world to the edge of nuclear war, Kennedy chose to speak of peace. This, as he faced a nuclear-armed Soviet Union that had a hateful ideology and was seemingly bent on world domination. The American president challenged those who saw peace as "impossible" or "unreal," calling this "a dangerous, defeatist belief." He spoke of a "practical" peace, based "on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements that are in the interest of all concerned." [ June 11 2013, Belfercenter Harvard ]

» Statoil and its license partners in the Gullfaks and Oseberg area fields in the Norwegian North Sea Unit have acquired two new "Category J" jackup drilling rigs. Both sets of licensees will own the rigs, which are designed to work in harsh environments, in water depths of 70-140 m (229-459 ft), and to drill wells up to 10,000 m (32,808 ft). They are based on proven technology, although optimized, Statoil says, to allow for more efficient drilling and completion of subsea wells compared with existing jackups. The primary role will be in drilling and completion of production wells. [ June 11 2013, Offshore mag ]

» GDF Suez has signed an agreement with Austrian energy group OMV Gas and Power to purchase a 9 per cent share in the Nabucco West gas pipeline project, which will connect Turkey and Austria. The aim of the project is to secure and diversify gas supplies to European markets over the long run. The , which is planned to enter service before 2020, will transport approximately . Up to 13 Bcm of capacity may be added at a later stage, to enable additional imports from new gas fields in the Caspian Sea region. The pipeline will enable gas to be delivered from Turkey's western border to the Baumgarten gas hub in Austria, and will also be able to supply Romania and Hungary, two countries in which GDF Suez has strong downstream positions, as well as Bulgaria. The shareholders of the Nabucco West project will be BEH (Bulgaria), BOTAS (Turkey), FGSZ (Hungary), GDF Suez, OMV, and Transgaz (Romania). [ June 10 2013, Pipelines int ]

» A comprehensive analysis by C2ES concludes that increased natural gas use can help reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in the near to medium term, but deeper long-term reductions will require broader deployment of other low-carbon energy sources as well. "Leveraging Natural Gas to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions" examines the climate challenges and opportunities posed by the current natural gas boom. The report synthesizes information from a series of background papers and workshops in Houston and Boston attended by several dozen experts and representatives of industry, environmental organizations, and state agencies. Among the report's key findings [ June 07 2013, c2es ]

» According to recent figures, Texas leads the way by far in North American drilling activity. The latest Baker Hughes Rig Count shows that the state has just under . Most of these rigs are located in Permian Basin though a growing number of rigs are obtaining oil from shale deposits. These deposits are gathered by a process called hydraulic fracturing in which a mixture of water, sand and chemicals are blasted down a well to break up the hard rock formation, allowing oil and gas to flow. [ June 06 2013, PennEnergy ]

» A subsidiary of Northern Petroleum is the successful bidder for 100% of Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 629 covering an area of 5,800 square kilometers with shale oil prospectivity in a lightly explored, but producing portion of the onshore Otway Basin, the Government of South Australia said. Only five stratigraphically deep exploration wells have been drilled within the license and some 4,468 line kilometers of 2-D seismic data recorded. The award is for an initial period of five years. In addition to condensate, PEL 629 is also prospective for conventional oil and gas, but Northern will focus on the unconventional potential of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Casterton and Sawpit Formations. The initial program will be detailed geochemical analysis and seismic reprocessing, combined with wireline log processing for evaluating the potential unconventional shale sequences for light oil, condensate and gas potential. The Otway Basin is South Australia's second most prospective onshore oil and gas province. [ June 05 2013, O&GfJ ]

» According to a Chatham House report, Saudi Arabia's surging domestic oil consumption - coupled with its inadequate supply growth - could turn the Kingdom into a net oil importer by 2038. Guzzling more than a quarter of its 11.1 million barrel per day (b/d) production in 2011, Saudi Arabia is the fifth largest oil consumer in the world. The Kingdom even recently surpassed Germany's consumption level, despite having less than one-third of Germany's population and one-fifth its economic output. Continued consumption growth, if left unchecked, could devastate the country's economy in the coming years. Demography partly explains this growing use of oil. The population has doubled since 1985 and demand has risen accordingly, but the main culprit is the Kingdom's growing economic prosperity tied with its reliance on oil-fired power generation. Almost all of Saudi Arabia's energy needs are met by oil and gas - and burning crude oil to overcome gas shortages has increasingly become the norm. Given that oil in particular accounts for nearly 90 percent of the country's exports and state budget, it is no wonder that Saudi officials hope to rein in consumption as the Kingdom continues to eat up more and more of its own export wares. [ June 04 2013, carnagie endowment ]

» The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) and Cambridge Econometrics (CE) have just released a new study called Investing EU ETS auction revenues into energy savings. The overall objective of this study is to analyse the effects of using EU ETS auction revenues to stimulate investments in energy savings in three key target sectors, i.e. Households, Tertiary and Industry (including both ETS and non-ETS industrial installations). The scenarios used refer basically to the situation before the recent agreement on the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and include (a mixture of) different policy options to enhance energy savings in the target sectors, in particular (i) reducing the ETS cap, (ii) introducing an Energy Efficiency Obligation (EEO) for energy suppliers or distributors, and/or (iii) using ETS auction revenues to support additional (private) investments in raising energy efficiency. In order to meet this objective a variety of different policy scenarios have been defined and analysed by means of the 'Energy-Environment-Economy Model for Europe (E3ME)'. The study presents and discusses a large variety of scenario modelling results by the year 2020 at the EU27 level. These results refer to, among others, energy savings, GHG emissions, the ETS carbon price, household electricity bills and to changes in some macro- or socio-economic outcomes such as GDP, inflation, employment or international trade. Finally, the study discusses some policy findings and implications, including options to enhance the effectiveness of some EE policies, in particular those having a potential adverse effect on the ETS carbon price. [ June 03 2013, ecn ]

» Greenhouse gas emissions need to decrease substantially to limit global average temperature to a maximum of 2°C warming above the preindustrial level. Emerging economies are of increasing importance in this global effort. In this report the authors assess how ambitious emission reduction pledges of emerging economies are compared to business as usual emissions, the countries' mitigation potential and respective efforts based on different equity principles. They also compare the pledges and the identified mitigation potential of emerging economies to a global emissions pathway needed to limit global temperature increase to 2°C. The assessment includes Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea. [ May 31 2013, Umwelt Bundes Amt ]

» Eni and Sonatrach have agreed on a package solution for 2013 and 2014 within the framework of their commercial discussions under the existing gas contract. As part of the Agreement, Eni and Sonatrach will reduce certain quantities of the contractual gas volumes delivered into Italy. This agreement is part of the renegotiations program started in the recent months, and contributes to the announced objectives of profitability and cash generation. [ May 30 2013, Eni ]

» 2nd International Conference Energy & Meteorology will be held at the Meteo-France Conference Centre, Toulouse, France from 25 - 28 June 2013 (Pre-Conference Seminar Uncertainty in Meteorological Data for the Energy Industry held on Monday, 24 June 2013). The ICEM 2013 will gather scientists, engineers, economists, policy makers and other specialists working at the nexus between weather, climate and energy. Thus, this Conference will provide an international platform with excellent networking opportunities as well as a source of the state-of-the-art in the science, policy, planning and operations in Energy & Meteorology. More information on the Conference can be found at [ May 29 2013, Icem ]

» Both technical and political efforts of the past years to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions have not been sufficient to prevent dangerous climate change, and chances for international agreements on ambitious emissions targets are slim. In its new report Abundant, carbon free new energy technologies - can we turn wishful thinking into reality?, Perspectives looks into the question if breakthroughs in innovative energy technology development such as cold fusion or other low energy nuclear reactions (LENR) may contribute to solving the problem [ May 28 2013, Perspectives ]

» During Carbon Expo 2013, the World Bank and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) will present reports on the current status of global carbon markets. Both documents will be launched on Wednesday, May 29, the first day of the conference. Also on the first day, Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will make opening remarks at the plenary, discussing the role of the private sector and market-based mechanisms in addressing climate change [ May 27 2013, Ocarbonexpo ]

» Alaska's state government proposed that a new study of potential crude oil resources beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's coastal plain be conducted before the Obama administration decides whether to designate more of the refuge as wilderness and wild and scenic rivers. The state has developed a proposal to study potential crude resources beneath ANWR's 1002 area over 7 years using modern technology to more accurately measure what's there as well as potential environmental impacts from its development [ May 24 2013, Oli&Gas Journal ]

» Tracking Clean Energy Progress 2013 examines progress in the development and deployment of key clean energy technologies. Each technology and sector is tracked against interim 2020 targets in the IEA 2012 Energy Technology Perspectives 2°C scenario, which lays out pathways to a sustainable energy system in 2050. Stark message emerge: progress has not been fast enough; large market failures and preventing clean energy solutions from being taken up; considerable energy efficiency remains untapped; policies need to better address the energy system as a whole; and energy-related research, development and demonstration need to accelerate. Alongside these grim conclusions there is positive news. In 2012, hybrid-electric vehicle sales passed the 1 million mark. Solar photovoltaic systems were being installed at a record pace. The costs of most clean energy technologies fell more rapidly than anticipated [ May 24 2013, IEA ]

» Why nations must not only aggressively respond to climate change but respond at levels required of them by equity if the world is going to have any hope of avoiding dangerous climate change. And so, this article seeks to help citizens around the world understand why their nations must create climate change policies consistent with their equitable obligations and that if their nations fail to respond on the basis of equity, there is vey little hope of an adequate global solution emerging that has any potential of avoiding catastrophic climate change [ May 22 2013, D. Brown, Widener University School of Law ]

» The Green Party in New Zealand is placing a bid on the government's oil and gas exploration tender in an effort to stop offshore drilling expansions. According to Radio New Zealand, the government announced it opened three offshore areas of more than 72,900 square miles for oil and gas exploration permits. The Green Party plans to submit a competing bid for the acreage in order to protect the area from deep sea drilling and offshore exploration. Radio New Zealand said the group is calling it the Kiwi Bid, and is encouraging individuals to join the cause to prevent the government from exploiting New Zealand's environment. Party co-leader Metiria Turei said the government will be given a choice from the Kiwi Bid - they can move forward with offshore oil drilling or accept the bid from New Zealanders who want to protect the beaches and ocean. According to TVNZ, the government is accusing the Green Party of scaremongering because of their opposition to the drilling. [ May 21 2013, PennEnerrgy ]

» An overview of the key legal considerations at play in relation to European Union (EU) energy security. As part of that process, we explore the complexities that contribute to the contentiousness of EU action in relation to certain aspects of energy. While extensive literature exists on discrete aspects of the EU-energy nexus, there is a lack of research contextualizing EU energy security through a constitutional/public law prism. We therefore intentionally take a broad view of the subject. Such an approach is relevant because of the very nature, on the one hand, of the EU, and on the other, of energy, both of which are highly complex. This article provides facts and figures to put EU energy consumption and production into context. It analyzes the legal aspects of EU energy policy, focusing on the changes brought by the Treaty of Lisbon and the challenges the EU faces when aiming for a common energy security policy. It also provides an analysis of the Internal Energy Market and the Energy Community as well as the nexus between EU energy policy and foreign policy. Further, it explains the effects of shale gas extraction on EU energy security and provides an explanation of EU external energy relations at large. [ May 20 2013, A. Filis, Queen Mary, University of London, R. Leal-Arcas, World Trade Institute, University of Bern]

» There is no one-size-fits-all strategy for fossil-fuel subsidy reform - but there are a set of planning stages that are generic, along with many common issues, challenges and potential solutions. The purpose of this guide is to advise countries on the process for formulating an effective reform strategy that will fit their individual objectives and circumstances. It is aimed at policy-makers in Southeast Asia, but much of its guidance could apply to any region. The guidebook draws together the experience that countries around the world have developed to prepare for fossil-fuel subsidy reform. It provides guidance on the pacing of reform as well as identifying good practice across three core elements: Getting the prices right: how to change pricing systems for fossil fuels; Managing the impacts: estimating effects of reform and mitigating unwanted impacts; Building support: internal organization and external consultation and communication [ May 17 2013, iisd ]

» The rapid expansion of hydraulic fracturing to retrieve once-inaccessible reservoirs of oil and gas could put pressure on already-stressed water resources from the suburbs of Fort Worth to western Colorado, according to a new report from a nonprofit group that advises investors about companies' environmental risks. "Given projected sharp increases" in the production of oil and gas by the technique commonly known as fracking, the report from the group Ceres said, "and the intense nature of local water demands, competition and conflicts over water should be a growing concern for companies, policy makers and investors." [ May 17 2013, NYtimes ]

» Ever since the price of oil began to rise strongly from 2003 onwards, the idea began to gain traction that upstream costs were behind these increases. Between 2000 and 2003, the annual average of the North Sea benchmark ranged from $24.5/bbl to $28.9/bbl, but after that it took off, averaging $38.3/bbl in 2004, $54.6/bbl in 2005, $72.4/bbl in 2007 and $111.3/bbl in 2011, having fallen back somewhat during the great recession of 2008-9. Could upstream costs have escalated that much as to cause oil prices to rise by 4.5 times between 2001 and 2011? After all, Brent crude averaged $19.2/bbl during the period 1987-2001 without affecting adversely the global oil industry's exploration and development activities. Most production costs must have been considerably less than $19/bbl during those years to encourage the oil industry to continue the development of oilfields and to sustain supplies to meet the world's growing need for oil. [ May 14 2013, GCES ]

» The level of the most important heat-trapping gas in the atmosphere, carbon dioxide, has passed a long-feared milestone, scientists reported Friday, reaching a concentration not seen on the earth for millions of years. Scientific instruments showed that the gas had reached an average daily level above 400 parts per million - just an odometer moment in one sense, but also a sobering reminder that decades of efforts to bring human-produced emissions under control are faltering. [ May 13 2013, NYtimes ]

» updated edition of Estimation of energy indices for oil and gas upstream and downstream facilities - describe the calculation methods and formulas to establish energy indicators for the oil and gas industry sector. Likewise, the document shows how indicators systems that allow comparing the performance of different facilities based on its efficiency can be built, although they have different characteristics and complexity. [...] Sustainable energy management needs indicators that allow to know the development of productive processes, in order to know how much is consumed and how. A good indicator should allow identifying the real consumption trends and the saving potential, as well to plan objectives and carry out actions to optimize the use of energy. The last energy management standards taken (EN-16001 and ISO-50001) reveal it: energy management indicators are a key point of its methodology which aim is to increase energy efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of the greenhouse gas emissions linked with the fuels used to generate energy. [ May 10 2013, ARPEL ]

» Disasters can hamper economic growth, affect poverty levels and cause human suffering. Without significant action, the extent and impact of economic and social damage associated with disasters will get worse over the next 20 years, largely as a result of growing exposure of people and assets. This has the potential to reverse development progress in hard-hit areas. Including measures to promote disaster risk management (DRM) in the post-2015 development goals is needed to incentivise investment in advance of shocks to protect lives and livelihoods - but also save money. This report examines options for including DRM in the post-2015 development framework. Its eight chapters, each authored by leading international experts, combine to explore three scenarios for including DRM [ May 09 2013, ODI ]

» Infrastructure Construction in Ukraine to 2016: Market Databook. The report is the result of Timetric's extensive market research covering the infrastructure construction industry in Ukraine. It contains detailed historic and forecast market value data for the infrastructure construction industry, including a breakdown of the data by construction activity (new construction, repair and maintenance, refurbishment and demolition). 'Infrastructure Construction in Ukraine to 2016: Market Databook' provides a top-level overview and detailed insight into the operating environment of the infrastructure construction industry in Ukraine. It is a tool for companies active across the Ukrainian construction value chain and for new players considering to enter the market. [ May 08 2013, industryreportstore ]

» Apache Corp. has started producing the Tonto oil field in the UK central North Sea. Tonto-1 was drilled as a deviated well from the Forties Bravo production platform. The appraisal wellbore encountered 62 ft (18.9 m) of net oil pay in an Eocene sandstone reservoir at a depth of 6,325 ft (1,928 m). This was followed by a horizontal completion lateral that logged 243 ft (74 m) of net oil pay. Currently, the well is flowing 10,346 b/d of oil. [ May 07 2013, Offshore ]

» Lukoil plans to begin drilling production wells in September 2014 an early-oil project on its Imilorsko-Istochnoye license in West Siberia. It hopes to begin oil production in March 2015. The company will shoot new seismic surveys during 2013-16, retest 15 existing exploratory wells, and drill four new exploration wells. It will use results to recalculate reserves. Lukoil said early estimates put reserves in the area at 193.7 million tonnes of crude oil. [ May 06 2013, PennEnergy ]

» As the urgency of climate change, biodiversity loss, severe poverty, and other global environmental and development challenges continues to grow, concerted international action to address them is becoming even harder. National efforts are thus more important than ever. An important example is the United Kingdom and the United States, which have stronger ties with each other than almost any other country - the so-called special relationship. They share a common language and history, and have similar legal systems and culture. The United States and the United Kingdom also aspire to international leadership, and often play that role. Accelerating the transition to sustainability requires six elements at the national level. These are a national strategy, legal integration mechanisms, governmental implementing or coordinating bodies, monitoring and review mechanisms, leadership, and a bottom-up sustainability movement. This article describes and compares key U.S. and U.K. actions on these elements, and suggests what each could learn from the other. [ May 03 2013, The Environmental Forum]

»The conservation of exhaustible natural resources constitutes a prominent linkage and one of the ongoing debates in the relationship between trade liberalization and environmental sustainability. Indeed, the recognition of this linkage was embodied as an important exception to the rules of the GATT, which justifies a violating measure related to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources. The trade dispute settlement tribunals have remarkable experience in handling debates concerning the application of this crucial exception. However, the various decisions that were held in these debates have not yet examined the application of the exception to the interaction between trade and the conservation of oil as an exhaustible natural resource. This paper argues that the decisions of the dispute settlement systems of the GATT and WTO have limited and narrowed the scope of conserving exhaustible natural resources within the trade regime and, most probably, they would restrict the protection of oil resources in any future dispute. This paper will examine the various decisions relating to the tensions between trade and the conservation of exhaustible natural resources. It will demonstrate that the GATT and WTO tribunals focused the discussion of conserving exhaustible natural resources on the exceptions and not on the rules, and that they narrowed the application of the trade exception. It is most likely that this approach will limit the protection of any future oil-conserving measure. [ May 02 2013, The Journal of World Investment and Trade ]

» Energy expert Ian Dunlop and policy-planner and scholar Tapio Kanninen delivered a stark message in New York at the end of April that even limiting global warming to 2°C could eventually produce sea level rises of up to 6 to 7 metres (23 feet), wiping out coastal cities like New York, London, Shanghai and Tokyo. They told shocked audiences at the United Nations that if we continue with current policies, temperatures could rise 4°C or more, leading to sea level rises of up to 70 metres (230 feet). Kanninen and Dunlop were in New York to address a series of packed meetings and panel discussions, organised by the Finnish Mission to the United Nations, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Club of Rome, the Temple of Understanding and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. They presented new evidence demonstrating the severity of the crisis of global sustainability and global survivability and discussed with diplomats, political decision-makers, sustainable development experts and NGOs how to persuade the UN and other international institutions to take immediate emergency action. [ May 01 2013, the Club of Rome ]

» The discovery of gas and oil reserves in the East Mediterranean Basin (EMB) has put the spotlight on regional tensions between certain coastal States and on their unresolved disputes in relation to the delimitation of their respective maritime areas. The advent of the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) has sought to discipline such disputes along the lines of clear legal rules. That said, not all coastal States are parties to it. In the EMB region, three coastal States - namely Israel, Syria, and Turkey - are such parties. Whilst certain customary law provisions may be held to be reflected by UNCLOS provisions, this is not without controversy. Therefore, identifying the applicable customary norms to disputes involving any of these three States becomes a more complex matter further compounded by the fact that, prior to the advent of UNCLOS, State practice had been inconsistent across coastal States. This paper outlines the principal inter-State legal aspects of the delimitation of disputes in the region in relation to the maritime areas that these engage - namely the territorial sea, the continental shelf, and the exclusive economic zone [ Apr 30 2013, Oil, Gas & Energy Law Journal ]

» Large energy reserves have recently been discovered in the Levant Basin, where considerable amounts of gas reserves have been found in the exclusive economic zones (EEZ) of Lebanon, Cyprus and Israel. Lebanon and Israel are both net energy importers and suffer from energy security problems. Whereas Israel suffers from recent gas supply disruptions, Lebanon has been suffering for years from energy shortage, predominantly in the electricity sector. Given the energy dependence and insecure energy sectors of Lebanon and Israel, the recent energy discoveries are considered promising sources of economic opportunities and energy security for both countries. A complex conflict has emerged between Lebanon and Israel pertaining to the delimitation of their EEZ boundaries, namely a specific overlapped EEZ area. The settlement of this dispute to delimit their maritime boundaries presents a variety of complications [ Apr 29 2013, Oil, Gas & Energy Law Journal ]

» Noway's Labour Party announced it would conduct an environmental impact study to determine if it will open Arctic waters to oil and gas exploration around the Lofoten islands located just above the Arctic circle. Reuters reports the go-ahead for an impact study in the previously off-limits area was announced April 21. Exploration in the environmentally-sensitive area has been prohibited due to the rich cod stock in the waters. Environmental groups and the tourism industry have long opposed energy development in the area. The Labour Party's vote for the study is a major step toward future exploration. However, another vote will be taken in 2015 to determine if drilling can actually begin, according to the article. Norway's oil production is expected to fall to a 25-year low in 2013 due to the maturation of North Sea fields. Waters off the islands are estimated to hold about 8 percent of Norway's oil and gas reserves with as many as 50 prospects holding approximately 1.27 billion barrels of oil [ Apr 27 2013, PennEnergy ]

» The Policy Climate report offers an overview of policy issues relevant to climate change across the world over the last 30 years. We find that the implementation of policy relevant to climate change, and its impact, accelerated markedly over the last decade, despite the slow pace of international climate negotiations. In this project, we focus on: Brazil, China, India, Europe, and the United States - these regions not only represent the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions but vary widely in terms of economic development, natural resource endowment, political system, and climate policy, and can offer different lessons to policymakers; The economic sectors that represent the greatest potential for greenhouse gas mitigation within each of these regions; and Policy issues within these regions and key sectors that most affect climate change [ Apr 26 2013, climatepolicyinitiative ]

» Eni successfully finalized the appraisal campaign of the discoveries in Area 4 in Mozambique with the drilling and testing of Mamba South 3, which is the ninth well drilled in the exploration permit. The well results have exceeded expectations and Eni has updated the estimate of the Mamba Complex and Coral discoveries to 80 Trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas in place. Mamba South 3 was drilled in water depth of 1,571 meters and reached a total depth of 4,948 meters. The well is located approximately 6 kilometers North of Mamba South 1, 12 kilometers north west of Mamba South 2 and approximately 50 kilometers off the Cabo Delgado coast. The well encountered 214 meters of gas pay in high quality Oligocene and Eocene reservoirs. The discovery proved the existence of hydraulic communication with the same reservoirs of Mamba South 1 and Mamba South 2, Mamba North East 1 and Mamba North East 2 wells [ Apr 25 2013, Eni ]

» Repsol has completed its winter exploration campaign in Alaska with three new good quality hydrocarbon discoveries, boosting the project to develop the company's reserves in the resource-rich North Slope region [...] These results are encouraging for the future development of the resources discovered. Recent tax reform passed in Alaska was a critical factor in ensuring the development of this project, where extreme climate conditions and geographical remoteness result in high operating costs. The North Slope of Alaska is an especially promising area for Repsol, as it has shown itself to be oil-rich. In the United States, Repsol also explores for and produces hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippian Lime. The company currently employs a staff of 380 in the country [ Apr 25 2013, Pennenergy ]

» The Climate Disclosure Standards Board. Free webinar - UK Greenhouse Gas reporting: Getting the most out of the regulation. When: 25th April 2013 15:00 - 16:00 BST. Register [ Apr 24 2013, CDSB ]

» Statoil and partner Petoro have proven considerable additional resources in the Shetland Group/Lista Formation in the Gullfaks license. The Shetland Group and the Lista Formation are younger and slightly shallower deposits with different properties compared to the deposits of the Brent Group where the Gullfaks main reservoirs are located. Indications of hydrocarbons in the Shetland Group/Lista Formation in the Gullfaks license have been known for a long time, but they have not yet been developed due to poor reservoir qualities. A new well test in this interval however indicates good flow rates. [...] Preliminary calculations based on interpretation, modeling, formation testing and sampling in the relevant interval indicate that the discovery contains in the range of 40-150 million recoverable barrels of oil equivalents. However, this resource estimate involves a high degree of uncertainty. While the models indicate further upside potential, data gathering and studies are currently ongoing to clarify the potential and further development of these resources. [ Apr 23 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Crude oil imports from the top five foreign suppliers to the United States - which in 2012 were Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Iraq, in that order - accounted for almost 72% of total US net crude oil imports, the highest proportion since 1997. The import share of the top five suppliers increased by 8 percentage points over the past three years despite a decline in total US import volumes as the United States reduced its total crude oil imports in response to higher domestic oil production. US net crude oil imports from the five countries averaged almost 6.1 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2012, even as total US crude oil imports fell to their lowest level since 1997. Crude oil from the five countries accounted for a bigger share of overall US net crude oil imports in 2012 than in previous years, at almost 72%, according to EIA's Petroleum Supply Monthly report. That share is up from around 64% in 2009, when the economic recession resulted in declining U.S. crude oil demand, and the highest share since reaching almost 73% in 1997. During 2012, Iraq replaced Nigeria as the fifth-largest supplier of US crude oil imports [ Apr 22 2013, Oil & Gas financial Journal ]

» Web focus, Public and experts' views about climate change. Individuals' perceptions of, and beliefs about, climate change are affected by direct experience as well as the social, cultural and political context. Communication of a significant degree of scientific agreement on anthropogenic global warming can reduce biases in the formation of people's opinions, but the degree of consensus needs to be quantified. In this web focus, Nature Climate Change present a collection of original research and opinion pieces that highlight the various dimensions of public and experts' interpretations of climate change. [ Apr 22 2013, Nature climate change ]

» New UNDP report entitled Derisking Renewable Energy Investment. Derisking Renewable Energy Investment introduces an innovative framework to assist policymakers to quantitatively compare the impact of different public instruments to promote renewable energy. The report identifies the need to reduce the high financing costs for renewable energy in developing countries as an important task for policymakers acting today. The framework is structured in four stages: (i) risk environment, (ii) public instruments, (iii) levelised cost and (iv) evaluation. To illustrate how the framework can support decision-making in practice, the report presents findings from illustrative case studies in four developing countries. It then draws on these results to discuss possible directions for enhancing public interventions to scale-up renewable energy investment [ Apr 19 2013, UNDP ]

» EIA: US net imports of petroleum liquid fuels could end by 2035. U.S. net imports of petroleum and other liquid fuels as a share of product supplied (used as a proxy for consumption) have been one of the most watched indicators in national and global energy analyses. The Annual Energy Outlook 2013 includes a case in which net imports of liquid fuels are eliminated by 2035 under inherently speculative assumptions that boost supply and reduce demand relative to the previously published Reference case. [ Apr 18 2013, PennEnergy ]

» First step toward the development and launch of the CCO Certification (scheduled for 2014). Climate change officers are professionals who apply knowledge of climate-related risks and opportunities to their organizations' near-term and long-term strategies. These professionals help their organizations to adapt and thrive in a world of climate uncertainty, and guide their organizations toward strategic decisions that are simultaneously strategic for the organization and beneficial to the climate. They apply a broad range of related subject matter knowledge to managing their organizations' operations, supply chain, products, critical resources, services, and relationships with key stakeholders [ Apr 18 2013, ACCO ]

» How to unlock Africa's untapped renewable energies potential / World Future Council and Heinrich Boll Foundation launch innovative guide A great opportunity exists for African countries to profoundly transform their societies and economies if they improve their use of renewable energy sources. This is the central outcome of a new report presented in Johannesburg, South Africa on 18 March 2013. The comprehensive study conducted by the World Future Council and the Heinrich Boll Foundation shows that Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff policies (REFiT) are a promising mechanism to unlock renewable energy development in Africa. REFiTs encourage investment in the generation of renewable energy - from individual home owners and communities as well as big companies - by guaranteeing to buy and pay for all the electricity that is produced from renewable sources [ Apr 17 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Plains All American Pipeline today announced it is constructing the Cactus Pipeline, a new 310-mile, 20-inch crude oil pipeline from McCamey to Gardendale, Texas. The Cactus Pipeline is expected to be placed into service in the first quarter of 2015. The Partnership has entered into a letter of intent with a third party regarding a long-term commitment for a majority of the pipeline's capacity and is in discussions with several potential shippers for the remaining capacity. The total project investment is expected to range from $350 million to $375 million. The pipeline is expected to transport both sweet and sour crude oil from the Permian Basin to the PAA/Enterprise Products Partners Eagle Ford Joint Venture (Eagle Ford JV) Pipeline [ Apr 16 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Energy Technology Perspectives presents the IEA's vision of the global energy system in a world where global temperature rise is limited to 2 degrees Celsius. The project focuses on the role of technology in radically reducing carbon emissions, sector by sector and region by region, out to 2075. The 2012 edition has a special feature on energy systems integration and what role fossil fuels can play in the transition to a low carbon energy system. Complete slide deck available on IEA website [ Apr 16 2013, Energy Technology Perspectives ]

» For years we have put our faith in the market to incentivise cleaner technology, and for years the carbon market has been riddled with corruption. It's time to try something else. Carbon markets have lost us more than 15 years in the battle against climate change yet we continue to plough forward with scaling them up. [...] Some hope that this global expansion of carbon markets will revive their fortunes, helping to raise billions for investments in low-carbon and climate change mitigation technologies. Others, including myself, take a more evidence based approach, arguing that this hope of the pro-market lobby is unfounded, given the inefficient and even corrupt nature of carbon markets so far. There is an urgent need for alternatives to be considered, as the world is running out of time to curb the most serious impacts of run-away climate change [ Apr 15 2013, The Guardian ]

» The Albanian Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project have signed the Host Government Agreement (HGA), formally agreeing the terms of engagement for the Southern Gas Corridor pipeline's future delivery. The HGA sets out the regulations by which the project will be realised and operated on Albanian territory. This includes processes on land easement and acquisition, the implementation of technical, safety, environmental, and social standards and permitting regulations. Upon ratification by the national parliament in the coming weeks, the HGA will become a fully binding law [ Apr 12 2013, Pipelineinternational ]

» Crude oil production from members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dropped in March and global oil demand estimates have also declined. According to Bloomberg, previous estimates of oil consumption were reduced to 800,000 barrels of oil a day compared to the previously estimated 840,000 barrels per day in March. Although consumption expectations were revised between March and April, oil demand is expected to grow overall throughout 2013 to 89.66 million barrels a day. Last year, demand was 88.87 million barrels per day, the report said. OPEC members supply about 40 percent of the world's oil and produced 30.19 million barrels of crude oil per day in March, lower than the 30.29 million bpd in February, Bloomberg reported [ Apr 11 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Released Handbook of Global Energy Policy addresses global energy challenges across the dimensions of markets, development, sustainability, and security. Published with Wiley Blackwell, the volume is the first handbook to provide a global policy perspective on energy. The book: Maps the emerging field of global energy policy both for scholars and practitioners; the focus is on global issues, but it also explores the regional impact of international energy policies. Accounts for the multi-faceted nature of global energy policy challenges and broadens discussions of these beyond the prevalent debates about oil supply. Analyzes global energy policy challenges across the dimensions of markets, development, sustainability, and security, and identifies key global policy challenges for the future. Comprises newly-commissioned research by an international team of scholars and energy policy practitioners [ Apr 11 2013, Wiley ]

» An identified barrier to the widespread use of renewable energy technologies (RET) is the (mis-) perception in the public, at a political level and within the industry sector about the benefits, opportunities and capabilities of RET. One reason is that the communication of the RE sector may not be convincing enough [ Apr 11 2013, IEA-REDT ]

» Significant investments are needed to support the global transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient future. Current finance flows fall short of global financing needs, and massive scaling up is needed to unlock additional financial resources and foster a sustainable investment pathway. Overcoming barriers to private sector investments is critical, and international climate finance can play a catalytic role in this regard. National development banks (NDBs) have a unique role in this context, both complementing and catalyzing private sector players. This publication discusses the unique role that NDBs could play in scaling up private financing for climate change mitigation projects through the intermediation of international and national public climate finance in their respective local credit markets and the conditions that would be needed for them to be most effective [ Apr 10 2013, IDB ]

» Europe is a large complex continent with many different components and over twenty natural gas markets contained within the region. Therefore, there are a lot of different forces that affect European markets. The biggest forces at present that I know of are national policies on hydraulic fracturing, the European Unions' (EU) 20/20 by 2020 environmental goal, competition with Asian markets for LNG imports, and natural gas pricing policies. [...] Looking at Eurostat annual imports and exports and a variety of graphs such as figure 1 leads me to the conclusion that Europe is a net importer of NG. The majority of the natural gas coming to Europe is conventional gas from Russia, in 2009 Russia supplied 36% of the total imports of NG in Europe. This number has likely risen since 2009 due to the addition of new pipelines like Nord Stream in the last few years. It is difficult to say how much it has increased, but I would not be surprised if that number has increased to 50%+. [ Apr 09 2013, Aisake ]

» The most important factor affecting the likelihood of limiting climate change to internationally agreed targets is when people start to do something about it, according new research from IIASA, ETH Zurich, and other institutions. A new study published in the journal Nature, examined the probability of keeping average temperatures from rising more than 2^oC above pre-industrial levels under varying levels of climate policy stringency, and thus mitigation costs. The study also ranked the uncertainties associated with efforts to mitigate climate change [ Apr 08 2013, IIASA ]

» The two preferred bidders in the UK's CCS Commercialisation Programme Competition have been announced. The two projects both aim to capture CO2: the Peterhead Project in Aberdeenshire, Scotland aims to capture 90% of the CO2 from part of the existing gas fired power station at Peterhead and the White Rose Project in Yorkshire, England involves capturing 90% of the CO2 from a new super-efficient coal-fired power station at the Drax site in North Yorkshire [ Apr 08 2013, UK Gov ]

» Contested areas of the South China Sea have not been assessed to hold large conventional oil and natural gas resources, the US Energy Information Administration said. Several countries have overlapping territorial claims to parts of the South China Sea, which stretches from Singapore in the southwest to Taiwan in the northeast. [...] In total, the South China Sea has about 11 billion bbl of oil and 190 tcf of gas rated as proved or probable reserves. These levels are similar to the amount of proved oil reserves in Mexico and about two-thirds of the proved gas reserves in Europe, not including Russia [ Apr 05 2013, Pennenergy ]

» Shale gas is said to have triggered a reinassance in manifacturing in the US. Today, half a dozen petrochemical product producers are planning to add capacity and bluid new plants, mostly along the US Gulf Coast. Shale gas has gone from accounting for two percent of US production a decade ago to providing 37% of supply today, and is projected to accont for 46% of the country's gas output by 2035. But, how economically viable is hydraulic fracturing, given the current low price gas? Are prices set to rise for the benefit of producers? And, is the US really on the right track to long-term energy self-sufficiency, fuelled by shale gas? [ Apr 04 2013, Future power technology, ABB ]

» New study looks to clarify what is known about leakage rates of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from the U.S. natural gas sector, what progress has been made to reduce those emissions, and what more can be done to further reduce leakage. Despite lingering data uncertainties, we find that these emissions can and should be addressed with urgency, and we identify a number of cost-effective reduction options available to do so. The paper outlines tools that federal and state governments can employ to reduce these harmful emissions, helping to clear the air and slow the rate of climate change [ Apr 04 2013, WRI ]

» Shale development is a European economic imperative. Yet, only a handful of countries are seriously contemplating shale development at this time. The failure to act now in preparation for a post-2020 economy displays strategic short-sightedness and does not bode well for mid-and long-term EU economic well-being and competitiveness. In contrast, North America has embraced shale development. As a result, the price of natural gas in the US has declined to less than one-third the price of natural gas in Europe. This has been a boon to the US economy and helped US manufacturers achieve significant competitive advantages over Europe in some industry sectors - with the prospects of even greater advantages ahead [ Apr 04 2013, Jim Seaton, RCEM ]

» The Oil & Gas Journal has just reported that planned pipeline construction to be completed in 2013 has jumped 73% from the previous year. Operators plan to complete installation of 15,358 miles in 2013. Construction plans are foremost in US, Canada, Europe, and Africa. Details about this growth are in the February 4, 2013 issue of the Oil & Gas Journal magazine. This 11-page article is now included in the US Pipeline Economics Study 2012 [ Apr 04 2013, Oil & Gas Journal ]

» A crude oil pipeline spilled thousands of gallons of crude in Mayflower Arkansas, a town 25 miles north of Little Rock. The Pegasus Pipeline suffered a rupture Friday afternoon, leading to the evacuation of 22 homes. ExxonMobil dispatched 15 vacuum trucks and 33 storage tanks to handle the spill. Approximately 12,000 barrels of oil and water have been recovered. ExxonMobil says it is working with authorities on both cleanup efforts and an investigation into the cause of the spill. The company has had crews in Mayflower steam-cleaning properties affected by the spill. The Pegasus pipeline is a 20-inch diameter, 95,000-barrel-a-day pipeline.[ Apr 03 2013, PennEnergy ]

» As part of the Club of Rome's 2052 campaign, Bankrupting Nature, a thought-provoking book by Johan Rockstrom and Anders Wijkman. It has been designated a Report to the Club of Rome as it contributes to the discussion about the need to rethink the way we use resources. To change course, priority should be given to the following: replacing GDP as the main target of development; taking nature into account, by assigning a value to ecosystem services and biodiversity; implementing a tax reform: reducing taxes on labour and raising those on resource use; removing all environmentally harmful subsidies; using public procurement proactively for sustainability objectives; rethinking the framework of the financial system in order to ; obliging financial institutions to report their risk exposure in terms of high carbo investments; rethinking both the system of quarterly reporting, and the compensation system for people working in financial institutions, which is currently based on short-term performance; introducing long-term planning by rethinking the system of discounting future values; rethinking so that revenue is earned through performance and high-quality service rather than simply selling 'more stuff' [ Apr 02 2013, Club of Rome ]

» Norway's parliament has approved the development plans for the Ivar Aasen and Gina Krog projects in the Norwegian North Sea. Both will be developed with fixed platforms. The Ivar Aasen field holds an estimated 150 MMboe, and could be in production for 20 years. Operator Det Norske Oljeseslkap estimates the overall investment cost at $4.22 billion. Ivar Aasen will be developed and operated from a new center in Trondheim. Partners are Statoil and Bayerngas Norge. Gina Krog holds an estimated 225 MMboe, and will cost about $5.33 billion to develop. First oil is scheduled for 1Q 2017 [ Apr 01 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Everybody's Business: Strengthening International Cooperation in a More Interdependent World is a 600-page report from the World Economic Forum's Global Redesign Initiative. Their report is the most comprehensive proposal for re-designing global governance since the formulation of the United Nations during World War II. The Global Redesign Initiative report also includes a broad array of theme-specific policy options design to repair holes in the current inadequate response to a range of global crises and to experiment with their proposed new global governance principles [ Mar 29 2013, University of Massachusetts ]

» Renewable energy standards, regularly reviewed and updated by international committees of technical experts, can help policy makers as an instrument to demonstrate national regulatory compliance, as well as ensuring successful deployment of renewable energy technologies (RET). International Standardisation in the Field of Renewable Energy, identifies over 570 standards in the current RET landscape, yet finds gaps in the existing standards, particularly for post-installation aspects of RET, such as operation, maintenance and repair. The study calls for a more structured information platform to make appropriate standards accessible to a variety of users. [ Mar 27 2013, IRENA ]

» New ICCG observatory, Best climate practices. The initiative aims to give a complete overview of what we are doing in concrete for facing climate change while posing an accent on the wide range of possibilities that, if implemented by politics, economics, institutions, enterprises and researchers, could easily make the difference. Through an interactive world map, the observatory makes it possible to locate the best practices and evaluate which geographical regions and which sectors deserve more attention. [ Mar 27 2013, Best climate practices ]

» International offshore partnership Rosneft. Strategic cooperation agreements signed with ExxonMobil, Eni and Statoil. Agreements envisage exploration of Russian offshore zones and cooperation through technology sharing and joint international projects [ Mar 26 2013, Rosneft ]

» India will aim to be self-reliant in crude oil production by 2030, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister M Veerappa Moily announced March 25. The government has set a goal to reduce crude oil imports by half by 2020 and 75 percent by 2025, the Net Indian reported. 'We are taking every possible initiative to work towards our goal of attaining self-sufficiency in petroleum,' said Moily at the National Editors' Conference on Social and Infrastructure Issues. He said like China and the United States have significantly increased gas production in the last few years, India, too, can 'change its energy landscape in the short span,' the article stated [ Mar 26 2013, PennEnergy ]

» In the United Arab Emirates, opened the largest solar power plant, reported www.energia.sk. Every year as the country will reduce emissions by 175,000 tons of CO2, equivalent to the production of 15,000 cars, respectively. discontinuation of 1.5 million trees. The installed capacity is 100 MW power plant, which provides electricity to 20,000 households. Shams 1 plant construction began in the second half of 2012. The largest concentration solar power plant in the world, Shams 1, located in the western region of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Its construction took three years and cost 460 million euros. The parabolic solar collectors are spread on the area of 2.5 km2. [ Mar 26 2013, GBE factory ]

» Istitutional investors, which together manage assets of over $70 trillion, often have investment objectives that are aligned with the investment profile of infrastructure. At first glance, access to this large pool of capital and the alignment of objectives should help lower the costs of financing renewable energy. In this study, CPI finds that while these investors could supply a significant share of the total required investment, various factors limit the extent to which they can invest in a way that could lower the cost of financing renewable energy. Furthermore, financial regulation of institutional investors, regulation of energy markets, and renewable energy policy, often create additional obstacles to renewable energy investment [ Mar 24 2013, CPI report ]

» According to new statistics from the China Electricity Council, China's wind power production actually increased more than coal power production for the first time ever in 2012. Thermal power use, which is predominantly coal, grew by only about 0.3 percent in China during 2012, an addition of roughly 12 terawatt hours (TWh) more electricity. In contrast, wind power production expanded by about 26 TWh. This rapid expansion brings the total amount of wind power production in China to 100 TWh, surpassing China's 98 TWh of nuclear power. [ Mar 22 2013, The Energycollective ]

» Monthly crude oil production in the United States is expected to exceed the amount of U.S. crude oil imports later this year for the first time since February 1995. The gap between monthly U.S. crude oil production and imports is projected to be almost 2 million barrels per day (bbl/d) by the end of next year (according to EIA's March 2013 Short-Term Energy Outlook). According to EIA's projections: Monthly crude oil production could surpass net crude oil imports later this year. Monthly crude oil production is forecast to top 8 million bbl/d in the fourth quarter of 2014, which would be the highest level since 1988. Net crude oil imports are expected to fall below 7 million bbl/d in the fourth quarter of 2014 for the first time since 1995. This projected change is primarily because of rising domestic crude oil production, particularly from shale and other tight rock formations in North Dakota and Texas [ Mar 21 2013, PennEnergy ]

» While the form of new framework including new market mechanisms with participation from all the Parties under the UNFCCC will be further discussed and elaborated in order to be agreed upon by 2015 and implemented by 2020, CDM still has a significant role in terms of the foundation of market-based mechanisms and supporting tools especially for the least developed countries (LDCs). This report summarises [ Mar 19 2013, Towards CDM 2.0, IGES ]

» State-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) announced today that it has successfully conducted the world's first tests to extract natural gas from methane hydrate deposits. Methane hydrate, sometimes referred to as 'methane ice,' is a crystalline substance which forms when methane and water molecules combine under low temperature, high pressure conditions. Aa team aboard the research drilling ship Chikyu began extraction of gas from a layer of methane hydrates about 1,000 feet below the seabed Tuesday morning by applying a depressurization method. JOGMEC will begin analyzing data while it continues the flow test through the end of this month [ Mar 13 2013, Pennenergy ]

» After extensive prior route reviews, the Obama administration conducted a concurrent environmental review of Keystone XL while the Nebraska DEQ assessed the new route through Nebraska. The Nebraska DEQ report will be considered by DOS in the final national interest decision for KXL, according to API. ... American Petroleum Institute Executive Vice President Marty Durbin welcomed the State Department's draft Environmental Impact Statement for the new Keystone XL Nebraska route [ Mar 08 2013, Pennenergy ]

» Natural gas and renewable energy have been touted as key elements of a transition to a cleaner and more secure energy future. Still, the specific roles, values, and merits of natural gas and renewable energy in relation to long-term goals of energy security and climate change mitigation have been, and continue to be, debated. In the energy security arena, both natural gas and renewable energy are building blocks for a robust domestic energy economy. However, there are currently large, but not insurmountable, barriers to harnessing natural gas and renewable energy to meaningfully reduce our national reliance on imported oil for transportation [ Mar 07 2013, NREL report ]

» Oil production at Petrobras-operated fields in the presalt areas of the Campos and Santos basins has reached the 300,000 b/d mark. This figure accounts for production from 17 wells, six in Santos basin and 11 in Campos basin. Santos accounts for 43% of the total, while Campos provides the remaining 57%. Gas production from these wells has reached 9.8 MMcm/d (346 MMcf/d). Presalt production is taking place in eight different platforms, four of which produce exclusively from the presalt: [ Mar 05 2013, Offshore mag ]

» A new Wind Power Barometer has been released, providing global, European and offshore wind power figures, policy developments and industry news for 2012. This bi-lingual Barometer is available for free download at [ feb 28 2013, Observer ]

» In 2011 the OPEC basket price averaged just over $107 a barrel and this year it is likely to be even higher; indeed, since 2005 the price of oil has doubled. Faced with such historically high prices, in real terms the highest since 1864, many believe they are due to the high costs of developing and producing oil. Is this in fact the case?

» Transocean Deepwater Inc. pleaded guilty today to a violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, and was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties, Attorney General Holder announced today. In total, the amount of fines and other criminal penalties imposed on Transocean are the second-largest environmental crime recovery in U.S. history – following the historic $4 billion criminal sentence imposed on BP Exploration and Production Inc. in connection with the same disaster [ feb 20 2013, PennEnergy ]

» New, nonprofit, open access journal, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. The pre-publication site is now online, at www.elementascience.org. Elementa has been founded by BioOne and five collaborating academic institutions: Dartmouth, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington. Aims & Scope Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene will publish original research reporting on new knowledge of the Earth's physical, chemical, and biological systems; interactions between human and natural systems; and steps that can be taken to mitigate and adapt to global change. Elementa will report on fundamental advancements in research organized initially into six knowledge domains, embracing the concept that basic knowledge can foster sustainable solutions for society. Elementa is published on an open-access, public-good basis—available freely and immediately to the world [ feb 15 2013, eurobserv-er ]

» The annual EurObserv'ER report The State of Renewable Energies in Europe has been released, with background information on the renewable energy realisations and the renewable energy share in the 27 European Union Member States (EU-27). Additionally, estimates have been presented for renewable energy related employment and turnover, as well as case studies for seven European regions [ feb 11 2013, eurobserv-er ]

» More electricity producers in the United States are turning to natural gas as an energy source, thanks to the nation's boom in shale exploration. The Wall Street Journal said companies are encouraged to take advantage of the cheap prices of natural gas, which fell 31 percent in 2012 to $2.77 a million British Thermal Units compared to $4.02 in 2011. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas produced about 30 percent of electricity in the United States throughout a 12-month period ending in September. Coal comprised about 37 percent. While coal still remained dominant, 2012 numbers are down from the 50 percent of electricity coal produced 10 years ago, the WSJ reported [ gen 28 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Not long ago, supermajors, both foreign and domestic, entered into multi-million and multi-billion dollar agreements with US independents to get in on the North American shale gas boom. With deflated gas prices, it seems some companies may be looking to decrease their level of investment [...] BG has already taken a writedown on some US gas assets to estimated values at $4/mcf, and this confirmation may signal a similar action by Total, although long time price assumption may differ (RBC long term forecast is $5/mcf, as in our Commodity Price Update report 8th January 2013) [ gen 23 2013, UNFCCC ]

» In November, the UNFCCC secretariat released new research showing that the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has spurred billions of dollars of investment in projects that curb greenhouse gases and contribute to sustainable development. The following article on the report was written by Dr. Adam Bumpus, a specialist in international development and carbon markets who lectures at the University of Melbourne on sustainable development and the environment [ gen 18 2013, UNFCCC ]

» Alaska hopes to increase its natural gas exports to Japan. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has traveled to Japan to discuss the exports with government officials, U.S. News reported. The article said the boom of shale gas in the United States has eliminated the domestic market for gas from Alaska, the article stated, forcing the northern state to seek out other export opportunities. Japan has increased its need for alternative fuel since the country shut down its nuclear reactors following the Fukushima Daiichi power plant disaster [ gen 17 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Norway's upstream development sector attracted a record $25 billion of capex last year, according to Wood Mackenzie’s latest review ... Development spending is expected to rise this year as major projects get under way, including Edvard Grieg, Martin Linge, and Ivar Aasen in the North Sea. However, the volume of work means that the country's service sector is operating already at peak capacity, with costs increasing year-on-year. This situation led to several projects being delayed last year [ gen 14 2013, Offshore j ]

» BP has been at work for over two years in the huge Rumaila oil field, an operation that provides the Iraqi government with around half its revenues. BP is the lead contractor for Rumaila with partners from Iraq's state-owned South Oil Company (SOC), PetroChina (NYSE: PTR), and the State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO). Production volumes have increased and there has also been a major change in safety performance, so much so that the team won the top accolade at BP's company awards, the Helios Awards. The Iraq team was chosen from over 1,000 entries as the one that best summed up 'BP at its best' by demonstrating the company's values [ gen 10 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Israel Energy Initiatives Ltd. (IEI), a subsidiary of Genie Energy Ltd. [NYSE: GNE], says it is pleased by a favorable ruling issued Dec. 24 by the Supreme Court of Israel. The court's decision clears a major legal roadblock and enables an important oil shale project to move forward to the permitting phase. In its ruling, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected a petition filed by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense against various ministries of the State of Israel, IEI, and another Israeli oil and gas company, seeking to cancel the regulations governing the permitting process of oil and gas exploration, and seeking to cancel the exploration license granted to IEI [ gen 08 2013, O&G financial j. ]

» While EU energy policy attaches much importance to consumers, it is still far from realizing an energy system that is able to meet user needs and interests, as well as offer full freedom-of-choice in an efficient, low-cost, secure and sustainable manner. In order to assess these issues and provide input to theory and practice, this article examines the assumptions on which the EU policy has been based, using insights from different streams of literature. Policy development does not seem to have fully taken account of more specific behavioral features of consumers and (energy) product properties. Moreover, roles and interests of different types of consumers are deemed very important for the shape and functioning of liberalized markets, but appear insufficiently understood and embedded. While competition, transparency and switching are central components, they are more complex than assumed on the basis of models, and that what emerges when actual behavior is considered [ gen 07 2013, Kolk, A. The role of consumers in EU energy policy. Carbon Management ]

» The United States and Nigeria are teaming up to develop the African country's offshore oil and gas industry. The U.S. Trade and Development Agency announced December 31 that it would be providing a grant to Nigeria that will be used to develop an electronic management platform which provides 24-hour support to offshore operations such as loading and unloading ships, cargo and equipment. [...] Other offshore oil development is also being planned for the coast of South Africa. The Oil and Gas Journal reported that Exxon Mobil recently acquired technical cooperation permits with the country's government to conduct a one-year study on the hydrocarbon potential of a deepwater basin off Durban. After the study, the energy company may decide to explore the area for oil and gas [ gen 04 2013, PennEnergy ]

» The world's longest gas pipeline became operational in China as of December 30. The China National Petroleum Corporation announced the last section of the west-to-east pipeline that stretches more than 5,400 miles was completed. It is carrying natural gas from the central part of the country to Shanghai in the east and Guangzhou and Hong Kong in the south, crossing through 15 provincial regions. China.org reported that the pipeline cost $22.5 billion dollars to build and will help bring power to 500 million people. The pipeline will help China deliver energy to meet its increasing demands. China Daily reported the country's electricity consumption continued to rise, growing 7.6 percent in November compared to the same month in 2011. October saw a 6.1 percent year-over-year rise, the article stated [ gen 03 2013, PennEnergy ]

» Energy & Environment Consumer Survey. Consumer Attitudes and Awareness of 13 Smart Energy Concepts clean energy industry faced several challenges in 2012, including the demise of some high profile solar energy firms and concerns around smart grids/smart meters and consumer privacy. Public sentiment about issues related clean energy and the environment, however, has not always reflected developments in the market and in the political sphere [...] To gain a better understanding of consumer awareness and attitudes about a variety of key issues, Pike Research conducted a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults, asking respondents to provide their level of awareness for key concepts as well as rating their level of support for each. The survey asked consumers to respond with their impressions of the following energy and environmental concepts [ gen 02 2013, Pike research ]

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