The World Bank has concluded that China is already the world’s largest economy as money goes further in poorer economies than previously thought. Most economists had thought this seminal event in world history was still five to ten years away.
Warnings are increasing about the perilous state of the Egyptian economy and particularly the deteriorating energy situation. Cairo owes the energy industry as a whole $5.4 billion in back payments. Electricity shortages are already starting to appear and extensive blackouts are expected during the hot summer months. The government’s currency reserves are currently holding at about $17 billion, but a devastating devaluation would occur if it actually paid its energy and food import bills. Without gas exports and tourists, the government is reliant on Suez Canal tolls which are insufficient to support its need for oil and food imports and subsidies.
US production of oil from tight formations is up 3.5 million barrels per day since 2005, and yet total global field production of crude from all sources is only up 2.3 million. In other words, more than all of the increase worldwide over the last 8 years is attributable to US tight oil production. Without US tight oil, world oil production would be lower today than it was 8 years ago.
In Angola, early results from an offshore drilling program by Cobalt International Energy show there may be between 400 and 700 million barrels of crude oil in the region.
Venezuela’s state owned oil and gas company sent more crude oil to Asia than to North America, the first time in the company’s history, even though it takes a month for Venezuelan crude to reach China and India. Sales to Asia rose 11% while sales to North America, chiefly to the US, fell 12%.
The US state of North Dakota’s Bakken field has surpassed 1 billion barrels of cumulative light, sweet crude oil production during this year’s first quarter. Two thirds of the total was produced during the last 3 years.
The Canadian province of British Columbia wants at least 3 new LNG export facilities constructed by 2020 and perhaps as many as 7.
China expects to install 248 gigawatts of new coal-fired generators in the next six years. This is equivalent to three new coal-fired generating stations a month.
China has decided to undertake a massive program of converting low grade coal into methane which can be burned with almost no particulate emissions in cities. So far 18 new coal-to-gas conversion plants have been approved for construction, a number which is likely to increase.
El Hierro, the smallest of Spain’s Canary Islands, in June will become the world’s first land mass to be fully self-sufficient by generating its own water and wind power. A wind farm will have a total output of 11.5 megawatts—more than enough to meet the demand of the roughly 10,000 residents and its water desalination plants.
More than $10 million will be invested into a program off the coast of Hawaii that will test the ability to convert ocean wave energy into a source of electricity. Two prototype wave energy converters will be deployed in open waters at depths of 196 feet and 260 feet. Researchers have long contended that ocean waves could make a major contribution as a renewable energy source. But a host of challenges, including the difficulty of designing a device to capture the energy of waves, have stymied efforts to generate electricity from the sea.
A report by Fraunhofer IWES finds that global offshore wind energy is approaching 7 Gw with 90% of these turbines being installed in European waters. Japan is revolutionizing this market as firms in this country are rolling out prototypes of floating turbines. 50% of all offshore wind turbines are in UK waters.
At the current time the number of alternative transportation fuel outlets in the US includes 9,758 electric charging stations, 3,017 pumps dispensing liquid petroleum gas (LPG or propane) followed by 2,748 pumps for E85 (ethanol), 1,522 for compressed natural gas (CNG), 822 biodiesel, 170 liquified natural gas (LNG) and 55 hydrogen.
in the United States there were 9,758 electric charging stations, 3,017 pumps dispensing LPG, followed by E85 (2,748 pumps), CNG (1,522), biodiesel (822), LNG (170) and hydrogen (55). – See more at: http://www.rtcc.org/2014/04/30/us-rollout-of-electric-charging-stations-slowing-down/#sthash.KlivqsI8.dpuf
Wind energy’s share of Australia’s main electricity market reach 4.6% last month, up 1% over the past year. This compares with coal’s share of 73.8% and 12.1% for natural gas.
UK households will be granted up to £7,600 each to install double glazed windows, boilers and insulation, as the government attempts to encourage energy efficiency measures after the low take-up of its Green Deal loan scheme. The Green Deal, launched last year, was supposed to herald a “revolution” in energy efficiency with homeowners funding home improvements through loans paid back out of the resulting savings on their energy bills. But the take-up has been quite low with just 2,000 households signing up for the loan scheme amid widespread acknowledgement that the interest on the loans is unattractively high.
with h/t Tom Whipple