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Statoil the Winner of US Federal Lease Auction for Wind Area Offshore of New York

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

Statoil said Dec. 16 that it has been declared the provisional winner of the U.S. government’s wind lease sale of 79,350 acres offshore New York.

Statoil will now have the opportunity to explore the potential development of an offshore wind farm to provide New York City and Long Island with a significant, long-term source of renewable electricity. Statoil said it submitted a winning bid of $42,469,725 during the online offshore wind auction concluded Dec. 16 by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

“We are excited to have submitted the most competitive bid in a highly attractive project, Statoil’s first offshore wind lease in the United States. We now look forward to working with New York’s state agencies and contributing to New York meeting its future energy needs by applying our offshore experience and engineering expertise,” said Irene Rummelhoff, Statoil´s executive vice president for New Energy Solutions.

The lease comprises an area that could potentially accommodate more than 1 GW of offshore wind, with a phased development expected to start with 400-600 MW. The New York Wind Energy Area is located 14-30 miles offshore, spans 79,350 acres and covers water depths between 65 and 131 feet. Statoil said it will next conduct studies to better understand the seabed conditions, the grid connection options and wind resources involved in the lease site.

“We will work closely with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) on these studies and throughout the permitting process, and in connection with power offtake options,” said Rummelhoff.

The State of New York is expecting that offshore wind will be a significant part of the renewable energy generation needed to meet its Clean Energy Standard in 2030.

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

OPEC Secretary General Congratulates El-Badri on Platts Award

barkindo-with-el-badri-250x188_rdax_250x188OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, has congratulated former OPEC Secretary General, HE Abdalla Salem El-Badri, on recently been honoured at the Platts Global Energy Awards in the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ category.

The Secretary General said that El-Badri is an extremely deserving winner of the Award after a long and successful oil industry career in both his home country of Libya and with OPEC. He said El-Badri is an icon of the global oil industry, and at the same time a humble man of great integrity that is respected round the world.

He added: “His leadership and diplomacy skills have helped navigate OPEC through some challenging and uncertain times. He has been able to use his charisma and charm to bring people together. And he has been able to broker solutions, when there has been discord.”

The Platts ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award recognizes the achievements of individuals who have won widespread recognition and respect on the global stage, through outstanding contributions to the development of the energy industry in the course of their careers.

In bestowing the honour on El-Badri at a ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, the judges applauded him as the epitome of a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ Award winner. They added that he was a “great diplomat” who “opened doors in a difficult region” and, in his more than 50-year career he is an individual that “has had a major impact on the oil industry.”

El-Badri began his oil industry career with Esso Standard back in 1965, and in Libya he was subsequently Chairman of the Libyan National Oil Company (NOC), the country’s Minister of Petroleum, its Minister of Energy, Oil and Electricity and its Deputy Prime Minister. His relationship with OPEC stretches back to his time as Libya’s Minister of Petroleum in the 1990s. He has represented the Organization as President of the Conference, and of course, for nine and a half years as its Secretary General, the longest in the history of OPEC.

Source: opec.org

Gazprom’s Positions Remaining Stable Amid Changing External Environment

fgThe Gazprom Board of Directors took note of the information about the impacts caused by the events of 2016 on the long-term outlook for the global energy market.

It was highlighted that a number of major economic and geopolitical events had taken place in 2016, which could potentially affect the development of the global energy market. Among them were: oil price stabilization at a rather low level, industry-wide reduction in capital expenditures, postponement of planned investment decisions for the construction of gas liquefaction capacities across the world, growth recovery of Chinese demand for gas, lifting of economic sanctions against Iran, signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and others. However, it was noted that the events of 2016 had not led to a substantial revision of the long-term outlook for the global energy market.

In this context, Gazprom continued its systematic efforts to diversify gas supplies and increase its share in the key markets of Europe and Asia-Pacific. Among other things, the Company’s projects for Nord Stream 2, the Power of Siberia gas trunkline (eastern route of Russian gas supplies to China), and the Amur gas processing plant are going according to schedule. The TurkStream project was resumed. In addition, Gazprom signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Baltic LNG project with Shell and the Memorandum of Understanding on underground gas storage and gas-fired power generation in China. The aforementioned efforts will facilitate the Company’s sustainable development and strengthen its positions in the key markets of Europe and Asia-Pacific.

It was emphasized at the meeting that, despite the changes in the external environment, Gazprom’s positions would remain stable in the long term thanks to, inter alia, the Company’s vast gas reserves, well-developed production and transportation infrastructure, long-term contracts, and diversified export routes.

Source: gazprom.com

Barack Obama Bans Oil and Gas Drilling in Most of Arctic and Atlantic Oceans

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

Obama uses law that allows presidents to block sale of new offshore drilling and mining rights and makes it difficult for their successors to reverse decision.

Barack Obama has permanently banned new oil and gas drilling in most US-owned waters in the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, a last-ditch effort to lock in environmental protections before he hands over to Donald Trump.

Obama used a 1953 law that allows presidents to block the sale of new offshore drilling and mining rights and makes it difficult for their successors to reverse the decision.

However, Obama’s ban – affecting federal waters off Alaska in the Chukchi Sea and most of the Beaufort Sea and in the Atlantic from New England to the Chesapeake Bay – is unprecedented in scale and could be challenged by Trump in court.

The president-elect has vowed to unleash the country’s untapped energy reserves and exploit fossil fuels. He has previously questioned the science of climate change, threatened to tear up the Paris climate agreement and appointed climate-change deniers in his cabinet.

This has led to a scramble from environmentalists calling on Obama to impose whatever regulations and executive orders he can to protect his climate legacy.

Tuesday’s move came in a joint announcement by Obama and the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, who also put a moratorium on new oil and gas leasing in its Arctic waters, subject to periodic review.

Obama, currently on holiday in Hawaii and with only a month left in office, said in a statement: “These actions, and Canada’s parallel actions, protect a sensitive and unique ecosystem that is unlike any other region on earth. They reflect the scientific assessment that, even with the high safety standards that both our countries have put in place, the risks of an oil spill in this region are significant and our ability to clean up from a spill in the region’s harsh conditions is limited.

“By contrast, it would take decades to fully develop the production infrastructure necessary for any large-scale oil and gas leasing production in the region – at a time when we need to continue to move decisively away from fossil fuels.”

In 2015, just 0.1% of US federal offshore crude production came from the Arctic. A Department of Interior analysis shows that, at current oil prices, significant production in the Arctic will not occur. “That’s why looking forward, we must continue to focus on economic empowerment for Arctic communities beyond this one sector,” the statement said.

Campaigners welcomed the announcement. Jacqueline Savitz, a senior vice-president at the advocacy group Oceana told the Associated Press: “This decision will help protect existing lucrative coastal tourism and fishing businesses from offshore drilling, which promises smaller, short-lived returns and threatens coastal livelihoods.

“The people of the Atlantic coast refused to allow their way of life to be compromised and we commend their hard work making their voices heard in Washington.”

Few energy companies have expressed a wish to drill any time soon off the coasts thanks to abundant cheap shale oil in North Dakota and Texas. Exploratory drilling in the Arctic is costly and risky.

But with Trump in the White House, the obscure law could face a challenge. Dan Naatz of the Independent Petroleum Association of America told the Associated Press: “Instead of building on our nation’s position as a global energy leader, today’s unilateral mandate could put America back on a path of energy dependence for decades to come.”

And Erik Milito, upstream director at the American Petroleum Institute, told Reuters: “We are hopeful the incoming administration will reverse this decision as the nation continues to need a robust strategy for developing offshore and onshore energy.”

Canada will designate all Arctic Canadian waters as indefinitely off limits to future offshore Arctic oil and gas licensing, to be reviewed every five years through a climate and marine science-based life-cycle assessment.

Source: theguardian.com

Smart Sensor Solution for Low-Voltage Motors

smart-sensor-with-a-service-guy_presentationABB’s smart sensor, a new condition monitoring solution, connects low-voltage (LV) motors with the twenty-first century. The smart sensor monitors and provides vital motor performance intelligence that helps improve uptime, extend motor lifetimes, and increase machine performance and productivity. It enables motors to be integrated into ABB’s expanding Internet of Things, Services and People (IoTSP) concept.

Up to now it has been too expensive to use permanently installed condition monitoring with LV motors. As a result most LV motors simply run until they fail. ABB’s new smart sensor solution enables almost all LV motors to be remotely monitored. This means that maintenance can be planned in advance, which reduces downtime and saves money. By producing status data for large numbers of motors, the solution also paves the way for plant-wide operations and energy consumption optimization.

The smart sensor solution was developed by ABB together with the Swatch Group, specifically the Swatch subsidiary EM Microelectronic, who developed integrated circuits to read specific measurements. ABB’s smart sensor is a wireless sensor platform consisting of standard as well as jointly developed modules.

Smart sensors fitted to motors

The external sensor monitors signals from the motor. The data is transferred to a secure cloud-based server over the internet. The connection is established using the units’ built-in Bluetooth® via either the user’s smartphone or an ABB gateway solution.

The server analyzes the data and produces meaningful information, which it sends directly to the user’s smartphone or to a dedicated customer portal. Selected ranges of ABB low-voltage motors will be factory fitted with the new smart sensor units as an option. But the smart sensors can also be retrofitted on installed motors.

The intuitive interface includes a simple ‘traffic light’ display to give a quick overview of the plant’s motors. If the system detects a problem that needs attention, it sends an alert to the user’s smartphone. From the portal the user can access trend data as well as data on run time and loads, enabling optimum maintenance planning.

Main benefits

By providing meaningful information on motor condition and performance, the service will enable users to plan their maintenance according to actual needs rather than on the basis of time intervals or operating hours alone. This will reduce maintenance costs and enable the plant to cut or even eliminate unplanned stops. Main benefits of this are increased motor uptime, longer motor lifetime and improved motor performance and productivity. There are also opportunities to optimize motors’ energy consumption – by combining data on the energy consumption levels of individual motors with plant operating information it will be possible to formulate better loading strategies aimed at cutting energy costs.

Taken together, condition and performance data could provide a useful basis for reducing the overall cost of motor ownership in process plants by cutting both the motors’ cost of running as well as the risk and cost of not running.

Monitoring of key parameters

Key parameters that are regularly and accurately monitored are health related information, such as rotor health, temperature, air gap eccentricity, cooling condition, bearing condition and the overall vibration. Also monitored are operating information like energy consumption (within 10%), loading (power) and operating hours. Simple traffic light displays give a quick overview of the motor status. By drilling down the user can identify what triggered a yellow or red signal in order to fix it.

For more information about ABB’s smart sensor visit http://www.abb.com/motorsmartsensor

China Limits Cars and Closes Factories in Smog Red Alert

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

The number of cars on roads was limited and factories were temporarily shut in some northern Chinese cities on Monday to reduce pollution during a national smog red alert.

More than 700 companies stopped production in Beijing and traffic police were restricting drivers by monitoring numberplates, state media reported. In choking conditions, dozens of cities closed schools and took other emergency measures after the alert was issued for much of northern China.

Authorities in Hebei province ordered coal and cement plants to shut down or cut output. Elsewhere, hospitals prepared teams of doctors to handle an expected surge in cases of pollution-related illnesses.

China’s long-standing air pollution is blamed on its reliance on coal and emissions from older cars.

“If you track back to the first day of this episode, you see that the smog [in Beijing] is moving slowly from the south to the urban area and then to the north,” said Dong Liansai, a climate campaigner with Greenpeace in Beijing. Dong said emissions from factories in nearby provinces were the main cause of the smog choking the capital.

The smog had earlier grounded flights in some cities and caused roads to be closed. On Sunday, news websites said the number of children being taken to Beijing hospitals with breathing trouble had soared.

Source: theguardian.com

European Commission Approves Drax Biomass Subsidy

The share price of Britain’s biggest power station operator has jumped to a five-month high after the European commission approved subsidies for its conversion to burn wood pellets instead of coal.

Drax was awarded a renewable energy subsidy contract by the government in 2014 to switch the third unit of its coal power station in North Yorkshire over to biomass. That prompted a state-aid investigation by the commission, which was concerned the estimates of the plant’s performance were too generous and Drax would be overcompensated.

On Monday the investigation cleared the subsidy, which sees a guaranteed price paid for electricity generated by the plant. The commission said its analysis found the support would “not result in overcompensation” and would not unduly distort the wood market that will supply the plant with 2.4m tonnes of pellets a year.

The approval comes at the end of a year that has seen coal power drop to a record low in the UK – down two thirds on 2015 – as environmental policies have shuttered several major coal plants. Ministers have said the country’s last coal power station will close in 2025 to meet climate targets.

Dorothy Thompson, CEO at Drax Group, said: “We are pleased the European commission has completed its review of the contract and approved it in line with our expectations. We now look forward to fully converting the unit to run on sustainable biomass.”

But the company is still looking for financial support to convert the fourth of its six units to biomass, which the government has previously said is ineligible for subsidies. “With the right conditions, we can do even more,” said Thompson.

“This announcement is hugely welcome, if a long time coming,” said local Conservative MEP, Amjad Bashir, who added that the power station would play an important role in climate targets.

But green groups questioned the climate change credibility of burning wood pellets which are largely sourced from US forests.

“Big environmental question marks continue to loom over biomass and whether it is in fact renewable on this scale. Biomass has been classified indiscriminately as a ‘zero carbon’ energy source but this stems from flaws in the way the EU and US account for carbon,” said Susan Shaw, a lawyer at the NGO ClientEarth.

Drax Group shares rose to a high of 356.2p on Monday, just below their highest level this year, in July. Company shares soared earlier this month after the company’s bid to buy four gas power stations in a diversification away from its reliance on coal.

Source: theguardian.com

IEA Welcomes Italy’s Plan to Revisit Energy Strategy and Further Decarbonize Economy

In its latest country review of energy policies, the International Energy Agency praised Italy’s comprehensive long-term energy strategy and the acceleration of its efforts to comply with 2020 goals on renewable energy, climate change and energy efficiency.

The IEA’s new report, Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Italy 2016 Review, said that the country’s 2013 National Energy Strategy (NES) sent a strong signal about the government’s medium- and long-term objectives for the energy sector. The NES established clear goals: reduce energy costs, meet environmental targets, strengthen security of energy supply and foster sustainable economic growth.

Still, the review found that monitoring implementation and maintaining momentum would present a challenge for the government. To that effect, the IEA welcomed the Italian government’s recent decision to present a consultation document for an updated 2030-2050 energy strategy, which would take into account the EU 2030 energy package and the impact of the Paris Agreement.

Decarbonizing the economy is one of the four main goals of the NES, and the country aims to exceed its 2020 European Union environmental and decarburization objectives and take a lead role in implementing the EU Roadmap 2050.

The transport sector is the leading source of carbon emissions and Italy has adopted a number of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the sector: there are almost one million natural gas-fired vehicles in Italy and the country has built a substantial refueling network. Italy is also looking at projects to establish LNG as a fuel for goods transport and for use in shipping. However, limited progress has been made in developing integrated urban transport systems and diesel use is increasingly supported by a favourable tax regime.

NES has made energy efficiency a national priority, and Italy has continued to make progress in implementing such policies. The country has undertaken and published a number of comprehensive evaluations of the cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency policies, including the energy efficiency certificate scheme (white certificates). The IEA report recommends that Italy, in co-operation with the banking sector, develop new programmes for financing long-term investment in energy efficiency.

The IEA also praised Italy for maintaining impressive growth in the renewable energy sector and for its success in integrating large volumes of variable renewable generation. Containing costs must be a priority, according to the IEA, and policies need to focus on bringing deployment costs towards international benchmarks. The IEA also said that measures introduced in 2014 to reduce the costs of renewables support mechanisms have created uncertainty, and similar to other European countries, have had negative implications on investor confidence.

The IEA report also highlighted developments in market liberalization and energy infrastructure development. Electricity transmission improvements between north and south, as well as market coupling, have resulted in price convergence throughout the country and wholesale electricity prices that are converging with other European markets. Conversely, electricity retail prices remain among the highest in Europe and are having an impact on the relative competitiveness of Italian industry. The IEA report also noted that development in the natural gas sector has been slow, and greater improvement is needed if Italy is to realize its ambition of becoming a southern European gas hub.

Source: iea.org

EPA Announces 2016 Annual Environmental Enforcement Results

imagesThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday announced its 2016 annual enforcement and compliance results, highlighted by a series of high-impact cases that are delivering environmental and public health benefits to communities across the country. During EPA’s 2016 fiscal year—which spanned October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016—EPA enforcement actions secured $13.7 billion in investments by companies for projects to control pollution. EPA also secured enforceable commitments that ensure the proper treatment, storage and disposal of an estimated 62 billion pounds of hazardous waste, the majority coming through a settlement with Mosaic Fertilizer for their eight facilities across Florida and Louisiana.

Two recent landmark settlements—one with BP and one with Volkswagen—are among the most comprehensive and impactful environmental cases in U.S. history. On April 4, 2016, the court entered an agreement with BP for a $20.8 billion settlement to resolve Clean Water Act violations stemming from the Deepwater Horizon blowout and resulting oil spill, with more than $20 billion going to restore impacted communities and the environment. In a case that was lodged in fiscal year 2015 but not entered by the court until October 25, 2016, Volkswagen agreed to spend up to $14.7 billion on projects to reduce air pollution, remedy environmental damage and buy back 2.0 liter diesel vehicles to settle allegations of using illegal software to cheat emissions tests and deceive customers.

“EPA’s enforcement work continues to hold violators accountable and deliver investments to reduce pollution in our communities,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The American public depends on EPA to enforce the law, protect our communities from pollution and help ensure a level playing field for responsible companies.”

Source: epa.gov

Siemens Celebrates Topping Out Ceremony at New Wind Turbine Factory in Cuxhaven, Germany

A brisk, late November morning in Northern Germany provided backdrop to a ceremony held to mark completion of the structural supports of the factory slated to secure Siemens Wind Power’s position as purveyor of next generation wind turbine technologies.

Behind the ceremony, a host of developments from Siemens are coming together to enable the company to cut costs and improve efficiency of its wind power business, which already leads in offshore wind turbine construction.

Scheduled for completion by mid-2017, the Cuxhaven, Germany, wind turbine factory will provide Siemens with a manufacturing hub for its latest and forthcoming generations of large direct drive offshore wind turbine nacelles.

In the nearest timeframe, factory operations will revolve around the direct drive, 7-MW capacity D7 platform. The production facility will undertake serial production of generators, hubs and nacelle back-ends, and final assembly of these components to form complete D7 nacelles.

In time, even larger capacity machines will eventually flow from the factory’s production lines. Siemens’ Carsten-Sünnke Berendsen, who is heading the Cuxhaven project, told Renewable Energy World: “The Cuxhaven plant is our central manufacturing base for all large direct drive nacelles of our offshore wind turbines. The [8-MW] SWT-8.0-154 is an enhanced version of our models SWT-6.0-154 and SWT-7.0-154 and so its nacelle will definitely be assembled in the new factory.”

Source: renewableenergyworld.com

ISWA World Congress 2017: Call for Speakers

c8d39ab73cNext year ISWA heads to Baltimore, Maryland, USA, for the 2017 World Congress from 25th to 27th September. The overall theme of the congress “No Time to Waste” will cover a number of issues which are important right now: closing dumpsites, climate change, circular economy, resource management and smart technologies.

This theme illustrates the urgency with which the waste and resource management sector must respond to the global and local issues it is facing every day. ISWA’s President, Antonis Mavropoulos, stated in a recent blog post that we are facing a “global health emergency.”

So we call on you to submit your abstracts now – the deadline for both submissions is 15 January 2017.

Source: iswa.org

It’s Official: Solar Is Becoming World’s Cheapest Form of New Electricity

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For the first time, solar power is becoming the cheapest form of electricity production in the world, according to new statistics from Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) released Thursday.

While unsubsidized solar has occasionally done better than coal and gas in individual projects, 2016 marked the first time that the renewable energy source has out-performed fossil fuels on a large scale—and new solar projects are also turning out to be cheaper than new wind power projects, BNEF reports in its new analysis, Climatescope.

The cost of solar in 58 developing nations dropped to about a third of 2010 levels, with China in particular adding a record number of solar projects. And as the Independent notes, solar “has proved a godsend for remote islands such as Ta’u, part of America Samoa, in the South Pacific.”

In fact, Ta’u has been able to abandon the use of fossil fuels altogether and power itself almost entirely on renewable energy.

“Solar investment has gone from nothing—literally nothing—like five years ago to quite a lot,” said Ethan Zindler, head of BNEF’s U.S. policy analysis.

BNEF chairman Michael Liebreich also told investors this week that “[r]enewables are robustly entering the era of undercutting” fossil fuel prices.

Unsurprisingly, developing countries are at the forefront of this advancement, having invested in clean energy economies to stave off the catastrophic effects of climate change at a greater rate than wealthy nations.

“[F]or populations still relying on expensive kerosene generators, or who have no electricity at all, and for those living in the dangerous smog of thickly populated cities,” Bloomberg reports, “the shift to renewables and increasingly to solar can’t come soon enough.”

Source: ecowatch.com

Harworth Seals Deal for New 5MW Solar Farm in Yorkshire

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

UK developer Harworth is expanding its clean energy portfolio with the announcement yesterday that a deal to build a new 5MW solar farm in North Yorkshire has been signed off.

Kellingley Solar Farm, which will span 28 acres of land near the former Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire, received planning permission in July 2015 and signed a 31-year lease with Harworth Group last month.

Constructio will begin in January, and the farm is expected to start generating power in March next year, producing enough clean energy to power more than 20,000 homes, Harworth said.

The project is one of the last solar farms to be accredited under the Renewables Obligation subsidy scheme, which closed for schemes of 5MW and below on March 31 this year.

“This is an excellent deal for Harworth and low-carbon energy developments form an important part of increasing our recurring income base,” Hannah Moxon, senior estates manager in Harworth’s natural resources team, said in a statement. “Although the basis for renewables subsidies has now changed, we remain convinced that solar and wind farms are an important part of the UK energy mix and we believe the government’s proposed Industrial Strategy should reintroduce incentives to bring further developments forward.”

Speaking to BusinessGreen, Harworth’s group partnerships and communications manager Iain Thomson said he hoped Secretary of State Greg Clark would consider introducing a scheme similar to the Renewables Obligation to support further large-scale clean energy development.

Harworth specialises in regenerating brownfield sites for housing and commercial developments. It has developed 23 low-carbon energy schemes on its land across the country, including solar and wind farms as well as coal mine methane extraction operations.

Source: businessgreen.com

Lucid Motors Unveils Tesla-Killer Electric Car that Can Drive 400 Miles on a Single Charge

Photo-illustration: Pixabay

Automakers are starting to catch up to Tesla by launching longer-range electric vehicles – and Lucid Motors is one of the most promising start-ups to throw their hat into the ring. The company’s new Air EV will have a longer driving range than every other electric car on the market – and it features two motors that generate a combined output of over 1,000 horsepower.

The Air EV is a luxury sedan designed to compete not only with the Tesla Model S, but other larger luxury sedans like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series. The Air means business with its standard 100 kWh battery – the largest battery pack in the industry – and it can be upgraded to an even larger 130 kWH battery that provides 400 miles of all-electric driving range.

With that much power the Air only needs 2.5 seconds to reach 60 mph. Since the Air will compete with the world’s best luxury sedans, it’s no surprise that it will arrive with a price tag over $100,000 – although Lucid Motors says that a cheaper model is planned.

Lucid Motors is now taking orders for the Air, which can be reserved by placing a large $25,500 deposit. That significant deposit is for the first batch of cars, which will have a price tag of around $160,000. The much cheaper $65,000 model can be reserved for much more reasonable $2,500. Lucid Motors’ first electric cars will go into production in Arizona in 2018.

Source: inhabitat.com

OPEC Secretary General Attends Meetings, Workshop at Columbia University

sg-at-cgep-workshopThe Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, and an accompanying delegation, took part in a series of activities at the Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) in New York on 15 December, the fourth day of his visit to the United States.

The Secretary General met with Director and founder of the Centre, Professor Jason Bordoff, along with deputies and professors of the Center. HE Mohammad Barkindo delivered a speech in the morning highlighting the Organization’s outlook on both medium- and long-term viewpoints of the energy market. The speech was followed by a presentation on the OPEC World Oil Outlook 2016. A question and answer session during a panel discussion included HE Mohammad Barkindo, along with Adrian Lajous, former CEO of Pemex and Antoine Halff, director of global oil markets. It was moderated by Professor Bordoff and attended by energy professors at the university, along with energy consultants and students.

During his speech the Secretary General commented on the rich history of the Columbia University, where some of America’s top leaders and prominent figures have their place among the alumni. He commented that the size, scope and complexity of the global oil market make it unique among physical commodities and that the “true scale of the industry underscores the importance of sustainable market stability.”

The Secretary General briefed the audience on the cycles the oil industry has seen, adding that the current cycle is the worst to date, with the OPEC Reference Basket falling by 80 per cent between June 2014 and January 2016.  The Secretary General expressed the need for the oil market to rebalance in order to reduce price volatility and support future investment, adding that the recent decisions by OPEC and non-OPEC countries on output adjustments will bring the rebalancing process forward much more quickly.

He spoke about the extensive consultations which took place with OPEC and non-OPEC countries that led up to the historic Algiers Accord at the 170th Extraordinary Meeting of the OPEC Conference, held on 28th September in Algiers, Algeria.

The Algiers Accord, in turn, led to the ‘Vienna Agreement’ decided upon at the 171st Meeting of the OPEC Conference on 30 November in Vienna, at which OPEC Member Countries decided to cut their oil output by 1.2 million barrels a day (mb/d), effective from 1st January 2017. This was followed by a meeting held in Vienna on 10 December, at which OPEC Ministers met with ministers and officials from non-OPEC countries, which resulted in 11 non-OPEC countries agreeing to reduce their respective oil production by almost 600,000 barrels a day.

In the afternoon the Secretary General participated in a CGEP workshop on the interaction between financial and physical markets, attended by leading bankers and investors and in the evening he took part in a dinner between major financial market stakeholders. HE Mr. Mohammad Barkindo will hold a similar group meeting with selected key participants in financial markets on 16th December to complement discussions on this important topic.

The week-long visit has included meetings with the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, the United States Energy Information Administration, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy, major stakeholders in financial markets, and IHS/Markit.

Source: opec.org

No, Coal Isn’t Coming Back: the Reasons in 5 Charts

coals-share-of-u-s-electricity-generation-1949-2015-u-s-energy-information-administration-data_100585464_mThe coal industry is on the decline, but the reason for that decline has become a subject of political debate. Supporters of fossil fuels blame the energy policies of the outgoing Obama Administration, claiming the emphasis on renewable energy and lowering carbon emissions puts coal at a disadvantage.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to “bring back coal” as part of what is expected to be an overall emphasis on promoting fossil fuels. But the current dire state of the coal industry is largely not be a matter of policies or regulation.

Instead, a number of different market forces have eroded coal’s competitiveness in the energy market. The Brookings Institution laid out those market forces in a concise report, built around five charts. One of the major forces working against coal is cheap and abundant natural gas, accessed through the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing—also known as “fracking.”

The utility industry has steadily shifted from coal to natural gas for electricity generation because of the latter’s lower cost. In 2000, coal accounted to 51.7 percent of U.S. electricity-generation capacity, while natural gas’ share was just 15.8 percent. But in 2015, coal was down to 33.2 percent, while natural gas had risen to 32.7 percent.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts that natural gas will surpass coal’s share of the generating mix in 2016, the first time this has occurred. At the same time, the cost of renewable-energy sources like wind and solar have decreased, to the point where they are cost-competitive with fossil fuels in some situations.

The cost to build a utility-scale photovoltaic solar farm has dropped 80 percent since 2009, while wind farm costs have dropped 60 percent, according to the Brookings Institution. The economic competitiveness of natural gas and renewable energy is more meaningful at this particular moment, because flat electricity demand is driving utilities to seek the cheapest possible options for power generation, Brookings analysts say.

As domestic coal consumption decreases, exports are also weak, falling for the third consecutive year in 2015. U.S. coal exports are largely dependent on China and India, but China’s recent economic slowdown has dampened coal demand in that country. Both China and India are also expected to keep imports to a minimum for security and fiscal reasons, relying on local sources for the majority of their needs.

Finally, the productivity and profitability of the U.S. coal industry has rapidly declined over the past decade, after peaking in 2000, according to Brookings analysts. This is largely due to the exploitation of the cheapest and easiest-to-mine coal sources, requiring coal companies to turn to more difficult and costly mining operations. Overall productivity has rebounded somewhat in the past three years, but this may only be the result of the closing of less-efficient mines, and a one-time boost from the implement of certain new technologies.

A decrease in coal use for electricity generation is good news for drivers of electric cars, because these cars get cleaner alongside the sources of electricity used to charge them. But it also leaves open the question of how to stimulate the economies and preserve jobs in coal-producing states, the answer to which may well be transitioning to different industries altogether.

greencarreports.com

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