At one of today’s sessions at the 2014 Natural Gas Symposium in Denver, hosted by Colorado State University’s Energy Institute, panelists discussed global implications of the abundance and accessibility of North American natural gas and how the shale revolution is changing the geopolitics of energy. The panel looked at such things as how U.S. shale gas could affect global economic
In May 2014, the United States government announced intentions to accelerate the review process for LNG exports. The decision came when tensions were rising among Russia and the rest of Europe regarding its involvement in Ukraine. Europe threatened sanctions and Russia warned of cutting off supplies, but there was a major problem: the sides are mutually dependent on each other.
Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) and affiliates of ExxonMobil (ticker: XOM), TransCanada (ticker: TRP), BP (ticker: BP) and ConocoPhillips (ticker: COP) filed a FERC pre-filing request, effectively launching the early design phases of their Alaska LNG Project, an estimated $65 billion, 20 MM metric ton LNG facility, to be built in the Nikiski area on the Kenai Peninsula. Concurrently, Russia’s
Pengerang, Malaysia is the designated site for RAPID—Refinery and Petrochemicals Integrated Project—a mega-sized refinery and energy-focused industrial and petrochemical complex. RAPID was launched to boost Malaysia’s future energy needs, economic growth and to establish Petronas’ position as a key player in the Asian chemicals market. The 2,526-hectare site in Pengerang, Johor, is part of the Johor State’s Pengerang Integrated Petroleum
Experts were predicting half way through 2013 that what was unthinkable just a year before might actually happen in 2013: the Marcellus gas production might reach 10 Bcf/day. The shale deposit that now accounts for almost 40% of U.S. shale gas production blew past that milestone and it has now achieved another milestone: natural gas production in the Marcellus region surpassed
In part of its effort to “wage war on pollution,” as promised by Premier Li Kequiang, China’s shipyards will take upwards of $10 billion in orders for new LNG tankers this decade. Most of this demand is local, according to Choe Young-keun, an executive on the marketing planning team at South Korea’s Samsung Heavy, competitor in the drill ship, liquefied
Yesterday, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will allow LNG Development Co. (ticker: LLC) to export LNG from a terminal in Warrenton, Oregon, to countries without a Free Trade Agreement. The terminal is the first of its kind to be approved on the West Coast. The terminal is still subject to environmental review and final regulatory approval from
Japan has an intelligent, well-educated citizenry, strong business leaders and dedicated workers who created an industrial juggernaut that has been the envy of the world for decades. But Japan has a problem. With no natural gas and very limited oil reserves of its own, for decades Japan has relied largely on nuclear energy to fuel its industrial output and it
The Jones Act is the nickname for a 94-year-old law entitled the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 that allows only U.S.-made, U.S.-manned, and U.S.-flagged ships to transfer goods or passengers between U.S. ports. Although it was meant to protect domestic U.S. seaborne commerce from foreign competition, in today’s global economy, it has the effect of making shipping oil between U.S. ports,
China National Offshore Oil Company, or CNOOC, announced it has signed a deal worth $1.6 billion to build equipment for the Yamal LNG project in Siberia. The project is currently scheduled to begin in 2017 and annual capacity per LNG train is expected to be 5.5 million tons – all of which has already been signed to contracts. The Yamal
ExxonMobil (ticker: XOM) has submitted a formal application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct an LNG plant at its Golden Pass facility in Sabine Pass, Texas. The proposal, officially submitted on July 9, 2014, is part of a joint venture with Qatar Petroleum International and the pre-filing process began in May 2013. A final investment decision between the
Hawaii has a long list of issues whirling around its expensive energy situation. It stems from the fact that Hawaii is home to the U.S.’s most expensive electricity. Since the island state has no reserves of native fossil fuels that it can extract in order to fuel its electricity generation or to refine into ground transportation and jet fuel, it
