The general amazement at the power failures that plunged New York and much of the US's north-eastern seaboard into darkness five years ago was perhaps best summed up by Bill Richardson, former energy secretary. He quipped that the US was "a superpower with a third world grid".[break]Yet the US is far from the only developed country with a shaky power structure. In fact, Europeans have also suffered blackouts as a result of their ageing electricity infrastructure. In 2006, a power failure in Cologne spread through France, Italy, Spain and Austria, with Belgium, the Netherlands and Croatia also feeling the repercussions.
...The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the world must invest $22,000bn (€16,700bn, £13,000bn) in energy, half of that in the power sector. More than $8,000bn will have to be spent by developed nations, with the power sector again eating up half of that budget. Much of the money is needed to renovate and replace existing systems, which were built in the 1960s and 1970s.
Britain's Brown calls for bigger IMF bailout fund
LONDON (AP) -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on China and oil-rich Gulf states to bolster an enhanced IMF bailout fund for countries rocked by the global economic downturn, saying Tuesday those with the greatest surpluses should do more.
LONDON - OPEC cannot be expected to bail out the world over the current global financial crisis, the secretary general of the oil producers' cartel said on Tuesday.The United States must take the lead in resolving the crisis, which stemmed from a US-based credit crunch last year, said Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri.
'What is surprising me is everybody looking at Opec to bail out this crisis. In Opec, we are most of us very poor countries, we cannot bail out this crisis,' he told an industry conference in London.
OPEC ready to act again to boost oil
LONDON – OPEC ministers will take further steps to prop up the oil market and could call another meeting before the group's next scheduled talks in December, officials said on Tuesday.
UK: Speculators and government blamed for high fuel prices
The government and speculators should take part of the blame for the excessively high fuel prices that pushed red diesel to 70p/litre earlier this year, according to one of the most important men in the oil industry.Abdalla Salem el-Badri, secretary general of OPEC, which controls 40% of world oil output, told a briefing in London yesterday that very high prices did not ultimately benefit oil-producing countries because they affected demand. “$147 a barrel was too high,” he said.
Russia, China sign oil cooperation memorandum
MOSCOW (Itar-Tass) - Russia and China have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the oil sphere, under which the parties will set up a working group to be led by the Russian energy minister and the head of China’s state energy department.
Is Venezuela's oil boom set to bust?
The dizzying collapse in oil prices has started a heated debate in Venezuela about the possible effect on its oil-dependent economy - and the political future of left-wing President Hugo Chavez.Venezuela is particularly vulnerable to oil prices. It is the Western hemisphere's largest oil exporter. More than 90% of its export revenue and more than half of the government's annual expenditure comes from oil.
President Chavez's right-wing opponents are hoping a sustained drop in the oil price could curb his heavy spending on social programmes and undercut his support.
In the latest sign of how the financial crisis and steep drop in commodity prices since July have blindsided some of the most prominent investors, energy crusader T. Boone Pickens said he and his BP Capital investment firm have lost some $2 billion since oil and natural-gas prices started tumbling in July.The information, released on “60 Minutes,” is sharply higher than the most recent estimates of Mr. Pickens’ losses. His funds were previously thought to be down over $1 billion in 2008, with his personal losses pegged at more than $300 million.
Saudi luxury car sales seen rising despite global crisis
Recession fears may be gripping much of the global economy, but in the world's largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia car manufacturers are betting on more big spending.Traders at a luxury car exhibition in the Red Sea city of Jeddah said sales are holding up and are expected to increase in a country of 25 million, whose economy has boomed in recent years as the oil price soared to record levels.
China's CNOOC announces oil, gas output rise 15.2% for Q3
BEIJING (Xinhua) -- China National Offshore Oil Company Limited (CNOOC Ltd.) announced Tuesday that its net oil and gas output in the third quarter of 2008 rose by 15.2 percent over the same period last year.The state-owned offshore oil producer said that its unaudited total revenue was 30.9 billion yuan (4.5 billon U.S. dollars) for the third quarter, representing a year-on-year increase of 69.1 percent.
UN atomic energy chief warns of nuclear theft
UNITED NATIONS, New York: Mohamed ElBaradei, chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, asserts that the number of reports of nuclear or radioactive material stolen around the world last year was "disturbingly high."ElBaradei, in his annual report to the General Assembly, said Monday that nearly 250 thefts were reported in the year ending in June.
World Is `Drowning in Oil' (Again) After Drought
The spike in crude oil earlier this year had the support of the popular theory of ``peak oil.'' In a 2005 book, ``Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy,'' investment banker Matthew Simmons argued that oil production by Saudi Arabia, the world's largest producer, is ``at or near peak sustainable volume'' and likely to decline in the foreseeable future.Just a few years before the peak-oil theory was hot, the world was ``Drowning in Oil,'' according to the Economist magazine's March 6, 1999, cover story.
Oil was trading at $13.50 a barrel at the time. ``We may be heading for $5,'' the Economist predicted. ``Consumers everywhere will rejoice at the prospect of cheap, plentiful oil for the foreseeable future.''
Oil prices took off and never looked back.
Like the world of fashion, trends in markets come and go. Oil is a limited, albeit vast, resource. At some point in the future, we probably will run out of petroleum, at least as we know it.
Man's ingenuity is equally vast. When the time comes, given all the tax incentives that will be thrown in the direction of alternative energy, I have full confidence the world will not return to travel by horse and buggy.
Gas prices drop 26 cents in a week; some areas below $2 a gallon
The collapse in prices has been faster and deeper than forecast."It is stunning," says Tom Kloza, petroleum-price analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, a consultant. "I remember saying $2.75 by Halloween. Now, I think $2.50 by Election Day."
Auto parts supplier base teetering in downturn
DETROIT — While the big U.S. automakers lobby the government for some form of bailout, industry watchers are bracing for a major failure of the auto supply base if one or more of the Detroit 3 seek bankruptcy court protection.Already fragile suppliers would be forced also to seek protection or simply liquidate, as some have done this year. The Center for Automotive Research says a bankruptcy filing by one or more domestic automakers could result in the loss of 2 million jobs.
"It would take the industry down," says David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, who advocates that the government step in to assist the automakers. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. … (A bailout) is a teeny amount compared with the overall consequences if this thing gets away from us."
OPEC members say low oil prices imperil investment
OPEC oil producers warned Tuesday that low oil prices have created a crisis situation that threatens key investment in production, pushing them to seek moderate price increases by cutting output.
IEA concerned about oil project delays - Tanaka
LONDON (Reuters) - The International Energy Agency (IEA) is concerned about potential delays to upstream oil projects as a result of the recent sharp fall in crude prices, its head said on Tuesday....Oil industry officials and analysts have said the low price may clog investments in upstream projects needed to maintain world supplies.
"Discussion that price of oil should be high enough and there will not be incentives to sustain upstream investment ... if the price of oil is too low? Yes, we are concerned about it," IEA's head Nobuo Tanaka told Reuters at a sidelines of a conference in London.
"We have seen this financial crisis. The supply side, as well as the demand side, has been hit badly by the financial crisis."
BP third-quarter profits surge on record high oil prices
LONDON (AFP) – British energy giant BP said on Tuesday that third-quarter net profit soared 83 percent to 8.049 billion dollars (6.434 billion euros) on record high oil prices which have since slumped.Net profit, excluding gains from the value of its crude oil inventories, rose by 148 percent to 10.03 billion dollars in the three months to September, compared with the same period of 2007, BP said in an earnings release.
Jet fuel's down, but surcharges have stuck
Despite lower jet-fuel prices, fuel surcharges on international tickets are much higher than a year ago, according to an analysis of airline fare data for USA TODAY. Surcharges on many tickets have doubled, and many tickets on shorter flights — which often burn less fuel — have higher surcharges than longer-distance flights.Most round-trip international tickets still have surcharges ranging from $200 to more than $500, even after airlines lowered the surcharges by $20 to $70 on many U.S.-Europe tickets last week. U.S. domestic fares still carry fuel surcharges, too, but international fares have the highest ones.
Congress Skimps on Roads, Providing Little Help for Caterpillar
(Bloomberg) -- The morning rush in Philadelphia ran 30 minutes longer than usual earlier this month when a joint in the Interstate 95 roadway came loose, shutting part of the artery and causing traffic to back up at least two miles.The U.S. House's transportation panel will hear from 19 witnesses tomorrow on boosting infrastructure spending after Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked committee chairs to suggest contents for a potential post-election economic stimulus package. While the California Democrat hasn't announced a spending target, a plan last month included $12.8 billion for roads. That wouldn't be enough to plug a $19 billion hole projected in the federal Highway Trust Fund next year.
UK: North-east could suffer as oil price slumps to $60 a barrel
THERE were warnings last night that the gloss could be about to come off the north-east economy as the price of oil teetered below the $60-a-barrel mark.Economists warned of job cuts to come and a fall in house prices as the region loses the cushion of booming oil prices that has enabled it to avoid the savage downturn hitting the rest of the UK.
Iran 'opens naval base' near Gulf
Iran has opened new naval facilities east of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow entrance to the Gulf which is key to oil supplies, state media say.Naval chief Admiral Habibollah Sayyari was quoted as saying the base in the town of Jask would enable Iran to block the entry of an "enemy" into the Gulf.
China condemns Sudan oil killings
China has condemned the killing of five of its citizens in Sudan, calling it as a terrorist act, but said it would continue to invest in the country.
Beyond the triple crisis: a green new deal
This sequence makes clear that what is at stake is more than a financial breakdown that can be repaired by policy adjustments at the margin. Rather, the excessively indebted global economy is but one aspect of anunprecedented triple crunch, each element of which has contributed to the current crisis:* an enormous Ponzi scheme of debt
* peak oil
* climate change.
Intel Capital to invest $20 mln in solar venture (AP)
BEIJING - Shrugging off gloom over the economic outlook, Intel Capital on Tuesday announced its first "clean-tech" initiative in China, a $20 million equity investment in Trony Solar Holdings Co., one of China's biggest makers of solar energy and wind power equipment."The world economy is in a very difficult position, but innovation is the way to help the companies out of financial crisis. Intel Capital is still committed to investing in innovative companies," Cadol Cheung, managing director of Intel Capital for the Asia Pacific, told reporters. Intel Capital's parent is computer chip maker Intel Corp.
"We have no plans to slow down our investment pace," Cheung said.
EPA may relax power-plant pollution rules
WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is working at the Bush administration's direction on a new rule that would weaken regulations for power plants, allowing them to increase emissions without adding pollution controls.
Study: Smog chops 2 months off Mexicans' lives
MEXICO CITY – Mexicans would live an average of two months longer if they breathed cleaner air, Harvard researchers conclude in a study published Monday. The study found that some 7,600 people's lives were cut short each year by diseases related to air pollution between 2001-2005, representing about 1.6 percent of annual deaths in Mexico.
China's hidden coal cost equal to 7.0 pct of GDP: green groups
A report entitled: "The True Cost of Coal", jointly commissioned by Greenpeace, the Energy Foundation and conservation group WWF, said taking into account the real expense was vital to the nation's future energy security.The unaccounted costs equate to an estimated 1.7 trillion yuan (249 billion dollars), and would be even higher if the impacts of climate change were included, according to the report.
Climate is the real crisis: Britain's Prince Charles
TOKYO (AFP) – Britain's Prince Charles urged the world Tuesday to fight climate change, saying that while the global credit crunch may be temporary, the effects of the "climate crunch" were irreversible.
Oregon governor outlines climate change agenda
PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon's governor unwrapped an ambitious 2009 legislative climate change package with proposals for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for homes and buildings by 2030, with benchmarks to be sure the goal is reached.Gov. Ted Kulongoski also wants to replace the $1,500 tax credit on hybrid vehicles with a $5,000 credit on all-electric cars and to fund energy efficiency for 800 low-income homes a year.
Top economist talks up risks of climate inaction
HONG KONG (AFP) – Nicholas Stern, one of the world's leading environmental economists, said Monday that the global economy will face a more severe downturn than the current crisis if it fails to halt climate change.Stern, the author of a key climate change report and a former World Bank chief economist, said moves towards a low carbon economy should not be stifled by the fallout from the current economic downturn.
Report: Climate change affects Yellowstone
From Walden Pond in Massachusetts to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, climate change has begun to dramatically affect the flora and fauna of these American treasures, according to two studies in Monday's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.The studies show that the warming of the Earth's atmosphere over the past few decades has caused a loss of many of the flowers that Henry David Thoreau recorded in his book Walden and also has contributed to a decline in several species of native animals once common in Yellowstone.
GM Making Case That It's Too Big To Fail
Is General Motors too big to fail?
Rick Wagoner would sure like us to think so. Mr. Wagoner, the chief executive of the ailing automotive giant, spent most of Friday down in Washington, pressing his case for a government rescue.
Yes, G.M. wants our tax dollars too. Banks are getting billions. Insurance companies are getting billions. Why not G.M.?
Bill Chameides: Global Warming and Predictions of an Impending Ice Age - Part 3
You don't have to search too hard to find a skeptic's blog proclaiming that global warming "stopped" in 1998. Oh happy day if it were true, but sadly it is not. Why do I say this? I've looked at the data.
In my third post in a series on the connection between the sun, sunspots, and climate, I present a graphic, which shows the average global temperatures from 1990 to the present. Here's the graphic (from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory).
World Is `Drowning in Oil' (Again) After Drought
(Bloomberg) -- Three months ago, the world was running out of oil.Seriously. I kid you not. Everywhere you turned, you heard whispers that the day of petroleum reckoning was at hand.
Oil Business Not So Bad: BP Posts 83 Percent Profit Growth
LONDON — British oil company BP PLC reported a huge 83-percent rise in third-quarter net profit Tuesday on the back of surging energy prices between July and September.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment