LNG tankers and Art Berman
Sorry, something else from the Trefgarne article.
He says that people "can re-route a cargo at the press of a button, making supply infinitely more flexible to demand."
He is correct about LNG cargoes being suddenly re-routed, but it's happened because somebody offered considerably more for the cargo.
That's flexibility all right, but it's hardly security of supply (what about the original contractor who still needs the LNG?).
More at the Berman thing just appeared in the Financial Times:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3ea7c35a-d...nclick_check=1
I spoke with Art at length in Denver and he struck me as a very intelligent and honourable fellow... not plugging a book, no axe to grind... simply urging caution and critical thinking on various aspects of shale gas.
He's exactly the sort of person whom I would want to safeguard the energy needs of our grandkids.
Video: Government Plans for Fuel Emergencies (18 mins)
The Association for the Study of Peak Oil & Gas kindly invited me to present at their international conference in Denver last month.
This presentation was one of three in a 90-minute session entitled "North American Energy System Vulnerabilities."
Scott Pugh (DHS) and Jeff Brown (geologist & expert on export decline) both made excellent presentations and I felt honoured to present alongside them.
The following link should allow you to view the presentation, which examines the literature on how a fuel emergency may be planned for & administered, some of the key sticking points, and the ongoing lack of preparedness here in North America:
http://www.aspo.tv/rick-munroe.html
(For some reason this video is usually accessible without a password... I don't know why. I hope that ASPO will eventually make all of them available because most of them are superb.)
Please let me know what you think, especially if anyone spots something which you think is erroneous or misleading.
Reflections on the decade: Anxiety vs complacency
A rather thought-provoking article on the past decade was posted in today's Ottawa Citizen:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technol...805/story.html
A response was submitted (at bottom).
Other views are welcome, of course.
Best wishes to you all for the upcoming decade.
By the time it's done, I will be pushing 70... now that's an anxiety-provoking thought in itself.
Pipelines (& what's in them)
Hi, Slap
I was puzzled by your comment but checked out the link.
I was aware of the new pipeline to China having just opened but not of the ASCOPE group (thanks for that).
Being still puzzled by your comment about definitions, I googled ASCOPE and was informed as to its usual (military) meaning.
So now I get it.
I continue to learn from you guys... there are many acronyms that I don't always understand.
But speaking of pipelines, this should be of concern not only to Alaskans (published this morning):
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/n...y/1007672.html
The larger concern here is a legitimate one: once a supply system appears to be unviable (for whatever reason), it may be abandoned.
The sudden loss of oil which might otherwise be brought to market could accelerate the drop in production.
In the case of Alaska, the drop in production has physical as well as fiscal effects to the pipeline.
Pipelines are expensive to maintain, especially in such a harsh climate.
It's not clear how the interplay between declining production and increasing maintenance costs will evolve....
Pakistan: Energy problems growing...
As if Pakistan doesn't already have enough on its plate: Swat Valley, increasing bombings, and chronic electricity shortages... its oil refineries appear to be on the verge of shutting down.
Whether this report is a ploy to get government support or whether it's the bottom-line reality of companies with no cash, the results could be very serious.
Adding fuel (or in this case, an absence of fuel) to an already inflamed situation is the last thing any country need, least of all in that corner of the world.
Here is the Pakistani link (posted earlier today), though it's not easy to decipher exactly what the situation is:
http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=26410
Shale Gas: Exxon's escape clause
Shale gas has been touted as the energy salvation of the USA.
As Art Berman found out, there seems to be zero tolerance for those who might rain on the SG parade (in Art's case, all he did was call for "critical thinking," apparently the ultimate sin).
There have been growing concerns about the environmental aspects, not just in terms of the volumes of water required, but more specifically with the fracking chemicals which are injected.
Two weeks ago NYC asked for a ban on SG drilling in its watershed.
48 hours ago the EPA expressed its concerns:
http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/a...chargenews_rss
Furthermore, it's been revealed that Exxon has an escape clause on its purchase of XTO Energy, which was widely celebrated as proof that SG had indeed come of age.
http://www.oilprice.com/article-exxo...-gas-game.html