Over the last two decades, the Caspian has attracted the lion’s share of PR buzz as a major new oil area, but West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea has also become of increasing interest to offshore explorers. While Equatorial Guinea has quietly been ramping up production for the past few years, Liberia has just announced successful offshore oil strikes as well. The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) on 21 February issued a press release noting, “The National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL) welcomes the announcement by African Petroleum…

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As oil prices increase, steady oil supplies become more uncertain, and CO2 emissions continue to increase, many countries around the world are trying to invest in renewable energy sources. The attempt to change from an energy matrix which relies heavily on fossil fuels to one that creates its electricity from renewable sources such as the sun, wind or geothermal energy, should help provide countries with more energy security in the future. Many nations have therefore set targets to be achieved before 2020 in which they want a certain amount of…

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While most major economies agree that some form of alternative and renewable resources are needed as part of the emerging energy mix, embracing frontier areas like wave arrays might be more about changing the way decision-makers think about energy than simply about the saving the environment. That’s how Richard Yemm, founder of Scottish company Pelamis Wave Power, sees it anyhow. He says efforts underway in Europe aren’t just about protecting the environment, they’re about new ways to provide energy that make economic sense. He’s not, after all,…

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Gasoline prices in the U.S. are off on another tear. The national average just went by $3.57 for regular and due to a little problem of several major refineries that serve the U.S.’s East Coast shutting down, here in Northern Virginia we are running 20 to 25 cents a gallon higher than normal. The wisest of the prognosticators say we should seeing circa $4+ a gallon by late spring so the Washington area will likely be seeing circa $4.50. In case you missed it, they are already getting $5 for regular down by the Kennedy Centre. Somebody in Congress…

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As the “Third World” races to industrialize, rising population demands for reliable energy place increasing stress on a country’s power generating capabilities, and nowhere is this more evident than in BRIC nation India. “Energy from anywhere” seems to be New Delhi’s motto, as the cost of India’s energy imports is proving a significant drag on the otherwise explosive growth of the nation’s economy. India, the world’s fourth largest oil importer, ships in 80 percent of its oil requirements. The detrimental…

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Fuel cells are one of those technologies we have covered before, usually citing some manufacturer who is fan-faring a new technology purported to be game-changing for the cost structure of the hydrogen fuel cell market. So far, fuel cells are used predominantly in specialist applications such as submarines and space vehicles, or in remote areas where power requirements are low yet refuelling is expensive or difficult — or both. The breakthrough application would be an economically viable application in automobiles, but according to the FT,…

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The Keystone Gulf Coast Expansion Project is now entering its fourth year of regulatory review, and is currently on indefinite political hold. In the meantime, the market is figuring out other alternatives. A key demonstration of the need for better oil transportation infrastructure in the United States is the price gap between West Texas Intermediate, a light, sweet crude traded in Cushing, Oklahoma, and Brent, a similar crude from the North Sea. The Law of One Price suggests that these very similar products should sell for a very similar price,…

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The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) days as a financier of clean technologies are over thanks to the Solyndra backlash, but budget cuts would have prevented the department from functioning in that role anyway, according to NRG Energy’s chief executive. “It was the headline for a good part of the year in 2011,” David Crane, president and CEO of power generator NRG Energy, said of the Solyndra situation at the Jefferies 2012 Global Clean Technology Conference in New York on Wednesday. “In all likelihood it will be a headline into a good part of the…

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In order to meet domestic energy demand, and outsource clean energy to nearby Europe, Morocco started to invest in new energy sources, such as wind and solar farms. Europe has been interested in the potential for renewable energy in North Africa for a few years due to limited space and uncertain weather at home. Obviously the electricity will be primarily used to supply Morocco, but the excess will be transported to European grids and will help them to reach the set goal of 20 percent renewable energy by 2020. In 2009 the ball started rolling with…

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As the US and EU trade sanctions draw closer Iran are looking to secure increased export volumes to their largest customers in Asia. China, the largest importer of Iranian Oil, has almost agreed a new deal for increased supply at a discount compared to market prices, and India is currently in discussions over increased shipments. Asia is generally supporting Iran and ignoring the threats from the US … except for Japan. Three Japanese refiners are stalling on signing new contracts for 2012 with OPEC’s second largest oil producer. They…

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