Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
Reactors in many UK nuclear power stations are in danger of developing cracks in their graphite cores. This could force some plants to close down earlier than expected, dealing a blow to the idea that nuclear power can become a “green” option in the fight against global warming.
Demand for power and water in the Middle East is expected to skyrocket over the next ten years as rapid economic development, construction and tourism place an increased burden on the region’s infrastructure, experts averred.
Sure, Big Oil is raking in money. But new reserves are more elusive, and governments are bargaining harder.
The prime ministers of Ukraine and Georgia said Monday that the flow of oil in a key Ukrainian pipeline would be reversed, a decision certain to complicate the two former Soviet republics’ already tense relations with Russia.
Methane generated by rotting rubbish in landfill dumps could make a far greater contribution to the world’s energy supply. A new way of harvesting the gas should mean that many landfill dumps that till now were thought to be too small to produce usable amounts of the gas will be able to provide a viable supply.
But many Caspian estimates proved to be unrealistic, at least in the short term. Experts now say the Caspian should in coming years pump some 4 million to 5 million barrels per day, on par with Iran.
Construction of the Kazakhstan-China pipeline is set to start in March, ushering in an ambitious project that not only will provide a new source of hydrocarbons to the growing Chinese economy, but also will change the oil balance in the region.
In a short letter sent today to the White House, nearly 50 environmental, business, anti-nuclear, sustainable energy, and energy policy organizations disputed a recent statement by President Bush that nuclear power is a “renewable source of energy.”
The competition for remaining oil & gas reserves just gets hotter, with India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corporation making recent commitments to Caspian and Sakhalin Island projects, meanwhile pursuing stray Yukos assets.
Article describes Putins success in using competition between China & Japan for oil supply to pay for a rather long pipeline, while ultimately managing to please all parties.
One of the biggest stories of 2004 was Peak Oil—the hardening consensus among analysts that global reserves of recoverable oil are half gone … which makes the current pipeline-terrorism fad more than a little ironic.
As demand fuels increase in costs, industry calls for more drilling
