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Tracking the Energy Industry |
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Dum
Spiro, Spero
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Tracking the Energy Industry |
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Dum
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August 2004
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August 2004
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August 2004
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Pricing / Supply |
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Business / Policy |
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Alternatives |
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August 29, 2004
High
oil prices here to stay: IEA
Australian Broadcasting: "What we feel is that the spare capacity in Saudi Arabia has pretty much thinned out to very low levels and this is because, probably just because the investments haven't been put in to maintain spare capacity, which has become fairly costly to do..." - Antoine Halff August 29, 2004
Ceasefire
in Najaf helps to steady global oil prices
AFP: Analyst John Kilduff at Fimat said reports about sabotage in Iraq kept the market on edge about the prospect of increasing supplies from the country... August 27, 2004
Traders
wonder about oil-price bubble
AP: Conversations with brokers revealed that they are stepping back to assess potential supply problems more critically and on an individual basis, rather than lumping them all together, which tends to result in a more emotion-laden analysis... August 27, 2004
OPEC
expects oil prices to fall to $30 per barrel
Jakarta Post: Purnomo said members of OPEC were producing more oil than the official quota in an effort to cool down an overheated market. Currently, the cartel's oil production reaches 30 million bpd, consisting of a quota of 26 million, two million from Iraq, and two million in overproduction... August 27, 2004
Impact
Of Oil Output Fall At Ageing Fields Seen As Acute
Dow Jones: Oil production is now in decline in at least 18 major producing countries including the US, UK and OPEC members Indonesia and Venezuela, and total production from this group is falling by around 1 million barrels a day every year, according to the latest data.... August 27, 2004
BP
restarts Texas City ultraformer - Texas
Reuters: The restart, which began Sunday, of the unit at the 470,000 barrel per day refinery comes after 4-1/2 months of repairs. An ultraformer produces blending components that boost octane in gasoline... August 26, 2004
OPEC
looses its grip on oil prices
AFP: The cartel's surplus capacities, which formerly conferred its role as the giant producer and market power despite the fact that OPEC produces only about 40 percent of the world's supply, have dwindled... August 26, 2004
World
oil price spike hits Chinese market
China Daily: China Wednesday raised the price of refined oil products for the first time in three months to reflect the oil price spike on the international market. The move also spells out relief for domestic refineries that have been suffering losses because of rising crude oil costs... August 25, 2004
Kuwait
Foreign Minister Discusses Oil
AP: "The oil prices have been driven up by speculation. It's been driven by people who are outside the region," Sheik Mohammed said. "Still, they are high and the producers are not responsible for this." August 25, 2004
Iraq
Oil Exports Cut in Half After Attack
AP: Oil exports out of southern Iraq average about 1.85 million barrels a day. The oil official said Wednesday's sabotage cut exports to 900,000 barrels. The country's southern pipelines export 90 percent of Iraq's oil... August 26, 2004
Crude
Oil Little Changed After 3.9% Plunge on Gasoline Supply
Bloomberg: ``The fact that we did not see inventory levels diminish at all is very telling,'' said David Aleman, managing director of Axis Trading Co. in Beverly Hills, California. ``The higher prices have taken some of the demand out of the market''... August 25, 2004
Central
bankers seek to dispel oil price concerns
AFP: ECB president stressed there was no reason to revise the eurozone's growth forecasts due to soaring oil prices. "Everything else being equal elsewhere, the higher price of oil is not good for growth and price increases, but we are not in 1974 nor the beginning of 1980, when we had the big oil shocks," Trichet said... August 25, 2004
US
Coal Prices Increase dramatically
PEi: A resurging U.S. economy combined with double digit economic growth in China, where coal produces electricity to manufacture its growing steel industry, has spurred greater demand for coal. In some instances, coal prices have nearly doubled... August 25, 2004
US
may use oil reserve if half imports lost-Cheney
Reuters: Vice President Dick Cheney's comments during an Iowa campaign appearance on Tuesday marked the first time the administration has given a specific example of the type of emergency that would cause it to use the stockpile... August 25, 2004
British
Gas rise 'is a body blow'
BBC: British Gas customers will be badly hit by the company's price hikes, with thousands put at risk of "fuel poverty," a consumer group has warned... August 24, 2004
UK:
Why are power prices on the rise?
BBC: Centrica, the company that owns British Gas, says depletion of the North Sea and Irish Sea gas reserves is taking its toll with the company having to import more supplies. That, coupled with surging crude oil prices... August 24, 2004
Sweating
barrels: Strategic Petroleum Reserves
Houston Chronicle: With crude oil at near-record prices (although not in constant dollars) and the tab at the pump not that far off historic highs, it must be tempting to go splashing about in the underground reserve that was established almost 30 years ago in reaction to an Arab embargo... August 24, 2004
Rising coal price will not cause natural gas price to rise, according
to Wood Mackenzie
PEi: Breaking with conventional thinking on the effects of coal price on gas price, new research by Wood Mackenzie finds that rising spot Central Appalachian coal (CAPP) prices will not lead to a meaningful increase in demand or price for the already tight natural gas market... August 24, 2004
Fighting
in Iraq triggers higher prices
AP: World oil prices rose yesterday as sporadic clashes between US troops and Shiite militiamen flared in major producer Iraq... August 22, 2004
Crude
oil may rise on supply threats
Bloomberg: Crude oil futures in New York, after passing US$49 a barrel, may rise further next week on increasing concern that shipments will be curtailed just as demand accelerates, a Bloomberg survey of traders and analysts showed... August 20, 2004
Analysts
say new crude oil highs emotion-driven
NY Times: Fear, not fact, is powering world oil prices to all-time highs, defying even positive news such as a peace deal in the Iraqi flashpoint city of Najaf, analysts said... August 18, 2004
Oil
price increases caused by politics, bad planning
Guardian: The US must shoulder some blame for sky-high oil prices. The world's biggest user has made no effort to wean itself off cheap gasoline and its foreign policy has made matters worse. Other factors are... August 18, 2004
Higher
oil prices may be the norm
Guardian: CSFB said oil could spike at US$50 to US$60 a barrel within the next year, while Deutsche Bank said that this year is poised to be the sixth successive year in which analysts have underestimated the strength of crude oil prices... August 15, 2004
Oil
gushes to new highs as demand strains producers
AFP: New York's benchmark light sweet crude for delivery in September leapt US$1.08 to a record high settlement of US$46.58 a barrel. It spiked at an all-time high of US$46.65... August 15, 2004
Oil
companies may be dragging their feet
AFP: Raw figures for the for the top 10 companies compiled by oil industry consultant Wood Mackenzie show a drop from US$45.9 billion in 1998 to US$36 billion in 1999. The total did not return to 1998 levels until 2001, before accelerating last year to US$57.6 billion.... August 15, 2004
Iraqi
fears of sabotage shut crucial oil pipeline
AFP: Crude exports from Basra's two main offshore terminals, the only outlet for Iraqi oil, have been slashed in half, costing the government at least US$30 million a day in lost revenue... August 13, 2004
High
oil prices to hit stocks hard
Guardian: Investment bank Goldman Sachs on Wednesday warned of the potentially damaging effect for stock market investors of high oil prices, dubbing the process "the revenge of the old economy..." August 12, 2004
Reuters: the revisions to world
demand estimates since 2002, mainly in non-OECD countries, have pushed
the forecast for this year up by 750,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 82.2
million bpd, the agency said in its monthly Oil Market Report...
August 11, 2004
Bloomberg: The group currently holds
about 500,000 barrels a day of "effective" spare capacity, most
of which lies in Saudi Arabia, the IEA said. OPEC will add a further 370,000
barrels a day to its capacity by the end of the year...
August 11, 2004
Reuters: US oil prices hit a fresh
record yesterday, just short of US$45 a barrel, as violence in Iraq disrupted
output and exports from that country's southern fields, compounding fears
that tight global supplies may be inadequate to meet demand...
August 11, 2004
Market stunned as Cairn Energy hits more oil in India The Scotsman: Gammell has said in the past that he believes recovery rates of up to 25 per cent could be possible across the entire Mangala complex. That would push the total reserves in the field to 400 million barrels - equivalent to four months combined production from the entire North Sea.... August 11, 2004
Oil
is power
Guardian: Without question, rising oil prices add to the problems facing policymakers. The difficulty they have is that the initial impact is inflationary, pushing up prices and costs, while the second-round effects are deflationary, affecting consumer incomes and corporate cash flow... August 10, 2004
ASPO: Great oil party is coming to an end MidEast Online: The association maintains that the peak after which oil production begins to decline is much closer than is commonly thought, standing somewhere between 2008 and 2010 for oil and 2013 for gas... August 9, 2004
Oil demand will soon outstrip supply: Dr Ali Samsam Bakhtiari, Nat. Iranian Oil Australian Broadcasting: "The supplies side is limited. We are reaching the limits of the planet very soon. We can't produce much more oil than we are producing today. I am talking about two to three years from now..." August 9, 2004
Contract boosts Talisman's Indonesian sales CBC News: Talisman's share of the sale is about 810 billion cubic feet over the life of the contract. The gas will be sold for $1.91 US a thousand cubic feet. Gas was trading for $5.69 a thousand cubic feet in New York on Monday... August 9, 2004
Husky says White Rose field a go CBC News: The well, called White Rose B 07 2, can produce between 25,000 and 35,000 barrels a day (b/d), based on pressure measurements and flow rate information, Husky said Monday... August 8, 2004
Iran
refuses to lower LNG price for India
India Express: Iran has refused to lower the price of liquefied natural gas it plans to sell India arguing that it was offering the most competitive price at $2.22 per million British thermal unit(mBtu)... August 8, 2004
Oil
prices reach all-time highs, then settle down
AFP: A Moscow court ruled that Russian justice ministry bailiffs had no right to freeze the assets of Yuganskneftegaz, Yukos's largest oil producing subsidiary, accounting for around 60 percent of its output... August 7, 2004
Oil
prices show no sign of dropping
Reuters: Oil prices hit fresh records yesterday, climbing close to US$45 after a fire at a big US refinery and a renewed threat to Russian oil major underlined the strain on world supplies... August 6, 2004
Oil
futures rebound on OPEC chief's assurances
AP: Traders said they had misgivings about the announcement, which contradicted a statement on Tuesday by OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro saying the group couldn't pump any more oil in the immediate future... August 5, 2004
We'll be looking at $50 oil, and likely
by next winter
Economides / Oligney: Expect oil to flirt with $50, creeping up to that level next winter, once OPEC's impotence becomes apparent. There should be no illusions after the past few years. The oil cartel has been rendered virtually powerless to affect oil prices in a big way... August 4, 2004
OPEC
warning as oil hits new peak
CNN: "OPEC can do nothing," Algerian Oil Minister Chakib Khelil told reporters in Algiers. Analysts warn any disruption to supply could send prices surging again... August 4, 2004
Crude
oil prices surge to new high of US$44/barrel
Reuters: "The oil price is very high, it's crazy. There is no additional supply," OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said in Jakarta... August 2004
Simmons
hopes he's wrong
Petroleum News: But if he's right in his belief that Saudi Arabia's giant oil fields might already have peaked and could start into rapid decline in as few as three years, somebody better have a "Plan B" ready or there's no way, he says, to avoid a world energy cataclysm... |
August 29, 2004
Insurgents attack patrols, oil pipeline AP: It was unclear how the latest attack would effect exports out of the south, which have already fallen to about 900,000 barrels a day -- about half the normal average of 1.8 million barrels a day -- after an attack Wednesday on a cluster of pipelines linked to the Rumeila oilfields... August 29, 2004
Russia placates China over oil exports AP: Yukos sends about 124,000 barrels of crude every day by rail to China, which is already the world's No. 3 oil importer. Earlier this month, Russian railway officials said they were told by China that it would cover Yukos' rail fees if the oil company became unable to cover the transport costs... August 27, 2004
Conoco Seeks Up to 25 Pct in LUKOIL Reuters: US oil major ConocoPhillips is seeking to buy up to 25 percent in Russian oil giant LUKOIL to add billions of barrels of reserves to its books, an industry source familiar with the matter said on Friday... August 27, 2004
Save
or spend: Russia faces oil revenue dilemma
Reuters: Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, architect of a windfall fund set to top 570 billion roubles ($19.5 billion) by 2005, has stuck to his guns, saying he will only use surplus money to pay off debt or plug gaps in pension funding... August 27, 2004
Three firms in design deal on $3.5bn China refinery AFP: Fujian Petrochemical will hold a 50 percent stake in the integrated project joint venture if it is formed, with ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco each holding 25 percent... August 26, 2004
China kicks off fuel oil futures in Shanghai China Daily: China, the world's No. 2 oil consumer, rolled out fuel oil futures for the first time in a decade Wednesday, offering hedging tools to firms wincing at sky-high prices and paving the way for crude oil derivatives... August 26, 2004
SEC hands Shell US$120m fine AP: A US$120 million fine levied on Royal Dutch/Shell Group by the US' Securities and Exchange Commission resolves the company's part in the SEC inquiry into the overstatement of oil and gas reserves, but the role of individuals is still under investigation, regulators said Tuesday... August 26, 2004
Egypt Asks China To Invest In Oil, Gas Sector: Ministry Dow Jones: The companies involved in setting up the venture are Egyptian Oil Company and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. (SNP), or Sinopec Corp... August 26, 2004
Philippines, Iran agree to strengthen bilateral ties XinhuaNet: During their meeting, Arroyo and Kharrazi explored several areas of bilateral cooperation, notably in energy and agriculture, specifically talking about oil supply, exploration and development of natural gas, and construction of new power plants... August 26, 2004
Back-to-school sales stung by gas prices Bloomberg: US retailers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp, the two largest discount chains, are facing slower-than-expected sales gains during the back-to- school season as rising gasoline prices erode shoppers' budgets... August 26, 2004
India's oil imports jump 23 per cent Times of India: The country's oil product demand increased by 3.8 per cent in July to 9.339 million tonnes on back of a 13 per cent rise in diesel consumption to 3.411 million tonnes. Diesel accounts for about 40 per cent of the total oil product demand... August 26, 2004
Energy Ministers Discuss Forming Oil Co. AP: Caribbean energy ministers met with their Venezuelan counterpart Thursday to discuss plans for a new company that will sell discounted oil in the region, which has been hit hard by high crude prices... August 26, 2004
EnCana seeks $1.5 bln for Ecuador assets Reuters: EnCana, which began investing in Ecuador five years ago and produces about 73,000 barrels per day (bpd) there, has approached China's dominant oil and gas producer, PetroChina, said the source... August 26, 2004
Houston, we have a Yukos problem Asia Times: The crucial consequence of Moscow's campaign to nail Yukos, the country's leading oil producer, is the end of any possible energy alliance between Russia and the US, according to European Union diplomats and officials... August 26, 2004
Putin's hands on the oil pumps Asia Times: The US has backed the Turkey and Azerbaijan to steer the export of Caspian region crude oil away from Russia. Russia's newest riposte has been to ally the Russian and Iranian oil industries, and open up the shortest, cheapest and most lucrative oil route of all... August 25, 2004
Caspian capers Asia Times: As attempts to solve differences on how to divide the Caspian Sea riches between Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan go nowhere, the five littoral states remain divided in decade-long negotiations... August 24, 2004
Brazil targets Ecuadorian oil Mercosur: Energy hungry Brazil will offer oil rich Ecuador a strategic alliance for the development of hydrocarbons when president Luiz Inaico Lula da Silva arrives in Quito for a two days official visit... August 24, 2004
Appalachia Is Paying Price for White House Rule Change Washington Times: The coal industry chafes at the name -- "mountaintop removal" -- but it aptly describes the novel mining method that became popular in this part of Appalachia in the late 1980s. Miners target a green peak, scrape it bare of trees and topsoil, and then blast away layer after layer of rock until the mountaintop is gone... August 24, 2004
Oil's slippery slope Asia Times: Cheap oil is the Holy Grail of the Bush administration's global strategy. According to the sanitized version of US Vice President Dick Cheney's secret energy report published in May 2001 the US in 2020 will be importing 66% of its oil, against 55% in 2001... August 24, 2004
US economy may be in for another oil shock AFP: High oil prices, which have been a factor in virtually all US recessions over the past three decades, are surging again this year. And the higher crude-oil prices climb, the more risk energy costs pose to what, until recently, many expected to be a banner year for the US economy... August 20, 2004
Eletrobras to invest US$1.5bn in 2005 PEi: The company will invest some 2bn reais in generation, 1.6bn reais in transmission, 340mn reais in the "Luz para Todos" power supply expansion program, 130mn reais in distribution and 14mn reais in research. The company also plans to invest 500mn reais in roads and other... August 19, 2004
Russian court rejects Yukos' appeals NY Times: One was an attempt to stop the government from collecting a US$3.4 billion tax bill and the other a request to let Yukos sell shares in a rival company to help pay the claim... August 17, 2004
Editorial:`resource curse' keeps nations poor Stiglitz: When the exchange rate soars as a result of resource booms, countries cannot export manufactured or agriculture goods, and domestic producers cannot compete with an onslaught of imports... August 16, 2004
A New Era For 'Big Oil' Newsweek: Oil prices, where will they go from here? BROWNE: Clearly they're going to be higher than $21, the long-run average, or even the $25 average adjusted for inflation... I don't think we'll see a period like we did in the '90s for really quite a long time... August 15, 2004
Power company to shut 11 nuclear plants for checks Guardian: Kansai Electric Power said the closures would not affect power supplies, but admitted it would have to restart two ageing oil-fired plants to make up the expected shortfall in electricity generation... August 11, 2004
Editorial: China's tainted quest for wealth NY Times: Beijing's fast-rising involvement with Africa grows out of China's immense and growing need for natural resources, in particular for imported oil, of which 25 percent now comes from Africa... August 11, 2004
China to pump $3b into biggest oil pipeline Reuters: China plans to spend 14.6 billion yuan (S$3 billion) to build the country's biggest oil pipeline, stretching 4,000km from Xinjiang to the north-western province of Gansu, the People's Daily said... August 11, 2004
China: Heeding oil shortages China Daily: Local governments' indifference to the issue of fuel shortages stands sharply in contrast to their high-profile efforts to deal with electricity strains taking place in some regions... August 10, 2004
Peru opens Camisea gas plant near marine reserve Reuters: Peru's President Alejandro Toledo on Saturday launched operations at a potentially lucrative gas plant on the southern Pacific coast that has been criticized as a threat to the environment and tourism... August 10, 2004
OMI fined $4.2 mln for concealing waste oil dumping Reuters: Oil tanker operator OMI Corp was fined $4.2 million for illegally concealing the dumping of thousands of gallons of waste oil and sludge at sea, the U.S. Justice Department said... August 9, 2004
Asia can't withstand rising oil prices for much longer AFP: Asia's economies have been able to withstand this year's surge in oil prices but the relentless climb is starting to take its toll and high growth rates are now in jeopardy, analysts said... August 9, 2004
Ontario power supplies up 7 per cent since blackout CBC News: Critics say changes the Liberal government has made don't address the long-standing weaknesses in the province's power grid, however. The extra seven per cent of power capacity comes from the reactivation... August 9, 2004
Yukos row raises concern about OPEC's capabilities AFP: Demand looks set to grow sharply in the months ahead (an increase of 3.2% to 81.4 mn barrels a day), nudged on by the recovery of the world economy and by rapid growth in India and China. Supply, on the other hand, already virtually at a standstill, will almost certainly not keep up.... August 9, 2004
BP Egypt signs two new oil exploration deals Reuters: The first deal is for a total expenditure of $20 million, and requires a seismic survey and four wells drilled in nine years, with a payment of $1 million as a signature bonus... August 9, 2004
Iran Reports Failure to Reach Gas Accord ME Newsline: Iranian officials said Ankara and Teheran could not agree on the price of Iranian natural gas and its transportation to Western Europe by Turkey... August 9, 2004
Pakistan and Iran will discuss gas pipeline today Daily Times: Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri will hold wide-ranging talks with his Iranian counterpart Dr Kamal Kharazi in Tehran today (Monday), with particular focus on Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, Pakistan-India peace process... August 8, 2004
US
Prods Japan To Quit Iran Oil For Libya
Tehran Times: The United States is pressuring Japan to invest in Libya's oil industry instead of a project to tap Iran's giant Azadegan oilfield that has provoked the wrath of Washington, a Bush administration official said... August 8, 2004
US
Warns Turkey Against Iran Deal
ME Newsline: Turkish sources said the Bush administration has warned Ankara that any energy deal with Teheran worth more than $20 million would trigger U.S. sanctions against Ankara... August 7, 2004
Japan:
Crude oil prices bode ill for economy
Asahi Shimbum: As crude oil prices soar to their highest levels ever, costs of related products and services such as petrochemical products and international airfare are being yanked up along with them, threatening economic growth.... August 7, 2004
LPG
can lighten California's energy load
The Japan Times: California, America's most populous state, risks tumbling into yet another energy crisis. The only answer is increased supplies, which require new investment -- including in facilities for liquefied natural gas (LNG)... August 7, 2004
Price
rises can do British Energy a power of good
The Times: The era of cheap energy is over, at least for now. Or so said Adrian Montague, British Energy's chairman, earlier this week. On that, at least, he and the rebel investors in the troubled nuclear group agree... August 7, 2004
Irving
Oil gets green light for terminal
Telegraph-Journal: Irving Oil's proposed Liquefied Natural Gas terminal at Mispec on Saint John's sparsely populated eastern shore, now estimated to cost $750 million, has become the first in northeastern North America to receive regulatory approval... August 6, 2004
Halliburton
accused of accounting fraud
MSNBC: A new filing in a shareholder class-action lawsuit against Halliburton Co. contends that the world's No. 2 oilfield services company and several top executives intentionally engaged in serial accounting fraud from 1998 to 2001, court papers show... August 6, 2004
Yukos can access assets
AP: Yukos announced that Russian authorities have told the company its bank accounts are not frozen, giving it access to cash in a major decision the beleaguered oil giant said would help it stay afloat and make good on the massive back-tax bills it faces... August 5, 2004
World Bank agrees to continue oil, gas lending
Reuters: The World Bank this week agreed to continue making investments in oil, gas and mining, setting aside an independent review's recommendations that it phase out lending for such projects... August 5, 2004
Enron trading exec pleads guilty
MSNBC: A former Enron Corp. trading executive pleaded guilty Thursday to charges he manipulated energy markets during California's power crisis in 2001 and promised to assist the state and other public utilities' in their lawsuits seeking to recoup billions from the energy industry... August 2, 2004
Chinese Petroleum to move cautiously on Iraq investment
CNA: State-run Chinese Petroleum Corp (Taiwan) said yesterday it would carefully evaluate whether to invest in Iraqi oil exploration and refining now that the US government has lifted economic sanctions against the oil-rich country.... |
August 24, 2004
Hybrid
vehicles gearing up for a smooth ride in California
NY Times: Aides to the governor, a Republican, say he will sign legislation approved on Thursday that could allow up to 75,000 hybrid drivers, mainly those behind the wheel of a gas-sipping Prius, to use car pool lanes even when taking to the road alone... August 24, 2004
Solar
Module Production Will Commence in Mexico
PEi: Kyocera Corporation has announced it will begin large-scale assembly of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules this fall at its maquiladora facility in Tijuana, Mexico, with plans to establish a regional office in San Diego, California for solar system engineering and marketing... August 20, 2004
Alternative
energy industry finally ready to grow up
NY Times: When oil prices rise, public interest in alternative energy often does too. But the logic is evidently escaping Wall Street. Many companies involved in alternative energy have missed out on the rally that has lifted shares of oil and gas companies... August 20, 2004
World's
Largest Solar Photovoltaic Project Under Construction
PEi: PowerLight Corp, K&S Consulting, and Deutsche Structured Finance have announced an initiative to build the world's largest solar photovoltaic project in Bavaria, Germany... August 18, 2004
China
to invest in wind and solar power
PEi: By 2020, the Chinese government plans to build power generation facilities that use alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power, at a cost of $16.9bn billion... August 16, 2004
Scotland
seeks power in ocean waves and tides
AFP: Ocean Power Delivery has developed a prototype called Pelamis, consisting of four vast floating tubes, each about 120-meters long, designed to convert Atlantic wave energy into electric power via a system of hydraulic pistons... August 15, 2004
Brazil
unveils first factory-produced multi-fuel vehicle
AP: Economic Development Minister Luiz Furlan also predicted GM's "multi-fuel" car will be a big hit in Brazil's urban areas, where the three types of fuel are readily available and natural gas is the cheapest option... August 15, 2004
When
the Power Goes Out, the Sun Still Rises
NY Times: Prices for solar panels have come down about 40 percent in the last decade, but economies remain elusive. When the equipment is amortized, solar ends up costing about 25 cents a kilowatt-hour, about four times the cost of conventional electricity... August 10, 2004
Wind
turbine maker Vestas cuts 2004 forecasts
Reuters: Denmark's Vestas (VWS.CO: Quote, Profile, Research) , the world's biggest wind turbine maker, lowered its 2004 sales and profitability forecasts on Monday after U.S. lawmakers delayed approval of tax incentives to increase the use of wind power... August 8, 2004
'Green'
coal holds key to power station's fate
The Scotsman: Officials at Chapelcross nuclear power station, near Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, are holding talks with power firm Scottish Coal to convert part of the plant, which goes offline next year. The new form of power supply, known as biomass, involves burning coal with wood, hay or other crops... August 7, 2004
California
wants more solar energy
Guardian: California is proposing to add solar power to a million homes in the next 10 years, paid for by a surcharge on electricity bills equivalent to about US$0.27 a month... August 5, 2004
Ford
rolls out first hybrid Escape SUVs
MSNBC: Ford Motor Co. on Thursday rolled out the first hybrid SUVs headed for showrooms, touting the gas-electric technology that nearly doubles city driving mileage to 36 mpg... August 4, 2004
Toyota
to boost Prius output by 50% for US sales
Bloombeg / AP: The world's second-largest carmaker will expand the Prius' monthly output to 15,000 units during the first half of next year from 10,000 vehicles now, senior managing director Takeshi Su-zuki said at a press conference in Tokyo... |
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Energy Overworld
Copyright 2003-2004, Energy Overworld
energyoverworld@lycos.com
