In September, Scotland will vote on whether to break away from the United Kingdom and declare independence.
So far, the debate has been largely about money: One poll says most voters would switch their vote if it meant an extra 500 pounds, or around $800 dollars.
North Sea oil and gas are central to this economic debate — nowhere more so than in the remote Shetland Islands, many miles from the Scottish mainland, where tankers carrying North Sea oil come ashore. The oil has transformed both the local and national economy.
Read more: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2014/06/30/326777014/in-shetland-oil-shapes-debate-over-scottish-independence
B
P (ticker BP ) has provided an intriguing update to its global oil reserves estimate in the company's latest yearly review of energy statistics. BP raised its reserve estimate by 1.1% to 1,687.9 billion barrels, which is enough oil to last the world 53.3 years at the current production rates. However, there's likely a lot more oil left in the tank beyond what BP sees today.
America's energy boom surges
A good portion of the growth in global oil reserves in BP's report comes from the United States. According to BP, the U.S. has 44.2 billion barrels of oil reserves, which is 26% higher than it previously thought. It's also quite a bit more optimistic than the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which recently increased its estimate to 33.4 billion barrels of reserves, or 15% more than previously thought.
The overall cause for that surge in oil reserves is that America's shale oil plays -- the Bakken, Eagle Ford and Permian Basin -- are now being unlocked through horizontal drilling technology.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/06/28/the-world-was-533-years-of-oil-left/11528999/
By Ross McCracken
In this month’s selection on The Barrel from Platts’ Energy Economist, Ross McCracken wonders why in the midst of so much turmoil, markets are relatively calm.
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The energy sector is beset by crises, but the price response has been muted.
Two days after the fall of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to Islamic Sunni militants, international benchmark Dated Brent was assessed at $109.77/barrel, more than $1/b less than two weeks earlier. It then rose to $113.25/b June 16, the highest level since February 2013, but still only about a 3% jump overall. By June 19, it had reached $115.31/b, falling back to $114.52/b June 20 and to $113.13/b June 23. This despite a major uprising in Iraq, chaos in Libya, a civil war in Syria, and, somewhat below the radar, the spread of Al-Queda linked activity in the Sahel.
European month-ahead gas prices at the UK’s NBP and Zeebrugge in Belgium have fallen, despite eastern Ukraine becoming the scene of armed conflict between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army. Spot LNG prices have plummeted from around $20/MMBtu at the start of the year to pre-Fukushima levels below $12/MMBtu. Both the relative calm of the oil markets and the decoupling of the dynamics of the LNG spot market and European gas prices from oil are notable.
But why so calm?
With the current crisis in Iraq, crude oil prices are seeing a spike after being stable for a long while. Adi Karev, global head, oil and gas, for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the New York-headquartered consultancy services network, says production disruption could hit the market badly. Edited excerpts of a talk with Jyoti Mukul:
Oil prices were around $100 a barrel and the industry had become comfortable with it. With the Iraq crisis, what impact do you see on global crude oil prices and for how long?
The price has been relatively stable, hovering around $100 but it also reached $95 and $108 in that period. Right now, the high price of crude is a market-driven reaction -- the producing fields are in the far south or east of Iraq and the rebels are reported to be fighting in the north or west. So, there is no production impact yet. But if the fighting escalates and there is impact on production, the price impact will be severe. A production disruption will have a lasting impact.
With the changed relationship between Russia and the West, do you see any change in the US policy on gas exports?
Read more: http://world.einnews.com/article/211558807/BJhHafTvJsF7jQSX
By Thilanka Sooriyaarachchi and Dr Toufic Mezher
Within the next seven years, Abu Dhabi plans to get 7 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy. Dubai, meanwhile, plans to get 5 per cent of its power from renewables by 2030.
These goals will not be met without concerted effort. Effective strategies, significant investment, policy support, world class project development, and perhaps most importantly people will have to be in place to m
ake it all work.
We will need people to develop technology and systems, lead projects, run hi-tech facilities, repair machines, provide funding, and even provide critical administrative staff support. No hi-tech facility, however advanced, can run without people in all these roles.
But which people? To help answer that question, I focused my Masdar Institute thesis research on a comprehensive assessment of the UAE’s renewable energy human capital needs.
Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/science/uaex2019s-renewable-energy-goals-depend-on-skilled-workforce#ixzz362IPGlpo
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