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Geology News
Energy Current Events

E-Fuel Corporation has developed a miniature ethanol refinery system which will give people the opportunity to make their own gasoline substitute in their backyards. The machine will convert water, yeast, and sugar into ethanol fuel which can then be pumped right into an automobile. They claim that the $10,000 machine would “pay for itself” in the long run for many owners.

The 13 country members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped about 31.87 million barrels per day in April. That’s about 350,000 less than they pumped in March. Much of the drop was attributed to production problems in Nigeria.

Exxon declared force majeure on the contractual obligations for its Nigeria production in late April because of a worker’s strike. Exports from their facilities resumed last week. (Force majeure is a clause in many contracts that frees a company from liability when an extreme event beyond their control prevents them from fulfilling the obligations of that contract.)

Map of Vietnam

Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation, PetroVietnam, a state-run oil company, is partnering with Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan Company and Kuwait Petroleum International to build a $6 Billion refinery in Thanh Hoa Province, about 125 miles south of Hanoi.

Lots of people are bashing the large oil companies because they are making a profit at a time when oil prices are high. Here is someone singing a different tune. An Exxon retiree is “thankful to Big Oil”.

The Sierra Club is not satisfied with the environmental protection measures of coal-fired power plants in seven states. The Club’s most recent effort targets plants in Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri and Wyoming for failing to include adequate pollution controls for mercury and other toxics.

With oil prices over $100 per barrel and flirting with all time record highs, Exxon announced that their production will not grow at all through 2012. The company’s plans for exploration are extremely conservative and instead Exxon has big plans to buy back stock.

Russia has a greater ability to determine the course of oil prices than Exxon or Saudi Arabia. Their struggling banking system and run-away inflation will determine their ability and desire to produce oil.

Conventional wisdom says that Daylight Saving Time cuts energy costs and conserves resources. However, a new study suggests that it might cost more money than it saves. This article looks at the history of DST and how it works today.

Current high energy prices and a renewed interest in nuclear power have sparked a sudden rise in the number of uranium claims filed in the western United States. The Los Angeles Times reports that there are 1,100 uranium claims on public lands within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park compared to only 10 in 2003.

An article on the GEOTIMES website by Benjamin A. Eisterhold and Michael E. Webber explores how some countries try to seize or monetize mineral resources that are being developed by foreign companies or being exported. Examples include: Venezuela and the North Sea area.

The price of gasoline hit $4.00 per gallon in some cities recently. That has politicians looking for ways to cut the cost. These include: dropping federal excise tax, stopping additions to the US strategic reserve (to lower demand) and calling for less restrictive drilling in protected areas.

Geodynamics, a company operating near the town of Innaminca, South Australia is working on a hot rocks geothermal power project. To prove that their system will work, they plan to provide free power to the town.

This article details the activities of some of the many oil company and contractor workers who are doing the on-site labor of searching for oil in the Arctic. Cold temperatures, snow, and small personal quarters are all part of the job when you are working on Alaska’s North Slope.

A photo gallery accompanies the article

The world’s food shortage crisis has worsened since many food-producing farms have been converted to biofuel crop land. A possible solution to this problem is a hardy plant called jatropha, which is drought-resistant and can grow in barren areas where other plants would not survive.

Solar power is set to become more efficient and cost-effective with the introduction of thin-film photovoltaic cells. Compared to traditional silicon models, these cells use only a tiny fraction of raw material, and prototypes have been able to harness more of the sun’s energy, as well. This article details the different types of solar technology.

Mike Jackson, CEO of AutoNation, America’s top car dealer, says that the biggest lie in the country is to say that you care about global warming and advocate for the price of gasoline to go down. This article explores some of the benefits of high gas prices and why current prices have not resulted in the same conservation efforts that were seen when oil prices spiked in the 1970’s.

Oil prices are flirting with record high levels and some believe that the price could go a lot higher - perhaps as high as $180 per barrel. The reason that this might happen is that Mexico, Russia and Nigeria are too short of cash to develop new fields faster than their existing production rate is falling.

Royal Dutch Shell is scaling down its North Sea operations where well yields are declining and costs are increasing. About 180 jobs will be cut. Shell employs about 8500 people in the UK.

People in San Francisco are now paying $4 per gallon for unleaded self-serve regular gasoline. An All Things Considered article and podcast explore this issue.

The United States national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline hit a record high of $3.556 according to a AAA / Oil Price Information Service survey of retail stations. Part of the recent sharp price increase has been caused by refiners switching from winter grade gasoline to a more expensive, but less polluting, summer grade.

More then 50% of the oil industry workforce is between 50 and 60 years old and jobs are hard to fill. The Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association is trying to stimulate student interest in the oil and gas industry by preparing an educational toolkit for teachers that features numerous oil and gas industry jobs.

A Norwegian car company, Think Global, will begin making its all-electric car available to Americans in 2009. The car, called the Think City, has a top speed of 65 mph, can go 110 miles without being charged, and is 95% recyclable.

Within two years, the United States is predicted to surpass Germany as the world’s leader in wind power capacity. This article discusses some of the advantages of wind power, as well as challenges facing the industry.

The use of corn for ethanol production has drawn many farms into indirect competition with energy production companies. This diversion of farm capacity to the energy sector leaves fewer farms to produce food, putting upward pressure on food prices and ties the price of food to the price of oil.

“The U.S. economy wastes 55% of the energy it consumes.” If that waste can be reduced or captured a lot of energy and environmental problems can be significantly reduced. This article explores energy waste and the potential climate benefits of reducing it.

The value of oil and the value of the dollar are related in a number of ways. If the value of the dollar falls then one would expect to need more dollars to buy a barrel of oil. An article at the Geotimes website tracks the history of oil prices related to the dollar and the Euro and explores their relationships.

Brian Romans has a summary of the USGS fact sheet on the Bakken Formation petroleum reserves. He also has some commentary on the different categories of reserves and what what those numbers really mean.

USGS Fact Sheet on Bakken Formation Oil

Wyoming is a top producer of coal, oil and natural gas. It is also a state that has a lot of pristine land. These often come into conflict as explored in this New York Times article.

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.65 billion barrels of oil, 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota.

GEOTIMES has an article that explores how Google (the search engine company) is getting involved in energy. Their goal is to develop renewable energy sources that are cost-competitive with coal.

Compact fluorescent light bulbs are a great energy-saving alternative to traditional incandescent bulbs. However, it is worth noting that each fluorescent bulb contains a small amount of mercury, which is highly toxic to humans and pets. What should you do if one of them breaks?

This article at GEOTIMES explores offshore wind as a renewable energy source. Already being developed off the coast of England and other locations, this power source seems to have promise.

Early this year researchers surprised everyone with a resource estimate for the Marcellus Shale beneath Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and surrounding states. They estimated that the Marcellus might contain more than 50 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That volume of natural gas would be enough to supply the entire United States for about two years and have a wellhead value of about one trillion dollars!

Mike and Astri Kilburn have been heating their Vermont home with a ground water geothermal system for about 25 years. This article tells about their experience.

GEOTIMES has an article that explores some of the recent research and applications of solar power. There have been some recent advances that make solar a bit more attractive. The best locations are in arid areas where solar exposure is highest.

FutureGen is a concept of designing, building, and operating coal-fueled, near-zero emissions power plants. A GEOTIMES article explores some recent changes in direction for this government supported initiative.

NASA Image

A new geothermal system at an elementary school near Peoria, Illinois is saving the district 70% on heating in the winter and 40% on total energy costs the rest of the year.

For one hour, cities around the globe dimmed their lights in observance of Earth Hour, a campaign started last year by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The goal of the campaign is to promote energy conservation and spread awareness of the danger of climate change.

A housing and health care facility for senior citizens in Massachusetts will be heated and cooled by over 400 geothermal wells. They project that this system will save at least $400,000 per year in energy costs.