http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/naturalgas/ en-us Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:58:43 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2070441/posts Katrina showed uneven damages, some that spoke to structures' faults When Hurricane Katrina roared through the Gulf of Mexico three years ago, it ripped the drilling rig atop Royal Dutch Shell's Mars platform from its clamps and slammed it back onto the top deck in a crumpled pile of steel. But as 80-foot waves and 175-mph winds hammered the Mars platform, Shell's Ursa platform, just 7 1/2 miles to the east, emerged unscathed. A storm doesn't necessarily wreak havoc on all installations it touches, said Peter Marshall, a retired Shell engineer and consultant, as Gulf operators continued preparations Thursday for... Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2070441/posts#comment Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:58:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2069423/posts The Democratic and Republican conventions have arrived amidst a litany of calls for government-sponsored energy projects on the level of Apollo. Despite progress in fields from solar to wind and batteries to biofuels, Popular Mechanics’ editor-in-chief says Americans should be careful what we wish for—scientists have more to offer than politicians.By James B. MeigsPublished in the October 2008 issue. (Illustration by Josh Cochran) Suddenly, everyone has a plan. Veteran oilman T. Boone Pickens is spending millions promoting his proposal to replace foreign oil with massive wind farms and increased natural-gas production. Sen. Barack Obama proposes spending $150 billion over the... Popular Mechanics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2069423/posts#comment Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:29:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067989/posts HOUSTON — American natural gas production is rising at a clip not seen in half a century, pushing down prices of the fuel and reversing conventional wisdom that domestic gas fields were in irreversible decline. The new drilling boom uses advanced technology to release gas trapped in huge shale beds found throughout North America — gas long believed to be out of reach. Rising production of natural gas has significant long-range implications for American consumers and businesses. A sustained increase in gas supplies over the next decade could slow the rise of utility bills, obviate the need to import gas... nytimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067989/posts#comment Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:39:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067265/posts The Russian oil boom, which has produced a gusher of cash, political power and an opulent elite - and has helped fuel the country's renewed assertiveness in Georgia and elsewhere - is on shakier ground than officials in Moscow would like to admit.Most of the oil produced after the country's 1998 financial collapse has come from drilling and re-drilling old Soviet oil fields with more advanced equipment - squeezing more black gold out of the same ground - and efforts to develop new fields have been slow or non-existent.That strategy is potentially disastrous, said Valery Kryukov, who researches oil companies... McClatchy Newspapers http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067265/posts#comment Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:49:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067200/posts Russia today has become more powerful relative to Europe than it has been since Napoleon, a situation that is all but certain to make the Europeans less willing than the United States to challenge Russian policies. Energy may accomplish for the Russians what the Soviet and Russian armies by themselves could not. Boston Globe http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2067200/posts#comment Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:00:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065418/posts NEW ORLEANS – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced that the Western Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale 207, held today in New Orleans, attracted $487,297,676 in high bids. The sale was conducted by Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) and had 53 companies submitting 423 bids on 319 tracts comprising over 1.8 million acres offshore Texas. The sum of all bids received totaled $607,134,968. “In the midst of the national discussion about energy production, the activity at today’s sale signals that the offshore oil and gas industry is serious about developing our Nation’s resources,” said Interior Secretary... Minerals Management Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065418/posts#comment Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:32:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065361/posts The OU researchers found that they can use their organisms to convert hydrocarbons in oil reservoirs to natural gas. "Because two-thirds of U.S. oil is still in place, we can use these organisms to convert residual hydrocarbons into natural gas and create a new source of domestic energy. Physorg.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065361/posts#comment Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:30:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064225/posts US drilling continued to increase the week ended Aug. 15, with 23 more rotary rigs for a total of 1,990 working, up from 1,795 during the same period in 2007, said Baker Hughes Inc. Land operations accounted for the week's increase, up 25 units to 1,895 drilling. Inland water activity was down 2 rigs to 29 still working. Offshore drilling in US waters was unchanged at 66 rigs working, despite a loss of 3 to 63 in the Gulf of Mexico. Of the rigs working, 395 were drilling for oil, 8 more than the previous week. There were 1,586 rotary... Oil & Gas Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2064225/posts#comment Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:09:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063650/posts <p>A federal auction of oil and gas leases on Colorado's scenic Roan Plateau generated nearly $114 million Thursday, a record for onshore energy lease sales in the lower 48 states.</p> <p>The U.S. Bureau of Land Management's auction netted more than 10 times the state's previous highest-grossing federal auction - $11.8 million in February 2006 - and underscored the push to develop domestic energy sources. The BLM estimates the plateau contains 9 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.</p> AP via Forbes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2063650/posts#comment Mon, 18 Aug 2008 12:09:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061227/posts In late 2006, China for the first time in its history became a net coal importer. This changed the dyanmics of the world's energy market. Korea and Japan, previously importers of Chinese coal, were sent scrambling for alternative sources of energy. What they found in the winter of 2007 was LNG for $18-$20/BTU. China too was a willing buyer. The coal scramble was also felt in Europe. Australian coal was bottlenecked and/or kept in the Asian region. Power outages in South African coal mines made the situation worse for Europeans as they lost out on significant supply. What followed was... Seeking Alpha http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061227/posts#comment Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:01:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061062/posts Fellow Oklahoma native T. Boone Pickens is back in the news and hitting the airwaves with an energy idea that I believe is pure common sense. Pickens believes, like I do, that as Americans continue to suffer from high gas prices, we need to take advantage of our abundant, domestic supply of natural gas for use as a transportation fuel. The promise of natural gas as a mainstream transportation fuel is achievable today -- not 15 or 20 years from now. From Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) powered cars, to semi-trucks running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), no other commercially viable... humanevents.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2061062/posts#comment Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:13:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060298/posts NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. Coast Guard cutter will embark on an Arctic voyage this week to determine the extent of the continental shelf north of Alaska and map the ocean floor, data that could be used for oil and natural gas exploration. U.S. and University of New Hampshire scientists on the Coast Guard Cutter Healy will leave Barrow, Alaska, on Thursday on a three-week journey. They will create a three-dimensional map of the Arctic Ocean floor in a relatively unexplored area known as the Chukchi borderland. yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2060298/posts#comment Tue, 12 Aug 2008 02:37:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059494/posts TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran and Algeria are expected to discuss the formation of an OPEC-style gas group during a visit by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to Tehran, Iran's ambassador to Algeria said in remarks published on Sunday. < > Iran wants to turn the previously toothless Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) into a more formal organization akin to OPEC, the 13-member grouping which makes output decisions that can sway global oil prices. < > Algeria and Iran are both members of OPEC and the GECF. Russia will hold a ministerial meeting in November to discuss a charter for the forum,... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059494/posts#comment Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:52:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057609/posts In a new program, the US Department of Energy and its Southwest Regional Partnership recently began to inject carbon dioxide into a large coal bed while simultaneously recovering natural gas, DOE's Fossil Energy Office reported Aug. 4. It said the planned injection of CO2 in a 6-month demonstration near Navajo City, NM, differs from other enhanced coalbed methane (CBM) recovery projects because it will attempt to maximize permanent CO2 storage in a process called geologic carbon sequestration using enhanced coalbed methane recovery. "Many coal beds in the United States are saturated with natural gas (methane), but the gas is difficult... Oil & Gas Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057609/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 21:11:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2057449/posts T. Boone Pickens has a series of commercials running so often on TV and radio that you can’t avoid them. The basic idea he is selling is to replace gasoline in cars with natural gas, and replace natural gas in electricity production with wind farm produced electricity. The idea won’t work, but Pickens will reap more millions from government subsidies until America figures that out, just as we have figured out that Biofuels made from foodstuffs was a very bad idea. From Sea to Shining Sea http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2057449/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 15:57:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056684/posts <p>ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The state of Alaska sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Monday, seeking to reverse his decision to list polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.</p> <p>Gov. Sarah Palin and other state officials fear a listing will cripple offshore oil and gas development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas in Alaska's northern waters, which provide prime habitat for the only polar bears under U.S. jurisdiction.</p> FOXNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056684/posts#comment Tue, 5 Aug 2008 10:15:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056278/posts COMMENTARY: T. Boone Pickens is being lionized for his efforts to legislate a transformation to "eco-friendly" wind energy. We need to "overcome our addiction to foreign oil," he insists, by harnessing wind to replace natural gas in electricity generation, and using that gas to power more cars and buses. If Congress would simply "mandate the formation of wind and solar corridors," provide eminent domain authority for transmission lines, and renew the subsidies for this energy, America can make the switch in a decade. Mr. Pickens' $58-million media pitch makes good ad copy, but his policy prescriptions would bring new energy,... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2056278/posts#comment Mon, 4 Aug 2008 16:35:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055809/posts FLINT, Mich. -- If ever there were a question about the need for nuclear power, it has certainly been dispelled now with the rising cost of fossil fuels. The high price of oil, natural gas and coal should be a wake-up call to all regions of the country that the era of boundless use of cheap fossil fuels is over -- and that nuclear power will need to play a larger role in supplying electricity to homes, business and industry. Although natural gas is now the fuel of choice in electricity generation, its price has quadrupled in recent years and... fresnobee.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055809/posts#comment Sun, 3 Aug 2008 17:54:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055439/posts JUNEAU -- Gov. Sarah Palin's natural gas pipeline license won final legislative approval Friday, and an executive for the Canadian energy company that will hold the license said his firm aims to start work right away. We are all smiles and we are full of gratitude for our good lawmakers making a very, very wise decision for Alaska," Palin said in her Capitol conference room packed with applauding aides and supporters. After two hours of sometimes animated debate, the Senate voted 14-5 to pass House Bill 3001, which gives the Palin administration clearance to issue the license to TransCanada Corp.... Anchorage Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055439/posts#comment Sat, 2 Aug 2008 18:42:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053554/posts With the cost of gas weighing on our minds and wallets, Americans desperately need the continuing leadership of a President who will help lift us out of this crisis. As we rely on millions of barrels of foreign oil each day, we are increasing our dependence on nations in an unstable part of the world instead of using our resources right here at home. In the spirit of the principle of independence our country was founded on, John McCain is embracing America’s independence from foreign oil and dedicated to strengthening our economy and energy needs. This plan, The Lexington Project,... townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053554/posts#comment Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:25:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053032/posts Rush for Natural Gas Enriches Corner of the South By ADAM NOSSITER MANSFIELD, La. — They had to repeat the amazing number, $28.7 million, over and over, to make sure it was real and would not go away. Even then, the members of the De Soto Parish Police Jury — the county commission — could hardly believe it. They laughed, rocked back in their chairs, shook their heads, stared at the ceiling and muttered oaths to each other. “We have — $28.7 million,” said the president, Bryant Yopp, to settle the matter, definitively if still incredulously. It was nearly one... NYT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053032/posts#comment Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:16:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2052665/posts If you watch cable TV, chances are you've seen an ad promoting T. Boone Pickens' plan for reducing the vast sums we're spending on imported oil. Hearts quickened in the Democratic Party because Mr. Pickens says in the ad: "this is one emergency we can't drill our way out of." That's what Democrats say when they block drilling off our coasts and in Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. But the budding romance cooled when Mr. Pickens made it clear he supports lifting those drilling bans. Mr. Pickens' plan has two key elements. The first is to build a massive series of... The Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2052665/posts#comment Mon, 28 Jul 2008 19:08:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051795/posts Highlights The spot price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil increased from $122 per barrel on June 4 to $145 per barrel on July 3. Global supply uncertainties, combined with significant demand growth in China, the Middle East, and Latin America are expected to continue to pressure oil markets. WTI prices, which averaged $72 per barrel in 2007, are projected to average $127 per barrel in 2008 and $133 per barrel in 2009. Regular-grade gasoline is expected to average $3.84 per gallon in 2008, more than $1 per gallon above the 2007 average price. The U.S. average regular-grade gasoline... eia.gov http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051795/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:09:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051337/posts The Arctic holds as many as 90bn barrels of undiscovered oil and has as much undiscovered gas as all the reserves known to exist in Russia, US government scientists have said in the first state assessment of the region. The estimates could fuel the race among polar nations, such as Russia, the US, Denmark, Norway and Canada, vying for control of the region, though the study said Russia and the Alaska platform appeared to have the most undiscovered resources. Alaska's large estimated holdings are likely to stir the debate about opening protected areas of the state to development. The 90bn... Financial Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051337/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:50:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050824/posts NEW YORK: The race for petroleum resources above the Arctic Circle is likely to speed up in coming years, as the polar ice cap melts and access to oil and gas reserves in many other places around the world becomes more challenging. The lure of the Arctic as oil's next big frontier was vindicated this week as a major geological survey found the region might hold as much as a fifth of the world's yet to-be-discovered oil and natural gas reserves. Many of these new resources, according to the survey, are to be found in Russia. If true, that would... International Herald Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050824/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:39:49 GMT