FT Energy News 6 January

US pins blame for BP spill (Page 1)

Systematic failures by the management of BP and other companies led to the Macondo well blow-out in the Gulf of Mexico last year, the official US inquiry has concluded, warning that industry complacency could cause a similar accident again. The report will be published on Tuesday and delivers a scathing verdict on the procedures followed by BP and its contractors on the project, Halliburton and Transocean.

Spill fears fail to bring curb on deepwater oil drilling (Page 2)

MPs will today rule out a moratorium on deepwater drilling in the North Sea but urge oil and gas companies to address shortcomings in their response plans to spills. A report by the Commons energy and climate change committee calls on the government to ensure that standardised response plans are replaced by site-specific guidelines that take into account local conditions.

China keeps turbines turning as European cuts affect demand (Page 23)

Government budget cuts will slow growth in the European wind power industry this year, but surging demand from China is helping advance the global push behind green energy according to Vestas Wind Systems, the world’s biggest wind turbine maker. Growth in new wind energy installations in Europe is forecast to shrink from 14% in 2010 to 1% this year, according to analysts at Citigroup.

FT Energy News 9th November

Chinese Businesses fuel market for cleaner energy (Page 10)

China Clean Energy is collecting waste oil from restaurants and factories and turning it into bio-diesel and chemicals, helping cut carbon emissions.

BP cleared of putting cost above safety (Page 19)

BP did not put cost before safety in drilling the Macondo well that ruptured in April, according to the presidential commission investigating the spill in the Gulf of Mexico; which stated they had not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favour dollars to safety.

Shell reduces Woodside stake to fund projects (Page 20)

Royal Dutch Shell is selling almost a third of its stake in Woodside Petroleum for $3.34bn as it looks to free funds to redeploy new projects. Shell plans to increase its LNG capacity by more than 20% by 2015.

Afren employees kidnapped in Nigeria (Page 20)

Five employees of Afren, the Africa-focused independent oil-company, have been kidnapped from an offshore oil rig in Nigeria.

FT Energy News 4th November

Warning on cost of climate failure (Page 10)

The IEA forecasts that implementation of new environmental policies would see demand for oil almost 10% lower by 2035 than under current policy commitments. In the draft report, the IEA forecasts oil prices in real terms – adjusted by inflation – at $113 a barrel by 2035 under the new policies scenario, compared with the $135 a barrel forecast in its main scenario.

IEA focuses on Caspian potential (Page 10)

After years of setbacks, the Caspian region could see a “sizeable increase in production and exports”, the IEA says but highlights challenges such as “the sheer scale of the investments needed”, the complexities of building pipelines crossing through several countries before reaching export markets, and technical and regulatory difficulties with some oil and gas projects.

Statoil near deal on China shale gas (Page 23)

Statoil is closing in on a deal to explore shale gas reserves in China in spite of tensions between Beijing and Oslo over the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to a Chinese dissident. By some estimates, shale gas has more than tripled the lifespan of US gas reserves to more than 100 years and experts say there is similar potential in China.

FT Energy News 3rd November

Oil spill costs to cut into BP pay-out (Page 1)

BP will adopt a far less generous dividend policy when it reinstates its payout to investors in an effort to restore growth at BP.

Minister seeks to calm wind farm fears (Page 4)

The government has sought to allay concerns that North Sea wind farm operators might lose their leases to make way for oil and gas exploration, saying they could receive financial compensation in such circumstances.

BP sees rays of hope after darkest hour (Page 19)

On Tuesday BP was able to show evidence of a tentative recovery at the oil group as BP announced that underlying profits for the third quarter were up 18% from a year ago, helped by stronger oil and natural gas prices, as well as a strong performance from its refining business. BP also announced progress on its asset disposal programme, planned at $30bn by the end of 2011, with sales agreements totalling about $14bn.

BG raises Brazilian reserve estimate (Page 19)

BG Group has added 2.7bn barrels of oil equivalent to its reserves estimate for three of its fields offshore Brazil.

FT Energy News 26th October

Green bank plan to make spring debut (Page 2)

Full details of the coalition’s plan for a green investment bank will be set out in the spring of next year. Additional funds to the £1bn will be made available to the bank from asset sales.

Go-ahead for wind energy to generate 70,000 jobs (Page 2)

David Cameron has said £60m of spending earmarked for upgrading British ports to make them suitable for handling large offshore turbines would go ahead, resulting in 70,000 ‘green jobs’.

BP to sell four Gulf of Mexico fields (Page 20)

BP has agreed to sell its interests in four deepwater fields in the Gulf of Mexico to Japan’s Marubeni Oil for $650m as part of a move to cut its capital spending and rebalance its portfolio of assets in the wake of the Macondo oil spill disaster.

Financial Times Energy News 19th October

BP fourth-quarter bonus tied to safety (Page 1)

Health and safety will be the sole measure used to judge all 80,000 staff for their bonuses in the fourth quarter according to Bob Dudley, new chief executive.

Green investment divides ministers (Page 4)

Details of a green investment bank are likely to be left out of Wednesday’s comprehensive spending review as ministers cannot agree whether to grant the bank power to raise finance from the private sector, for instance by issuing bonds, green Isas, raising loans and other measures.

Subsidy for eight nuclear reactors rejected (Page 4)

“There will be no levy, direct payment or market support for electricity supplied or capacity provided by a private sector new nuclear operator, unless similar support is also made available more widely to other types of generation” said Chris Huhne, secretary of state for energy and climate change.

China feels the strain in rush to save energy (Page 7)

China is rushing to meet its energy saving target of 20% reduction in energy use per unit of gross domestic product. China’s energy intensity fell by 15.6% from 2005-2009, but rose 3.2% in the first quarter of this year.

Wave of closures set to hit US coal stations (Page 8)

Closures ot US coal fired power plants are set to accelerate sharply during the coming decade as a wave of environmental regulations hits the industry. Ageing plants are threatened by the cost of investment needed to cut pollution, as well as by competition from cheap gas supplies created by the boom in US production from previously uneconomic shale rocks.

Rockhopper seeks to extend Falklands drilling (Page 21)

Rockhopper, the Falklands Islands-focused oil explorer, is hoping to raise £200m through an accelerated bookbuilding to extend its drilling programme just days after cutting its resource estimates.

TNK-BP looks abroad with Venezuela and Vietnam deal (Page 21)

TNK-BP, the Russian venture half-owned by BP, will pay $1.8bn to buy BP’s production and pipeline assets in Venezuela and Vietnam, in a move that marks its most significant diversification outside Russia. The move puts TNK-BP on the path of international expansion as opportunities for growth in Russia diminish due to increasing resource nationalism and a burdensome tax regime.

Curtains – Fair use policy

A little while ago I wrote a post about the Curtains stating that they are the best value for money energy efficiency measure. Well recently I visited a house that had thrown that out the window (no pun intended).

If your house has radiators under the windows like the one shown here, then take care that the curtains are not closed on the room side of them, trapping the heat they emit away from the room beside the window. This crazy set up happens a lot and means the heating system is mainly working to heat the earth, not your house. If your house has this problem, make sure to put the curtains between the radiators and the window, directing the heat into the room.

External Insulation

In cases where existing houses require wall insulation but do not cavity wall insulation is not a viable option, the more expensive option of installing of external insulation may be considered. External insulation involves fixing insulation materials such as mineral wool or expanded polystyrene slabs to the outer surface of the wall. This insulation is covered with a special cement-based render or aluminium skin to provide weather resistance. The insulation forms a barrier to heat transfer and reduces losses through the wall space. One of the main benefits of the external insulation over internal insulation is that loss of internal space is avoided. When installing external insulation, it may be necessary to extend eaves and sills and relocate downpipes to accommodate the extended footprint of the building.

 

Another important characteristic of external insulation is that it will maintain the houses heavy weight slow thermal performance. This means that the houses walls will absorb some of the heat when the heating is switched on, reflecting it back into the house after the heating has been turned off. The disadvantage however is that it will take longer for the heating system to heat the house up in the first place.

 

Another advantage of external insulation is the chance it allows for upgrading the aesthetics of the house. The chance to re-clad an aged house is often a major attraction to external insulation. This benefit can also be essential to making the economics of a project.

 

 

 

Secondary Glazing

Secondary glazing provides an excellent alternative to double glazing in cases where replacing the existing windows is not possible due to preservation orders, though as the seal is not as tight as double glazing, the reduction in heat loss through the window is not as much.

The idea is this, a second pane of glass on a light frame is attached to the inside of the existing frame. This second pane reduces heat loss in two ways. Firstly if creates a barrier between the warm inside air and the cold outside air, reducing convection losses. Secondly it traps a layer of air between two panes, reducing heat loss through conduction.

In cases where the window must be open-able, secondary glazing products are available which allow for this requirement. Options such as horizontal sliders, vertical sliders, and hinged units are available. Magnetic, clip on and screw on units which can be installed during colder months are a cheaper and more robust solution.

Curtains – the best value for money energy saver

Curtains can reduce heat loss in the winter by 10% – 25% and reduce drafts significantly. So considering their relatively low cost, and other benefits, are a very good investment. They do this by providing a barrier between the window, and the main room. In general windows have the poorest U-Values in an average room, and so are the focus of most heat loss during colder times. Warm air circulates around the space due to convection and is suddenly cooled when it touches the relatively cold windows. Curtains act as a barrier to this air flow, and so reduce the amount of air being cooled.

Here are some tips to help you save energy with your curtains:

• Actually use the your curtains when you have them available
• The more completely the curtains cover the window the better, so have large ones with plenty of overlap and overhang at the ends
• Lining in curtains reduce air infiltration through them, and so is well worth the investment
• Curtains should be hung as close to the window as possible to reduce air leaking in from the side.
• The longer the curtains the better.
• Install a cornice at the top of a curtain
• Use Velco to attach the ends of the curtains to the walls and to each other in the centre
• Blinds do little to reduce heat loss in the winter