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Latest Headlines

War Imminent in Straits of Hormuz? $200 a Barrel Oil?

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:00:21 +0000 - The pieces and policies for potential conflict in the Persian Gulf are seemingly drawing inexorably together. Since 24 December the Iranian Navy has been holding its ten-day Velayat 90 naval exercises, covering an area in the Arabian Sea stretching from east of the Strait of Hormuz entrance to the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden. The day the maneuvers opened Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told a press conference that the exercises were intended to show “Iran’s military prowess and defense capabilities in international waters, convey a message of peace and friendship to regional countries, and test the newest military equipment.” The exercise is Iran’s first naval training drill since May 2010, when the country held its Velayat 89 naval maneuvers in the same area. Velayat 90 is the largest naval exercise the country has ever held. The participating Iranian forces have been divided into two groups, blue and orange, with the blue group representing Iranian forces and orange the enemy. Velayat 90 is involving the full panoply of Iranian naval force, with destroyers, missile boats, logistical support ships, hovercraft, aircraft, drones and advanced coastal missiles and torpedoes all being deployed. Tactics include mine-laying exercises and preparations [...]

Iraq: An Army of Soldiers to be Replaced by an Army of Businessmen

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:13:28 +0000 - After nearly nine years, all US Forces are mandated to withdraw from Iraqi territory by 31 December 2011 under the terms of a bilateral agreement signed in 2008. Now the job facing the war-torn country is to re-build its economy. On Tuesday, prime minister Nouri al-Maliki gave a presentation to more than 400 executives representing a wide range of industries including petroleum, engineering and construction, commercial aviation, architecture, maritime cargo and financial services; the leaders of American commerce and industry, to proclaim Iraq’s “limitless” opportunities “open for business” to American investors. He said that, “It is not now the generals but the businessmen and the corporations that are at the forefront” of Iraq’s future. Maliki was basically playing the role of a salesman, pitching his country to “the West”. He announced that “circumstances (in the country) have improved because of better security,” yet still acknowledged the difficulties ahead of developing a market-based economy governed by transparency laws and international regulations after the planned and strictly controlled economy of Saddam Hussein. Thomas Nides, the Deputy Secretary of State, told CNN “Make no mistake, this is a country that’s developing, its commerce is developing, it’s going to take time, it’s going to [...]

Startling the Global Community, Canada Withdraws from the Kyoto Convention

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:11:50 +0000 - Canada has announced its intention to withdraw from the Kyoto treaty on greenhouse gas emissions (GGE), sandbagging the other signatories to the convention. The Kyoto protocol, initially adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997, was designed to combat global warming with the agreement allowing countries like China and India take voluntary, but non-binding steps to reduce their greenhouse gas carbon emissions. International condemnation was swift. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said at a news briefing, “It is regrettable and flies in the face of the efforts of the international community for Canada to leave the Kyoto Protocol at a time when the Durban meeting, as everyone knows, made important progress by securing a second phase of commitment to the Protocol. We also hope that Canada will face up to its due responsibilities and duties, and continue abiding by its commitments, and take a positive, constructive attitude towards participating in international cooperation to respond to climate change.” Xinhua, China’s state news agency, labeled Ottawa’s decision “preposterous, an excuse to shirk responsibility” and implored the Canadian government to reverse its decision so it could help reduce global emissions of GGEs. Beijing’s comments are significant, not least because the PRC is currently the [...]

India Embraces Solar Power, Says Price Will Equal Thermal Power in Five Years

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:13:56 +0000 - Economic South Asian superpower India has firmly embraced solar power, advancing the target date by five years for selling solar-generated electricity at the same rate as electricity generated by fossil fuel plants, from 2022 to 2017. According to government officials, the reason for moving the date forward is plummeting tariffs in the latest solar development projects, a trend that they believe is likely to continue. Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Joint Secretary Tarun Kapoor said, “The prices will come down further next year and will continue to fall. Earlier, our aim was that solar power will achieve grid-parity by 2022, but looking at the upbeat response from the industry, we have now reduced our target to 2017. Some big names from India have proved that a large investment will soon be possible in solar projects, as huge as 2,000 megawatts. There are other reasons as well. Internationally, the price of solar cells has come down and with improved technology, the cost of operation as a whole has been reduced, thereby increasing the efficiency.” All is not yet completely sunny for India’s solar energy drive, however. Kapoor noted that several solar projects benefiting under a state program offering favorable tariffs [...]

U.S. Biofuel Camelina Production Set to Soar

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:42:28 +0000 - The U.S. biofuel industry has long been stymied by the lack of USDA federal crop insurance, leaving only the most adventurous farmers willing to plant renewable energy crops. Biofuel sources currently under development include algae, jatropha and camelina. Of the three, camelina is increasingly emerging as the frontrunner in attracting initial investment worldwide, as global demand for aviation fuel for passenger flights is now more than 40 billion gallons annually. Camelina has a number of advantages over its competitors, including using far less water, thus allowing it to be grown on marginal land, thereby not taking food acreage out of production. Furthermore camelina has a relatively short growing season of 80 to 100 days, requires no special equipment to harvest, and the silage remaining after processing can be fed to livestock and poultry, with the added side benefit of increasing their omega-3 production. Now the U.S. Department of Agriculture has given camelina production a major shot in the arm by selecting 40 counties in Montana for a pilot program of federally backed camelina crop insurance. The counties covered are Big Horn, Blaine, Broadwater, Carbon, Carter, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Daniels, Dawson, Fallon, Fergus, Garfield, Glacier, Golden Valley, Hill, Judith Basin, Lewis [...]

Could War Flare Again Between Iraq and Kuwait?

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:40:43 +0000 - According to Iraqi Council of Representatives Oil and Energy Committee member Furat al-Sharei, the 10 oil fields that spread across the Iraqi-Kuwaiti frontier are still waiting to have a line drawn through them to delineate the border, more than eight years after a coalition led by U.S. forces toppled the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. According to al-Sharei, the two countries must first collaborate in developing legislation for equitably sharing the fields before oil extraction can begin, noting, “The problem of the common fields can be resolved by developing legal mechanisms.” While Iraq and Kuwait are now at peace, many of the border issues that led to conflict two decades ago remain, which no amount of diplomatic bonhomie can completely paper over. In 1993 the United Nations Security Council Resolution 833 precisely delineated the previous borders between Iraq and Kuwait following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of his neighbor in August 1990. Iraqi forces were summarily expelled by a 34-nation coalition led by the United States during Operation Desert Storm, which began in February 1991. That conflict left Iraq with a $22 billion reparations bill to Kuwait that it is still struggling to pay off, tithing 5 percent of its oil [...]

Mexico – Rising Natural Gas Superstate?

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 01:29:09 +0000 - Americans looking south of the Rio Grande tend to forget, if they ever knew, that Mexico is, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, now America’s second largest source of imports. Of the United States’ total crude oil imports averaging 9,033 thousand barrels per day (tbpd), Mexico is the second largest source of imports, at 1,319 tbpd, exceeded only by Canada with 2,666 tbpd. But now, Mexico’s future seems even brighter. According to U.S. Energy Information Administration Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven, Mexico’s significant untapped natural gas reserves, if properly developed, could eventually provide Mexico with energy independence. On 29 November in Washington, presenting the most recent EIA report on Mexico van der Hoeven stated, “Mexico is sitting on very large natural gas fields that could allow it to end gas imports and could give it energy independence. Van der Hoeven’s assertions are backed by Mexican Energy Secretary Jordy Herrera, who said, “With the shale gas potential and reserves, and the gas associated with crude, we should become a country with sufficient energy resources, both fossil and renewable, to achieve independence, and we could eventually export, all we need to do is make decisions in favor of the Mexican [...]

Furious at Latest U.S. Attack, Pakistan Shuts Down Resupply Routes to Afghanistan “Permanently”

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:34:09 +0000 - NATO recently literally shot itself in the foot, imperiling the resupply of International Assistance Forces (ISAF) in Afghanistan by shooting up two Pakistani border posts in a “hot pursuit’ raid. Given that roughly 100 fuel tanker trucks along with 200 other trucks loaded with NATO supplies cross into Afghanistan each day from Pakistan, Pakistan’s closure of the border has ominous long-term consequences for the logistical resupply of ISAF forces, even as Pentagon officials downplay the issue and scramble for alternative resupply routes. Pakistan, long angry about ISAF/NATO cross border raids, has apparently reached the end of its tether. Following the 26 November NATO aerial assault on two border posts in Mohmand Agency in Pakistan’s turbulent NorthWest Frontier Province, Islamabad promptly sealed its border with Afghanistan to NATO supplies after the allied strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. The U.S. military insists a joint patrol with Afghan forces was fired upon first and only responded with return fire and calling in airstrikes on the posts, which a commander mistakenly identified as Taliban training camps, after reportedly checking that there were no Pakistani military forces nearby. Pakistan Major General Ishfaq Nadeem, director general of military operations, rebutted Washington’s assertions one by one, commenting, [...]

Crude Oil Analysis for the Week of November 28, 2011

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:41:56 +0000 - January Crude Oil closed lower for the second consecutive week but losses could have been worse if not for a strong comeback on Friday. The primary reason for the weakness throughout the week was concern that the European debt crisis would trigger the start of a global recession. As bearish conditions spread throughout the Euro Region, traders pressured the Euro, driving up the U.S. Dollar and lowering demand for the dollar-based crude oil market. The soft crude oil market firmed up on Friday on the news that violence had erupted in Saudi Arabia. With unrest already taking place in Egypt and Yemen, the news that it had spread to Saudi Arabia led to speculation that an escalation of events may destabilize the country. Egypt and Yemen are small players in the oil game while Saudi Arabia is the world’s biggest crude oil exporter. Increased violence in this country would drive oil prices sharply higher on the fear that supply would be reduced. Movement in the crude oil market is coming down to simple supply and demand analysis. If the Euro Zone problems continue to expand beyond the peripheral nations such as Greece, Italy and Spain then demand is likely to [...]

Kazakhstan Now World’s Largest Uranium Miner

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:36:43 +0000 - Kazakhstan’s international energy image is now that of one of the world’s rising oil exporters, an extraordinary feat given that, two decades ago its hydrocarbon output was beyond insignificant when the USSR collapsed. The vast Central Asian nation, larger than Western Europe, has now quietly passed another energy milestone. Kazakhstan produces 33 percent of world’s mined uranium, followed by Canada at 18 percent and Australia, with 11 percent of global output. Kazakhstan contains the world’s second-largest uranium reserves, estimated at 1.5 million tons. Until two years ago Kazakhstan was the world’s No. 3 uranium miner, following Australia and Canada. Together the trio is responsible for about 62 percent of the world’s production of mined uranium. According to Kazakhstan’s State Corporation for Atomic Energy, Kazatomprom, during January-September, the country mined 13,957 tons of uranium. “The volume of uranium mining in the Republic of Kazakhstan (for January – September) comprised 13,957 tons, which is 11 percent higher than the same period last year.” Even more impressive, Kazatomprom’s revenues soared 72 percent year-on-year. Kazatomprom is the state-owned Kazakh national operator for the export of uranium, as well as rare metals, nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants, special equipment, technologies, and dual-purpose materials. To [...]