Archive for October, 2009

Alaska Can Meet U.S. Energy Needs
By Sean Parnell / Wall Street Journal

The United States is now facing a decision on how to meet its future energy needs. In the coming months, the U.S. Department of the Interior will weigh whether to allow oil and gas exploration on Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to be expanded. Such exploration could set the country on a clear and sustainable energy path for decades to come.

Alaska’s OCS contains an estimated 27 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That’s more than twice the amount of oil that has been produced on Alaska’s North Slope since the Trans Alaska Pipeline System went online in 1977. Counting its OCS reserves, Alaska likely has more than 30% of the nation’s recoverable oil and gas. Developing these resources will advance our national interests in three significant ways.

Full Story

$21 Billion of Oil and Gas Deals Announced Third Quarter 2009
PR Newswire

HOUSTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ — PLS, Inc. (”PLS”) in conjunction with its international partner Derrick Petroleum Services (”Derrick”) reports that Global M&A activity for the 3rd Quarter 2009 totaled nearly $21 billion in 112 separate transactions. According to Brian Lidsky, Managing Director of Research at PLS, Inc., “Oil and gas deal volume increased markedly beginning in late August 2009 due to a confluence of events. These include: 1) a growing consensus that the economy bottomed in the 2nd quarter 2009 and a recovery is under way, 2) price stability of oil in the $65 - $75 per barrel range, and 3) a dramatic drop of U.S. natural gas prices in late August - early September towards the $2.50 range that signaled a buying opportunity to the U.S. markets. For perspective, the oil and gas forward 12-month strips at 3rd Quarter 2009 end were $73.00 per barrel and $5.93 per mcf (thousand cubic feet) versus year ago numbers of $99.02 per barrel and $8.15 per mcf.”

Full Story

Landfill Energy Project in the Works in Charleston
By Will Jones / WSAZ

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) — A new project in the works in Charleston will turn garbage into electricity.

It is called the “Landfill Gas to Electricity” Program and Charleston will be the first city in the state to have such a site.

The landfill will produce enough electricity to power more than 2,000 homes.

“This is a renewable resource. So it’s constantly regenerating itself, so as long as waste continues to come into the landfill the landfill will continue to produce gas and more gas,” said Thomas Loehr from Charleston Clean Energy.

Full Story

Texas completes $1 billion wind energy complex
By  Candace Lombardi / CNet News

One of the world’s largest wind farms is now operational in the area surrounding Roscoe, Texas, E.ON Climate & Renewables (EC&R) announced Thursday.

The series of 627 wind turbines providing a 781.5-megawatt capacity covers about 100,000 acres and four Texas counties. But it’s not an isolated wind farm per se, nor a uniform series of turbines.

The wind complex is a collaborative wind project with the community that included negotiations with over 300 landowners, and a mix of different turbines made by several companies including Mitsubishi, General Electric, and Siemens.

Full Story