The Green Deal

The UK's energy minister said his "Green Deal" plan for business would be so radical it would be hated by some.   Ed Davey told the Scottish Lib Dem conference in Inverness he would announce details of the project soon. He said he was "giving notice" to businesses and local authorities to get serious about saving energy and saving people money. "Our claim is that we will be the first government in history to embed energy efficiency across our whole energy policy. " (We are) the first government to seek to make reducing energy demand as important as how we increase supply".  BBC Scotland News, 4th March. Global Energy Advisory comment: We have also structured Prisim as a way of funding energy efficiency at scale. http://www.globalenergyadvisory.com/index.php/our-products/prisim-finance

Blown Away

A KPMG report claiming that Britain could meet its emissions reduction targets without recourse to costly wind and solar power, and at a saving of £34bn, was buried. The report said gas and nuclear power plants could replace coal-fired plants and solar and wind-power and achieve the same reduction in emissions. The Chancellor's statement at the Conservative conference said "We're not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business" was the first indication of a cooling toward the green agenda in government. A survey last year by British Gas asked if people would be willing to pay another £400 a year to ensure the lights stayed on - with only 1% admitting a willingness to do so. TUNSE/The Sunday Times, 4th March.

Explorers on Hunt for British Shale Gas

Coal bed methane(CBM) and shale gas explorers aim to demonstrate Britain's potential this year, with The British Geological Survey estimating 5,29tn cubic.ft of probable shale reserves alone. More wells are being drilled, while the year has already seen a flurry of corporate activity, including the takeover by Australia's CBM firm Dart Energy of Scottish firm Composite Energy. TUNSE/Press and Journal (Energy), 5th March.

RWE

Germany's abrupt change in nuclear policy has put a dent of €1.3bn ($1.7bn) in RWE's results for FY2011. It also boosted power prices and raised carbon dioxide emissions, the company said in its annual report to shareholders. World Nuclear News, 6th March.

RWE Denies UK Arm Npower is up for Sale

German utility giant RWE said its British business RWE Npower was not for sale as the Groups UK energy arm reported a 34% jump in profits to £313mn for 2011. The Telegraph, 7th March.

New Dam Powers Laos' Theun-Hinboun Hydropower Plant

A new dam has allowed the Theun-Hinboun hydropower plant in Borikhamxay province of Laos to generate energy at its full capacity of 220MW. The Nam Gnuang dam releases stored water to bolster energy generation at the Theun-Hinboun plant......Energy generation had dropped by about 15% to 20% in previous years after the Nam Theun 2 dam was built further upstream in Khammuan province in 2008. The plant is now at full capacity again after an expansion project. Asia Power News, 6th March.

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US Production

Natural gas output in the lower 48 U.S. states in December eased 0.2%, or 0.14 bn cubic feet per day (bncf/d), to 72 bncf/d. The decline is the first since February 2011 and came against record-high output in November. PO Review, 5th March; and then later in the week.....

US Rivals Russia as Worlds Top Gas Producer

Russia retained its spot as the world's #1 gas producer during the past decade until 2009, when a sharp, recession-induced drop in demand for Russian gas, rather than a decline in production capacity, allowed the US to edge into first place. Russian production recovered quickly in 2010, but U.S. shale gas production had been rising since 2006 and it continued to narrow the gap with Russia. By 2010, marketed dry gas production in the US reached 634bcm according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the highest level since a 1973 peak of 641bcm. As a result, the 2010 U.S. marketed gas production was very close to, and probably larger than, Russian marketed production. Rigzone, 6th March.

Western Australia Allows Shale Gas Fracking

Bill Marmion, the Western Australian Environmental Minister has given the nod to fracking of shale gas wells in Western Australia. This follows months of uncertainty for oil and gas companies. The US EIA has placed Australia as the country with the 5th largest shale gas potential in the world. In Western Australia, the focus is on the Perth Basin, as well as potential wells surrounding Perth. One of the reasons why Shale drilling is more accepted than CSG drilling is because in the Eastern states where CSG is being fracked there is farm land which could be affected, whereas the land in the Perth Basin is crown land. The Pipeline, 7th March. Global Energy Advisory comment: With so many LNG developments in Western Australia, then, as we have seen there before, the Western Australian gas price could quickly achieve international levels which a recent Morgan Stanley analysts reports forecasts to be $18 per million British thermal units in the summer 2012 - about double European price.   

China's Coal Bed Methane

China's coal-bed methane industry has been touted as an impending driver of domestic production growth since the late 1990s. Yet, some are asking why, almost 15yrs later, the country has failed to reach production levels anywhere near its American and Australian counterparts. Forecasting China's future LNG appetite is a tricky business. Domestic energy companies are reticent, government is guarded, geological and production data is difficult to come by, and people are sometimes imprisoned for collecting it.www/Interfax.com 7th March.

BG to Sell 20% of Curtis LNG

BG is selling a stake in the $15bn Curtis LNG project in Queensland, Australia, one of BG's largest assets. The plant which is expected to start exporting gas in 2014 will be the first in the world to produce gas from coal bed methane, a type of gas found in depleted coal seams..... Analysts say that the firm does not have the financial resources to develop its entire (LNG) portfolio on its own. FT, 8th March.  

Polish Shale Gas

Participating at the panel discussion the Lithuanian Energy Minister Arvydas Sekmokas stated that "The Baltic States should become a good market for the supply of Polish shale gas, which could also compete with the gas supplied by "Gasprom". The Minister also touched on the pricing of the shale gas. According to him, "if you consider the prices of shale gas in the USA" then the Polish gas "could compete with the 'Gasprom' gas". It should be reminded that the Lithuanian Government is systematically searching for ways of reducing dependence from the Russian gas. Baltic Review, 9th March.

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Iran Update

The confrontation may reach a turning point this week when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu meets with President Obama on Monday. Netanyahu is said to be bringing an ultimatum that either the US promises to attack Iran whenever Tehran acquires the capability to build nuclear weapons, or Israel will attack unilaterally this spring. The Israelis believe they have a limited window of opportunity to undertake an effective attack on Iranian nuclear facilities by themselves after which so much of Iran's nuclear program will be moved underground where it would be invulnerable to the Israelis. At that point Israel would have to rely on Washington to stop any Iranian effort to build nuclear weapons.   The US currently holds the position that the red line is an Iranian attempt to actually build a nuclear weapon and not just acquire the capability to build one. Last week in speeches and interviews Obama laid out the case that the Israelis should be patient. The US believes the sanctions are beginning to work and that an unprovoked attack on Iran's nuclear facilities would not only swing world opinion to Tehran's side, but would also set off a chain of hostilities in the region which would probably lead to much higher oil prices as the Iranians retaliated.....The US, EU, and UN sanctions seem to be having an effect as more of the workarounds that Tehran has been using to conduct its foreign trade are being closed. With foreign ships reluctant to visit Iranian ports, Tehran has been forced to turn to its own fleet of 26 tankers to deliver some of its crude. As the war drums beat louder, more of Tehran's customers are having second thoughts about their dependence on Iranian crude and are looking for other sources. PO Review, 5th March.

Santos Basin, Brazil

BG Group announced Monday (5th) that a new well test has begun in the  area of the BM-S-11 concession in the pre-salt Santos Basin, offshore Brazil. The floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) Cidade de São Vicente was connected to the RJS-647 well, in water depths of 7,260 feet (2,212 meters).  The FPSO will operate in the area for approximately 6 months.....The well test is part of BG Group's fast-track development for its interests in the world class pre-salt Santos Basin discoveries and prospects. Rigzone, 5th March.

Ras Tanura Alleged Fire

There was a spot of excitement on Thursday (1st) when a fire near the Saudi's massive oil export centre of Ras Tanura was reported by the Iranian News service, Press-TV, as an attack on a major oil pipeline. This sent oil prices surging with London reaching a high of $128.40/bl, the highest since July 2008. ..The rapid price spike reflects how nervous the markets have become in wake of the ongoing Iranian confrontation and the reduction in spare capacity to produce oil. A similar price spike occurred in February 2006 after the Saudis repelled an attack on the Abqaiq oil processing facility. PO Review, 5th March.

Oil Prices Rise on North Sea Outages

Supply disruptions in the North Sea and strong Asian demand for the crude produced in the region are tightening the physical boosting oil prices. The North Sea is important, not only because it produces 3mn barrels per day- more than Kuwait- but also because it is the home of Brent, the oil benchmark... Output from UK and Norway dropped ~350,000 barrels per day ...The IEA predicted a fall of just 30,000 barrels per day. FT, 6th March.

South Korea Finalises $2bn UAE Oil Deal

South Korea has secured 3 new production blocks in UAE as it faces increasing pressure from the USA to diversify its crude imports from Iran. FT, 6th March.

Keystone Update

TransCanada informed the US Department of State that what had been the Cushing-to-US Gulf Coast portion of Keystone XL will be constructed as a stand-alone Gulf Coast Project, not part of a renewed Presidential Permit process for the Keystone XL pipeline. PO Review, 5th March.

Statoil Leading Race for Anadarko Assets

Norway's state controlled energy group Statoil is in pole position to buy the Brazilian business of US listed explorer Anadarko, for about $3bn, which marks the latest big foray into the South American country. People with knowledge of the talks said Statoil was front runner for the assets, having bettered offers from France's Total and Denmark's Maersk Oil. FT, 7th March.

Stephen King: Oil is the New Greece

Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu discuss next steps regarding Iran, investors are becoming increasingly jittery. At one point late last year, the Brent oil price was around $90 a barrel. Now, even after falling on Tuesday on news that talks with Tehran were to be reopened, it is still well above $120, reflecting both renewed economic optimism and fears over how, precisely, Iran's nuclear ambitions can be contained. FT, 7th March.

End of Week Prices

Brent crude lost 5 cents to $125.39 a barrel by 09.57 GMT. On weekly basis, Brent is set to mark a marginal gain and its 6th weekly gain in seven. US crude was up 33 cents at $106.91 a barrel. Greece said 85.8% of private creditors had accepted its bond swap offer, averting the immediate risk of an uncontrolled default. Oil was supported by data out of top energy consumer China. It showed annual inflation cooled to a 20-month low of 3.2% in February, below its 2012 target of 4%, giving policy maker's room to ease monetary policy to support slowing growth. Reuters, 9th March.

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Work Together on Waste Says Government

Finland's government has requested a "neutral" investigation be carried out to determine whether Posiva's planned high level waste facility can also accommodate waste from Fennovoima's proposed nuclear power plant. If necessary, it is prepared to invoke the force of law to make sure companies cooperate. World Nuclear News, 3rd March.

South Africa Plans More Funding for Nuclear Plants

South Africa plans to allocate more funds towards the construction of nuclear power plants. French utility EDF said earlier in February it would make a joint bid with a Chinese partner when South Africa launches a tender to build several nuclear reactors. TUNSE/Reuters UK, 28th February.

Horizon Power

Horizon Nuclear Power, the nuclear joint venture between E.ON and RWE is about to decide on the reactor technology it will use at its proposed new Wylfa B power station on the Isle of Anglesey in North Wales. Westinghouse, owned by Toshiba, and France's Areva have been battling to win the contract. Horizon aims to build the Wylfa plant by 2020. TUNSE/The Independent, 29th February.

Oldbury Closes

Oldbury nuclear power station near Bristol is to stop generating electricity after 45yrs of operation. TUNSE/BBC (Web), 29th February.

UK Water Shortage Could Lift Electricity Prices

RWE Npower and EDF Energy, whose 2 power plants generate 94% of electricity in east England, face combined costs of nearly £53mn a year if the region's water scarcity issue is not addressed. EDF Energy's Sizewell B nuclear plant would have to pay £1.7mn a year to procure water. TUNSE/Yahoo 1st March.

Decommissioning

A government commissioned report has warned that the £7bn nuclear decommissioning fund will not cover costs unless it is freed from Treasury control and allowed to make commercial investments. TUNSE/The Times, 2nd March.

French Nuclear Closure Would Hurt Germany

A rushed closure of France's oldest nuclear power plant would strain the grid and raise the risk of blackouts, according to industry experts responding to French Socialist candidate Francois Hollande's vow to close the Fessenheim plant. Nuclear operator EDF declined to comment on how the shutdown of Fessenheim might affect supplies. TUNSE/Reuters 2nd March.

Coastal Workers Warned of Terror Threat

People who live on the coast, boaters and fishermen, have been urged to stay alert for terrorist activity along the Scottish coast. The Hunterston and Torness power stations and Grangemouth oil refinery are among potential targets on the coast. TUNSE/The Herald, 3rd March.

First Uranium Sale

First Uranium has announced the sale of its principle South African operating assets to AngloGold Ashanti and Gold One, while Cameco is to secure majority ownership of the Millennium Project in Canada through the purchase of Areva's interest. Toronto-based First Uranium has entered agreements to sell its Mine Waste Solutions (MWS) tailings recovery project to AngloGold Ashanti for £335mn ($532mn) and its Ezulwini gold and uranium mine to Gold One for $70mn. In addition, Gold One has provided First Uranium with a loan facility of up to $10mn. World Nuclear News, 5th March.

NDA Subsidiary Could Operate Customer Trains

Direct Rail Services a subsidiary of Nuclear Decommissioning Agency that operates freight trains, has held talks with Cumbria County Council on taking over the running of passenger services on the coastal branch line between Carnforth and Carlisle. FT, 7th March.

South Korea to Build More Nuclear Power Plants for the UAE

South Korea could wind up building all 8 nuclear power plants for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). A South Korean consortium is currently constructing 4 nuclear power plants for the UAE and is said to have a good chance of building another 4, said sources in the UAE. Asia Power News, 6th March.

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