If natural gas is going to take advantage of its low price and other advantages it has over oil in the transportation sector, the playing field for alternative fuel transportation needs to be leveled, and a heavy dose of national legislative and regulatory policymaking can help get that done, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Christopher Knittel, an energy economics professor.
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Natural Gas Sings a New Tune: ‘Hit the Road, Jack’
Another energy road trip was started Thursday in Long Beach, CA, at the end of the three-day Alternative Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo 2012 conference, which included dozens of new natural gas vehicles (NGV), many of which are heavy duty trucks and tractors that can be designed for compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Pennsylvania Lawmaker Introduces Bill to Boost NGVs
A legislator in the Pennsylvania General Assembly has introduced a bill designed to encourage the use of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) and the construction of fueling stations to support them within the state that his home to the heart of the Marcellus Shale.
Berlin Eyes Energy ‘Revolution’ in Transportation
Without the alternative of plentiful and cheap natural gas supplies and facing ever-higher petroleum prices, Berlin, Germany, the capital and city-state that serves as an icon for a nation still adjusting to reunification, has set a decidedly high goal for making itself Europe’s clean transportation capital. With the byproducts of natural gas being less viable here, Berlin envisions an electrified transportation system.
Enterprise, Enbridge Propose Shale-Focused Oil Pipeline to Gulf
Citing growing oil production from shale plays, Enterprise Products Partners LP and Enbridge Inc. said Thursday they plan to construct a pipeline to transport crude oil from the oversupplied hub at Cushing, OK, to the Texas Gulf Coast refining complex. Enterprise recently scrapped plans to pursue a similar project with a different partner.
California Approves $100M Alternative Transportation Plan
The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved $100 million for its third annual alternative transportation investment plan, including nearly half of the budgeted funds going toward natural gas and biofuel transportation programs. The funding follows $259 million spent since the 2008-09 fiscal year under the same CEC-administered program.
Solar Firm’s Troubles Cast Shadow on Energy Stimulus
A big question mark hangs over global alternative energy markets and U.S. federal stimulus funding in the clean tech space in the wake of Wednesday’s announcement by California-based Solyndra LLC that it was shutting its solar manufacturing operations at a Fremont, CA, plant and seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Louisiana: Brown Dense Play Drawing Interest
The Pelican State has another oil and gas shale play in the works. Known as the Lower Smackover Brown Dense, the play spans portions of North Louisiana and southern Arkansas.
Industry Briefs
OAO Rosneft has given BP plc until Monday (May 16) to negotiate an acceptable alternative to their historic share swap agreement announced in January. The “groundbreaking strategic alliance” to explore Russia’s largely unexplored Arctic region, considered key to BP CEO Bob Dudley’s plan to right the company, would give state-controlled Rosneft around 5% of BP’s ordinary voting shares in exchange for BP receiving 9.5% of Rosneft shares (see NGI, Jan. 17). However, BP already had joint venture (JV) exploration agreements with Alfa-Access-Renova (AAR), a Russian oligarch consortium, in TNK-BP. The group of Russian billionaires disputed the Rosneft alliance, and in March an arbitration tribunal extended an injunction of the agreement (see NGI, March 28). AAR in essence won its case before the tribunal, which said it would allow BP to move forward with the Rosneft share swap only if it agreed to cede its Arctic JV to TNK-BP.
BP Pressured to Resolve Rosneft Dispute
Russia’s leading producer, OAO Rosneft, has given BP plc until next Monday to negotiate an acceptable alternative to their historic share swap agreement announced in January, which in total is estimated to be worth about $16 billion.