Houston-based Shell Oil Co. plans to cut up to 800 information technology (IT) positions in the United States in an effort to save about $850 million annually beginning in 2008. The reductions, part of Shell’s “IT Vision” plan, will be made through attrition, reduced number of contractors, employee reassignments and voluntary severance packages, and are expected to be completed by 2006. Shell also will outsource more work to India and Malaysia. Shell currently has about 9,000 IT staff worldwide, including 2,200 in the U.S. who are mostly based in Houston. In addition to the reductions, Shell also is reducing the number of computer programs and software applications it uses, according to Anne Kniesley, manager of corporate media relations. Currently, Shell has hundreds of IT contracts, but it plans to reduce the number to less than 20. Kniesley said the changes were “about reducing costs and improving quality.”
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GTI Tests Small Gas Liquefiers for Vehicle Fuels, Peak Shaving, Remote Gas Recovery
The Gas Technology Institute (GTI), in collaboration with the Department of Energy and Brookhaven National Labs, successfully completed testing of a new small-scale natural gas liquefier that could be used to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) for vehicles, utility peak shaving applications, remote gas recovery, and liquefaction of renewable resources such as digester or landfill gas.
GTI Tests Small Gas Liquefiers for Vehicle Fuels, Peak Shaving, Remote Gas Recovery
The Gas Technology Institute (GTI), in collaboration with the Department of Energy and Brookhaven National Labs, successfully completed testing of a new small-scale natural gas liquefier that could be used to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) for vehicles, utility peak shaving applications, remote gas recovery, and liquefaction of renewable resources such as digester or landfill gas.
GAO: Regulators of Gas Markets Hamstrung by Outdated Laws, Processes
Still operating under outdated laws and technology, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Energy Information Administration (EIA) are severely hamstrung in their abilities to determine whether natural gas prices are responding to competitive supply and demand factors or manipulative forces in the market, according to another government agency.
Report Details Downside of Gas Restructuring for Consumers
The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) is scheduled to release a new study Tuesday that documents the adverse impacts of electric and natural gas market restructuring on some residential consumers. The five-state study is the first product of an on-going project to examine the impacts of restructuring on residential consumers, particularly low- and moderate-income households.
Rand Study Cautions About CA Natural Gas Reliance
A study released last week by Santa Monica, CA-based Rand Science and Technology raised a caution flag for California becoming overly reliant on natural gas-fired electric generation, which it said could add to the risk of more volatile and rising gas prices. Assuming under current plans that the state’s natural gas use could double by 2010, the report advocates a “balanced portfolio” approach to the state’s future energy planning that will minimize risks of supply/price volatility.
Rand Study Cautions About CA Natural Gas Reliance
A study released Wednesday by Santa Monica, CA-based Rand Science and Technology raised a caution flag for California becoming overly reliant on natural gas-fired electric generation, which it said could add to the risk of more volatile and rising gas prices. Assuming under current plans that the state’s natural gas use could double by 2010, the report advocates a “balanced portfolio” approach to the state’s future energy planning that will minimize risks of supply/price volatility.
Rand Study Cautions About CA Natural Gas Reliance
A study released Wednesday by Santa Monica, CA-based Rand Science and Technology raised a caution flag for California becoming overly reliant on natural gas-fired electric generation, which it said could add to the risk of more volatile and rising gas prices. Assuming under current plans that the state’s natural gas use could double by 2010, the report advocates a “balanced portfolio” approach to the state’s future energy planning that will minimize risks of supply/price volatility.
Financial Concerns Prompt NGX To Full Collateralization
Increasing financial risk in the energy trading business has prompted Natural Gas Exchange (NGX) to move to a fully collateralized gas commodity clearinghouse on July 1. The move is designed to ensure the integrity and security of exchange and clearing operations. NGX will require all parties to post collateral in the form of cash margin or a letter of credit.
DOE Contributes $1 Million to New Drilling Technology Research
The Department of Energy (DOE) is adding two new projects to its program to develop new technologies that can increase natural gas production from low-permeability, or “tight,” reservoirs. The new projects, to be carried out by Advanced Resources International of Arlington, VA, and Cementing Solutions of Houston, were selected for federal cost-sharing when Congress increased DOE’s budget for natural gas research in fiscal year 2002. They will join two projects selected last August. All four had been proposed in an industry-wide competition earlier this year.
