University

Upping its earlier prediction, the Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane forecast team, led by Phil Klotzbach and William Gray, said Tuesday the U.S. Atlantic basin will likely experience a very active hurricane season in 2007 with an increased probability of a major hurricane making U.S. landfall. The news surprised many within the energy industry who had expected that the team’s April forecast would simply be a rehash of its December 2006 outlook (see Daily GPI, March 29).

Joining the ranks of other experts such as Colorado State University (CSU) forecasters William Gray and Philip Klotzbach who have been recently slashing their 2006 Atlantic hurricane activity predictions, Andover, MA-based WSI Corp. downgraded its outlook last week for the second time in two months. WSI said it now expects the tropical season to have 13 named storms, six hurricanes and three intense hurricanes (Category 3 or greater).

Updating its April forecast (see Daily GPI, April 10), the Colorado State University forecast team led by Phil Klotzbach and William Gray said the U.S. Atlantic basin likely will experience another active hurricane season, but coastal regions may face fewer major hurricanes making landfall than last year.

With more than a month left in the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, Colorado State University forecasters said Monday that the United States isn’t out of the woods yet. In fact, they project that October will continue the trend of above-average activity that has already been witnessed in the preceding four months of the hurricane season.

The C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston (UH) has launched the nation’s first executive master of business administration degree in global energy management (GEMBA), which includes studies of the energy value chain, international energy finance and emerging energy technologies.

Nova Scotia’s energy policy is outdated, said Larry Hughes, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Dalhousie University in Halifax, citing a 60% collapse in estimated natural gas reserves offshore Nova Scotia last year to only 1.35 Tcf (from an original estimate of 3.5 Tcf), the production declines at the Sable Offshore Energy Project and the industry’s turn to liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

Revising their predictions on the eve of the official start to hurricane season, Colorado State University’s William M. Gray and Philip J. Klotzbach said the 2005 hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin is now expected to be “well-above average,” an upgrade from their early April prediction for an “above-average” hurricane season (see NGI, April 4). Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 20.

Revising their predictions on the eve of the official start to hurricane season, Colorado State University’s William M. Gray and Philip J. Klotzbach said the 2005 hurricane activity in the Atlantic Basin is now expected to be “well-above average,” an upgrade from their early April prediction for an “above-average” hurricane season. Hurricane season officially runs from June 1 to November 20.

Looking to create a better wheel, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) said it has teamed with the Pennsylvania State University to establish and operate a consortium on underground gas storage technology.