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Alaska’s Key to Oil Production – It’s a Gas…
Tom Standing, ASPO-USA
The two-and-a-half year bout to rehabilitate pipelines on Alaska’s North Slope appears to be over. Daily field-by-field production figures from Alaska’s Department of Revenue show that production curtailments, especially in the Prudhoe Bay Unit, have given way to steady production at surprisingly high rates. During October 5-21, statewide crude production averaged 767,000 b/d, compared to 780,000 b/d in November 2007, the last month that was completely free of production curtailments. Production in the first half of November 2008 averaged 762,000 b/d-an impressive comeback that still leaves Alaskan oil production down 60+% from its peak production in 1988 (see Fig. 1)
But while a key to this rehabilitation has been repairing some of the pipelines serving the supergiant Prudhoe Bay field, the Kuparuk River unit, Colville River field and all their associated satellite fields, it’s an enormous natural gas field that has really done the unsung heavy lifting.
The longevity of Prudhoe Bay field can be attributed to the world class resource of natural gas on the North Slope. The immense gas cap above the Prudhoe Oil Pool was originally assessed at 26 trillion cubic feet (tcf). Such a volume amounts to 30% more than all the gas produced in the United States for 2007.
Without the gas cap, Prudhoe oil production would have ceased years ago. It provides the energy to maintain pressure in Prudhoe’s reservoir, thereby sustaining oil production.
… Looking Ahead
The existing Alaska oil pipeline could still be operated at a small fraction of today’s rate, but a sudden production loss due to a cutoff of natural gas might force an end to oil production. If oil operations on the North Slope are to continue beyond 2020, major new resources will have to be discovered by 2015.
(24 November 2008)
UK: Coal’s return raises pollution threat
John Vidal, Observer
Rising prices are spurring plans for a big increase in mining despite a threat to climate change goals
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Britain is poised to expand its coal mining industry, despite fears that the move will lead to a rise in climate change emissions and harm communities and the environment.
Freedom of information requests and council records show that in the past 18 months 14 companies have applied to dig nearly 60 million tonnes of coal from 58 new or enlarged opencast mines. At least six coal-fired power stations are planned. If all the applications are approved, the fastest expansion of UK coal mining in 40 years could see southern Scotland and Northumberland become two of the most heavily mined regions in Europe.
The demand for new mines is being driven by dramatic increases in the price of coal. This has quadrupled in two years and has risen by 45 per cent since the start of this year. Opencast, or surface, mines are much cheaper than deep mines, but those living nearby can suffer years of pollution.
(23 November 2008)
Related at the Guardian: King coal wins battle of Smalley.
Oil giants talk tax to kill environment
Michael Rowney & Renfrey Clarke, Green Left
Evidence is mounting of a coordinated global oil industry effort to seize upon the international economic crisis as an opportunity to “rebel” against ecological controls and bludgeon concessions out of governments.
The assault on environmental and other regulation is being conducted under the cover of complaints about taxation.
The opening salvo was fired in late October by Chevron CEO Roy Krzywosinski, who told a major industry conference in Perth that he was so angry about the threat of carbon emissions regulations that his company might cut back its Australian operations.
A more important assault was announced on November 7, when BP’s new CEO, Tony Hayward, announced that BP was shelving plans to develop clean energy technology in Britain and shifting investment to the United States.
Specifically, BP is terminating its wind power, and carbon capture and storage, schemes in Britain. A BP spokesman told the Times newspaper, “We’re off to the US because that’s the best place to get a strong rate of return”.
US President-elect Barak Obama has promised to spend $US150 billion over the next 10 years to initiate a major renewable energy industry in the US. The oil companies have taken an intense interest in this because, under US tax law, they can offset oil profits against investment in renewables.
Worldwide Fund for Nature spokesperson Keith Allott described BP’s departure from Britain as deeply disappointing. “It seems incompatible with the company’s previous positioning of moving beyond petroleum”, he said.
The attitude of the oil companies towards environmentalists was expressed succinctly by oil industry journal PetroleumNews.Net: “Oil industry leaders have decided that low prices represent a perfect time to tackle the environmental lobby which has emerged in the western world as a major threat to future oil sector profits.”
(21 November 2008)
