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Tag: natural gas

  • Encinal Texas Pipeline Explosion Creates a Fiery Scene

    A natural gas pipeline explosion made for a fiery scene in the small town of Encinal, Texas Friday morning.

    A pipeline operated by Lew Energy Group burst around 5:15 am ET Friday. The cause of the blast is yet unknown.

    Thankfully, there were no injuries reported.

    It did prompt some precautionary evacuations, however – about 30 to 40 people.

    A local elementary school was also shut down for safety reasons.

    Some witnesses to the explosion took to Twitter to post accounts:

  • Wyoming Explosion Clears Out Town of 98

    Wyoming Explosion Clears Out Town of 98

    An explosion at a natural gas plant in Wyoming has prompted the evacuation of the town of Opal, population 98. Opal is situated roughly five miles from the Williams Gas Plant, which was shut down after an explosion occurred on-site at about 2 p.m. MDT Wednesday.

    Williams Gas Plant spokesperson Michele Swaner reported that there were no injuries in the incident, and the Wyoming Department of Transportation confirmed that no one was hurt. Swaner added that all 42 plant workers have been accounted for, and that arrangements are being made to assist evacuees affected by the explosion.

    Lincoln County public information officer Stephen Malik said, “Last information we have, there’s still no confirmed reports of any injuries, and we’ve evacuated the town of Opal as a precaution.”

    Swaner also stated that the exact cause of the explosion is still under investigation – “It’s a big gas processing plant, it’s huge, and we believe the fire and explosion occurred in our turboexpander … and we have five of them at that facility so the explosion and fire occurred in that area.”

    Opal is a town in Lincoln County, Wyoming, United States comprising 38 households and 28 families, as of 2010. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.39 square miles. Males in Opal have a median income of $50,750 versus $0 for females.

    How to pronounce “Opal, Wyoming” is explained by an android here:

    Opal evacuees are currently staying at area hotels including Little America and a Best Western.

    Image via Facebook

  • Propane Shortage Leads to Price Surge in Midwest US

    Much fuss has been made about the polar vortex that swept across the US this winter, bringing with it the lowest temperatures the United States has seen in decades. The Midwest, Northeast, South are the areas which have been hit the hardest. Because of these unnaturally cold temperatures and above-average amounts of snowfall, everyday life in these areas has essentially come to a halt. Businesses and schools have been closed, roads have been impassable, and energy bills have been through the roof. (Yeah, I’m looking at you, Delta.) Unfortunately, it looks as if the situation is going to get worse before it improves.

    A combination of factors has led to a shortage in propane supplies here in the United States. Despite the fact that production of propane has grown quite a bit in the last few years, supplies are lower due to higher exportation of propane to international countries in which supplies are low (Japan and Latin America, in particular). Not only have supplies been affected by higher exportation, but last year’s corn harvest in October drastically cut into propane supplies. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), “For corn to be stored, it first needs to be dried, using large-scale heaters that often use propane for fuel. A late-2013 corn harvest, along with cold wet weather, resulted in strong demand for propane at distribution terminals in the Upper Midwest.”

    In December, a 1,900 mile long, 70,000 barrels per day pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the Midwestern states in the US was shutdown for maintenance. This, coupled with the fact that another pipeline in Canada exploded this Saturday, has crippled the supply of propane here in the US.

    The worst culprit, however, has been the freezing temperatures. Throughout January, temperatures have been lucky to climb out of the 20’s in the Midwest and Northeast, with certain areas in the South even seeing sub-zero highs. As the temperatures go down, thermostats have a tendency to go up. As a result, consumers have been using much more gas to heat their homes, resulting in an emergency-declaring energy shortage.

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    “It’s not a permanent shortage and we won’t run out, but there are no avenues to deal with this shortage today other than a break in the weather,” stated Brandon Scholz of the Wisconsin Propane Gas Association. Wisconsin is one of 24 states that have declared an energy emergency, a declaration which lifts the regulations on how many hours a truck-driver can stay on the road in one trip, extending drive-time from 11 to 14 hours.

    Short supplies also carry an increased price, something which has made propane customers irate. On Friday, propane in the Midwest was priced at $4.30 per gallon, surprisingly down from its peak at $5 per gallon. To put this figure in perspective, before the freezing temperatures hit, the average price of propane was $1.75 per gallon.

    The increase in prices has led many people to wonder if gas companies are taking advantage of the weather and have started price gouging. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has gone as far as asking the Federal Trade Commission to review the change in prices to “ensure that any supply shortages are not created artificially.”

    For now, the only advice to get through this energy crisis seems to be to simply turn the thermostat down and bundle up. That is until Fox decides to bring Hank Hill out of retirement to save the day.

    Image via YouTube

  • Natural Gas Vehicle Sales to Rise in Coming Decade

    Electric cars are currently getting most of the attention paid to alternative fuel vehicles, and for good reason. The technology behind such vehicles is set to improve at a fast pace in the coming years, and the infrastructure to support them will also be built out quickly. However, another form of alternative energy is already selling more than electric vehicles, and is predicted to do so for at least the remainder of the decade.

    Market research firm Navigant Research today released a new report predicting that vehicles that run on natural gas will continue to become more popular in the coming years. The firm estimates that the number of natural gas vehicles (NVGs) sold in 2020 will be 3.3 million – a full 50% increase from the estimated 2.2 million natural gas vehicles that are to be sold this year.

    “Several forces are combining to drive sustained growth in the NGV market,” said Dave Hurst, principal research analyst at Navigant. “Vehicle manufacturers are facing increasingly strict fuel economy and emissions requirements that NGVs can help to meet, and many governments are offering purchase incentives to vehicle buyers. The most aggressive incentives, in several states within the United States, as well as in France and Italy, include tax rebates that cover much of the incremental purchase cost for these vehicles.”

    Navigant estimates that the lower price of natural gas will inevitably propel the industry forward. Natural gas compressed for use in vehicles is currently estimated to cost 41% less than than gasoline. However, the equipment used in natural gas vehicles requires a higher up-front cost, meaning that it may take years for natural gas vehicles to save drivers money on fuel.

  • Natural Gas: Prices Rally With Rising Population, Middle-East Turmoil

    Spot prices of natural gas topped $3.72 per million Btu last week – the highest in two months – following the U.S. Energy Department’s weekly storage report that showed a tighter supply vs demand scenario.

    The Natural Gas Storage Report, updated weekly by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) since 2002 – includes summaries on natural gas market prices and storage reserves estimates.

    As the greater Middle-East undergoes profound Islamic awakening and political turmoil, energy prices are expected to remain high in the coming years.

    United States and Europe have been excruciatingly slow to wean themselves away from addiction to Middle-Eastern energy supplies, and the current reserves in 48 contiguous states amount to 3.299 trillion cubic feet, down 187 billion cubic feet (5.4%) from last year’s level.

    Production from shale using latest technological breakthroughs including combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have not yet brought North American energy outlook to the promised land.

    Rising economies, led by China, the 800-lb gorilla of East-Asia, have made certain that global demand for natural gas will remain high and supplies will remain tight for decades to come.

    According to British Petroleum’s latest statistical review of global energy, proven global natural gas reserves stood at 187.3 trillion cubic metres, sufficient to meet only 55.7 years of production, due to population explosion in Asia and Africa.

    The world population is more than 7 Billion, with Asia producing 74 million births, or two Canadas each year.

    Middle-East has the highest reserves to production ratio, with vast supplies locked under the hostile territory of Islamic Republic of Iran as well as the more friendly Arab Gulf States including Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

    If the monarchies of natural gas rich Sunni States are destabilized or toppled by Islamic Jihadis in next 10-15 years, the entire energy sector will turn on its head. Natural gas and oil prices will explode to levels never seen before.

    The American economy and the US dollar, already under powerful assault from China and greater East-Asia, will be mortally wounded. To safeguard American people’s future, domestic energy supplies must be expeditiously sought, and relationship with Russia, a natural ally in the fight against global terror must be repaired.

    Let prices of natural gas fluctuate naturally, but US policymakers must make sure that supply of energy exceeds demand to keep American manufacturing costs competitive and household bills tolerable.

    [image from BP Statistical Review]

  • Al-Qaeda Plot to Bomb Yemeni Industries Foiled

    The country of Yemen has foiled a plot by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (also known as Ansar al-Sharia). The plot comes in the wake of warnings from al Qaeda that would impact travelling Americans, as well as the shutting down of many American embassies in Africa and the Middle East.

    Considered the most active and dangerous cell in the international terror syndicate, 3 operatives of AQAP were nabbed with “weapons, explosives, and maps of foreign enemies,” according to a report to Yemeni news agency SABA. The operatives also had marked the houses of other important individuals on their map.

    The Hill says that the planned response was most likely a retaliation for a recent offensive conducted by the Yemeni military in joint operation with U.S. drones and intelligence, all as part of a coordinated assault on AQAP-related targets in the Yemeni region.

    NBC reports Rajeh Badi, a press advisor to Yemen’s prime minister, as saying to Reuters that the plot would have involved “dozens of al Qaeda militants dressed in Yemeni army uniforms on the night of the 27th of Ramadan… the plot aimed to seize the al-Dabbah oil export terminal in Hadramout and the Balhaf gas export facility, as well as the city of Mukalla.”

    The Balhaf gas plant is a $4.5 billion facility, and is considered one of the most strategic projects in Yemen. The al-Dabbah oil export terminal is equally as strategic, as oil and gas represent 70 percent of Yemen’s exports and about 90 percent of Yemen’s foreign currency revenue. The al Qaeda takeover failed because of heightened security and tighter entry control, specifically for these two facilities.

    The Christian Science Monitor finds it interesting that the foiled attacks are coming in the wake of the NSA leaking scandal, implying that more cynical commentators believe the opportunity is ripe for the NSA to highlight its more useful procedures while pushing its Orwellian programs to the back-burner. The U.S. has launched four drone strikes in the last 10 days, which have apparently killed one terrorist per strike.

  • Rig Blowout Leads To Evacuation Of 47 Workers

    As of late, the gulf coast has become more well-known for oil spills and natural disasters than its natural beauty and once bountiful fishing and shrimping. A major oil spill in 2010 caused major damage to the area, damage that is still being dealt with.

    The latest event is this line of tragedy occurred today as a blowout on a natural gas rig off of the Louisiana coast lead to an unexpected leak. The blowout occurred 40 miles south and 15 west of Grand Isle at about 9:50 a.m.

    In the wake of the leak 47 workers on the rig were evacuated. No injuries or fires have been reported in relation to the leak and the gas released is expected to dissipate with minimal impact. The Coast Guard has been monitoring the resulting gas cloud from the air.

    The rig, which is owned by the company Hercules Offshore, was said to be working on completing what is called a “sidetrack-well” in the industry. “Sidetrack-wells” are used to reenter gas wells and are usually used when the original entry becomes damaged.

    Hercules has yet to release full details of the event, but it looks as if it will be less harmful to the area than past spills.