Old Refineries Incapable Of Manufacturing Enough Light Hydrocarbons To Electrify The World

.
.
Check what you own or use that came from a petroleum base, and…mind the impending reality gap.

PA Pundits International

By Ronald Stein ~

The zero-emission movement in the wealthy countries are experiencing a “dangerous delusion” of a global transition to “just electricity” that eliminates the use of the three fossil fuels of crude oil, natural gas, and coal, that made society achieve so much in a few centuries. As old refineries accelerate their closure rates in the coming years, new Asia refineries are coming to the rescue! Does Asia’s rescue represent the good news or the bad news?

The future does not bode well as 20 percent of the 700 worldwide aging refineries are projected to close in the next 5 years that will result in less manufacturing with the loss of 140 sites to meet the ever growing demands of ships, jets, and the derivatives needed for all the products demanded by society. With less manufacturing in wealthy countries in the days ahead, further shortages and…

View original post 1,129 more words

SCOTUS and Climate Free Speech

.
.
Just finished reading this: Shell directors sued over ‘flawed’ climate plan in pioneering shareholder-led legal action
https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4074221/shell-directors-sued-flawed-climate-plan-pioneering-shareholder-led-legal-action

Science Matters

Donald J. Kochan writes at The Hill Climate change consumer deception lawsuits threaten free speech. Will the Supreme Court take note? Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images

Courts are increasingly taking a close look at the validity of climate change lawsuits against oil producers. And for good reason: These cases severely test the boundaries of court jurisdiction, the breadth of tort law, the protections of due process and even the sanctity of free speech.

As one example of this scrutiny, last Oct. 3, the U.S. Supreme Court signaled a serious interest in the proper forum and scope for climate change litigation.

In Suncor Energy (U.S.A.) Inc. v. Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County, the Supreme Court invited the solicitor general of the United States to weigh in, even though the United States is not a party to the litigation. The federal government is invited to…

View original post 665 more words

Climate Crisis Tide Turns For Big Oil

Big oil has grown tired of the threats and accusations of activists and governments alike, and in recent months, the executives of large oil companies are starting to fire back. Trying to appease climate obsessives has got them nowhere and some of the big players have had enough.
– – –
Constant accusations of knowing the effects of their products on the environment and lawsuits have become constant companions of oil companies in the last few years, says OilPrice.com.

The successes that activists have had—such as Friends of the Earth’s court win that obliged Shell to cut its emissions by 45 percent—have been celebrated loudly and globally.

Naturally, Big Oil tends to be the target of choice because of its size, but with governments in Europe and much of North America pledging their total support for an energy transition, the whole industry has become a target. And has been quiet about it all, probably on the assumption that trying to defend itself would make things worse. Until recently.

Andrew Neil accuses Keir Starmer of posing as Greta Thunberg over North Sea opposition

North Sea oil platform [image credit: matchtech.com]

Another victim of ‘net zero’ numptythink? Whether it’s gas, oil or coal, it’s always better to import fuel than use your own according to climate obsessives.
– – –
Veteran Scots broadcaster Andrew Neil has blasted Sir Keir Starmer over his opposition to new North Sea oil and gas as he accused him of posing as “the British Greta Thunberg”, reports the Scottish Daily Express.

The UK Labour leader came under fire after he told a panel at the World Economic Forum that if he became Prime Minister he would block any new explorations in the north-east of Scotland.

He joined the SNP and the Scottish Greens in agreeing that the oil and gas industry needs to be shuttered in a bid for the country to achieve its net zero goals.

However, this would leave thousands of workers in the north-east jobless, with Rishi Sunak confirming that he is aiming to protect their livelihoods.

In Davos, fuel-powered ‘activists’ warn against climate inaction and greenwashing

Davos

Best daytime temperature forecast for Davos in the next week is -3°C, overnight lows down to -16°C. Get back to us when so-called climate activists don’t use fuel-powered transport and heating, and all the rest of it, anymore.
– – –
As oil and gas executives rub shoulders with government leaders in Davos this week, activists have raised concerns about the risk of greenwashing and further delays in climate action, says Euractiv.

More than 50 heads of states, international organisations and business leaders are meeting in the Swiss Alpine resort of Davos this week for the 2023 meeting of the World Economic Forum.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Cooperation in a fragmented world”, a reference to the multiple crises and geopolitical tensions currently shaking the globe as Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its second year.

Discussions on the programme are heavily linked to climate change, but activists fear greenwashing will take centre stage as CEOs of oil and gas companies rub shoulders with global leaders.

UAE puts oil company boss in charge of Cop28 climate talks

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company or ADNOC is the state-owned oil company of the United Arab Emirates

Sounds like a sensible chap, on energy matters, but some ‘campaigners’ are already frothing. Pointing out that oil and gas demand is continuing to rise isn’t a crime, it’s just reality.
– – –
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has appointed Sultan Al-Jaber to be the president of the Cop28 climate talks in November, reports Climate Home News.

Al Jaber heads the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc), the twelfth largest oil company in the world, and the emirates’ much smaller renewable energy firm Masdar.

He has been a key figure in national climate and energy policy for over a decade. While Al Jaber has promoted renewable energy, in November 2021 he called for increased global investment in oil and gas.

“The oil and gas industry will have to invest over $600bn every year until 2030 just to keep up with the expected demand,” he told an Abu Dhabi oil conference.

UAE plans to have it both ways as Cop28 climate summit host

Work this one out. Hydrocarbon production is booming in the UAE, due to high demand. Its Dubai International Airport is the world’s busiest by passenger numbers. Next year it will host a conference that in theory at least wants to knock all that on the head, because… climate etc. At COP27 it fielded dozens of oil and gas lobbyists.
– – –
If there was a sign the United Arab Emirates is taking its role as host of the next UN climate talks seriously, the 1,073 delegates it registered to attend the Cop27 summit in Egypt would be it, says Climate Home News.

The Persian Gulf petrostate came out in force in Sharm el-Sheikh with the second largest delegation in the history of climate summits, including 70 oil and gas lobbyists – a flavour of what is to come.

The UAE takes on the UN climate talks presidency from the Egyptians at the end of November next year, when it hosts Cop28 on the site of the Dubai Expo.

Climate hysteria: Scottish Greens prefer imports to new Rosebank oil field?

North Sea oil platform [image credit: matchtech.com]

Worldwide oil consumption is close to 100 million barrels per day, and rising (apart from a small Covid-related slowdown). Rosebank is the proverbial drop in the ocean, and would reduce the need for imported oil. Demand has to be met from somewhere for the modern world to function, and Russian supply is off the menu.
– – –
H/T saighdear
. . .
Plans to create an oil field more than twice the size of the controversial Cambo development risk “wrecking” Scotland’s climate and setting net-zero targets back.

Rosebank, located north-west of Shetland, could produce over 70,000 barrels of oil every day at its peak under proposals brought before Westminster by Norwegian state-controlled company Equinor, says STV News.

However The Scottish Greens have branded the blueprints “a climate disaster” and urged the UK government to turn the bid down.

UK starts new licensing round for oil and gas exploration ‘despite climate fears’, says ITV News

North Sea gas rig [image credit: safety4sea.com]

Climate obsessives think importing energy from anywhere and everywhere is somehow better than producing it at home. Economics and geo-politics don’t get considered. They expect to wake up one day and find fuel power is history, despite it providing about 80% of the world’s energy. Time to abandon the dismal mythology.
– – –
The UK has started a new licencing round for oil and gas exploration despite the government’s pledge to achieving its net zero target, says ITV News.

Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has insisted the move will boost both the UK’s economy and energy security.

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has now begun the 33rd round of offshore licences, which are being made available for sectors of the North Sea – known as blocks – with the NSTA estimating that over 100 may be granted.

Shetland Island residents must earn £104,000 to avoid fuel poverty next year, warns official

Sullom Voe oil and gas terminal [image credit: shetland.org]

The climate hasn’t got colder, so something else has to take the blame. How did a place on the doorstep of various gas and oil fields, and even touted as ideal for wind power, get itself into such a state?
– – –
Some 96% of residents of the Shetland Islands could find themselves in fuel poverty by next April, according to a local official, who issued a stark warning about the future of the archipelago, reports Sky News.

Despite Scotland supplying much of the UK’s gas, islanders must earn a salary of £104,000 to avoid slipping into fuel poverty, according to the Leader of Shetland Islands Council.

The estimated average energy cost on the Shetland Islands will rise to £10,300 per household by next April, with the vast majority of residents spending 10% of their income on energy bills.

How governments and the cult of net zero wrecked the energy market – Telegraph

The headline says it all. Despite claiming ‘The original error was not with the science of climate change’ – well, we disagree there – the article charts the real course of the current energy fiasco quite well. Climate obsession has a lot to answer for.
– – –
Putin may be the proximate cause of this crisis, but the reason we were vulnerable was an intentional policy to crush fossil fuel investment, says The Telegraph.
. . .
And now? Well, now, as “big oil” might say: “We just walked in to find you here with that sad look upon your face.”

Europe needs gas. It is pleading for gas.

Instead of flying media to gas fields to court capital, the oil and gas men are being flown to the capitals of Europe and begged to invest.

Wind Turbine Collapses: ‘Leaking Oil Everywhere!’

Example of product type used by the wind industry

So much for ‘keeping it in the ground’, as climate obsessives like to intone to anyone who will listen to their anti-oil rants.
– – –
On Sunday, puzzled Swedish journalist and political commentator Peter Imanuelsen tweeted the news: “A wind power turbine just collapsed in Sweden”, says CNS News.

“People are being warned to keep their distance because…it is now leaking oil everywhere! “Wait, these “green” wind turbines use oil???”

West reaping consequences of “demonising oil and gas companies” says Qatari minister

Equating climate obsessions to facts is getting the offending governments into no end of economic trouble, which may well get even worse if current energy policies aren’t revised. They shouldn’t need to be told by visiting politicians that the wind and sun aren’t reliable energy sources.
– – –
Qatar is willing to help the UK with its cost of living crisis, the country’s energy minister has said – but he also criticised western countries who spent years “demonising oil and gas companies”, says Sky News.

In an exclusive interview, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi said that years of pushing for a rapid end to fossil fuel production and calling producers the “bad guys” had contributed to the current crisis.

He told Sky News that the root causes of the recent increase in gas and energy prices in Europe and beyond could be traced back many years before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Aramco dethrones Apple as the world’s most valuable company

Anti-fossil fuel types should ask themselves who’s doing all the buying and why. Whoever it may be, i.e. most countries, they don’t want to sit around waiting for renewables — which themselves need renewing every 20 years or so — to take over in some imaginary far distant future.
– – –
Saudi Aramco reported a net profit of $39.5 billion for the first quarter of the year on the back of increasingly strong crude oil prices, reports OilPrice.com.

The figure represented an 82-percent annual improvement and a record quarterly profit for Aramco since it went public three years ago.

Exxon Values Carbon Capture Market At $4 Trillion By 2050

A trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon you’re talking real money – or not? Where is this finance supposed to come from, and how is so-called ‘carbon’ capture supposed to be an investment opportunity? Try making an oil tanker without fossil fuels.
– – –
Exxon made a bold announcement on April 19th, 2022 says the Carbon Herald.

The oil major estimates that the carbon capture and storage market would be valued at $4 trillion by 2050.

The figure comes to 60% of the $6.5 trillion market for the oil and gas sector the company predicts by mid-century.

New inquiry into how the UK can (?) cut fossil fuels and accelerate net zero transition

[image credit: latinoamericarenovable.com]

Re-writing the laws of physics is not an option. The only thing accelerating at the moment is the downward spiral into energy poverty for ever larger numbers of the population, in manic pursuit of the mystical ‘net zero’ climate target. Another trip to cloud cuckoo land beckons for these blinkered climate obsessives.
– – –
The Environmental Audit Committee announced the inquiry in response to the rise in fossil fuel prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and continued speculation on what will be included in the government’s Energy Security Strategy, reports Energy Live News.

The Committee believes protecting consumers from high fossil fuel prices and fuel poverty while ensuring security of supply and continued progress towards net zero is critical for any strategy on energy security to be successful.

Ukraine: The Guardian seizes another chance to press for less fossil fuels

Germany’s main gas supplier: Russia

Headline: ‘Is Putin’s Ukraine invasion about fossil fuels?’ asks The Guardian. Then says ‘no’, but raises its usual climate alarm topic anyway.
– – –
The continent has grown over-reliant on Russian gas – but Putin knows he is vulnerable to Europe cleaning up its energy sector.
. . .
Is this really another war over fossil fuels?

No. Energy resources are not the focus of this threatened conflict.

Vladimir Putin has a long history of territorial ambitions in former Soviet nations, which he made explicit this week, and of attempts to exert political control over Ukraine.

Putin is said by supporters to be concerned over the possibility of Nato expansion, although many analysts say this is a pretext.

Neom: What’s the green truth behind a planned eco-city in the Saudi desert?

Who is this supposedly green all-renewable energy virtue signalling mega-project actually for, some are asking. The BBC attempts to look behind the curtain, while the Saudis confirm they want to keep selling oil until there either isn’t any more to sell or there are no buyers.
– – –
Glow-in-the dark beaches. Billions of trees planted in a country dominated by the desert. Levitating trains. A fake moon. A car-free, carbon-free city built in a straight line over 100 miles long in the desert.

These are some of the plans for Neom – a futuristic eco-city that is part of Saudi Arabia’s pivot to go green. But is it all too good to be true?

Neom claims to be a “blueprint for tomorrow in which humanity progresses without compromise to the health of the planet”.

Six new UK oil and gas fields to be fired up as Sunak takes action

Dismay for renewable energy fanatics, but common sense from the perspective that about 80% of total UK energy use is from fuel burning. Increasing the reliance on imports while ignoring available energy at home would be expensive and pointless.
– – –
Six North Sea oil and gas fields are set to be given the green light this year, according to newspaper reports this morning.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has asked Kwasi Kwarteng, the Business Secretary, to fast-track the licenses amid Treasury fears over the economic impact of making the UK a net zero carbon emitter by 2050, says AGCC news.

Joe Biden has issued more oil drilling permits than Donald Trump, despite gushing climate change promises

Oil extraction [image credit: ewg.org]

Politicking turns out to be more important than supposed climate ‘ambition’. As one observer commented: “Objectively, he over-promised and under-delivered”. Claims to be trying to save the planet from unthinkable climate nasties – which lacked credibility anyway – are left looking even more threadbare.
– – –
Joe Biden issued more oil and gas drilling permits than Donald Trump in his first year as president despite pledging to halt the practice as part of ambitious climate change goals, says The Telegraph.

When he entered the White House, Mr Biden identified climate change as one of four priorities and promised a dramatic reversal after the tenure of Mr Trump, who frequently mocked climate science.

However, federal data shows the Biden administration approved 3,557 permits for oil and gas drilling on public lands in its first year, far outpacing the Trump administration’s 12-month total of 2,658.

The yawning gulf between Mr Biden’s policies on oil, gas and coal extraction and his initial promises has threatened to throw his climate credentials into disarray.