According to  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Feb 27, 2007 — BUSINESS WIRE

ECOtality, Inc. (OTC BB: ETLY), a technology innovator that addresses the global energy challenge by developing and commercializing eco-friendly technologies, today brings the first hydrogen fuel cell bus to Arizona. The ECObus is the result of a partnership with Arizona Public Service (APS) company, and will begin its tour of Arizona at today’s Clean Cities Coalition event at Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza. During its statewide tour, the public is invited to step onto the zero-emission mobile learning center and experience hydrogen fuel cell technology.

As the state’s first hydrogen-powered bus, the ECObus serves as a mobile classroom for hydrogen fuel cell technology. Complete with an audio visual system and interactive workstations, the ECObus is equipped to educate the community – from school children to civic decision makers – about hydrogen’s potential as an alternative to carbon fuel-burning vehicles. Compressed hydrogen fuel stored at APS Hydrogen Park will power the bus throughout the tour.

“APS is committed to supporting natural and clean energy development for the state of Arizona. In addition, this partnership presents a good opportunity to further educate students and the public about renewable energy,” said Peter Johnston, manager, technology development, APS.

“The launch of ECOtality’s ECObus is an important milestone for Arizona and is helping the state remain a leader in clean, alternative fuel use,” said Bill Sheaffer, executive director, Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition. “We’re proud to be working with organizations like ECOtality and APS, whose commitments to clean technologies significantly impact our environment for the better and serve as an example for communities worldwide.”

When used in a fuel cell, hydrogen produces electricity without any harmful emissions; its byproduct is a small amount of water vapor. This is in sharp contrast to today’s conventional vehicles which – fueled by petroleum and powered by internal combustion engines – contribute significantly to the greenhouse gases and other noxious substances being emitted into the atmosphere daily. As such, hydrogen is an ideal renewable energy source, answering today’s complex energy problems with its ability to power cars, trucks, homes and business with no pollution or greenhouse gases.

“The ECObus will play a key role in helping our community better understand green technologies and underscores the reality that hydrogen fuel is an accessible, safe and reliable energy option,” said Jonathan Read, CEO, ECOtality. “Our work with APS and Clean Cities Coalition to bring this educational campaign to Arizona is part of ECOtality’s mission to cultivate renewable energy and clean technology solutions that change the way we power our lives.”

The ECObus, one of only 12 hydrogen fuel cell buses in North America, will begin its tour on February 27, 2007 showcasing the capabilities of hydrogen fuel cell technology. For more information about the ECObus, visit www.ecotality.com.

Jimmy : LET’S GO FOR FUEL CELL BUS SINGAPORE !

Simon : Well, let’s analyse where Hydrogen is made of in America….hydrogen is an energy carrier, not an energy source. Electrolysis, which requires electricity, is used to extract hydrogen from water. As of 2005, 49.7% of the electricity produced in the United States comes from coal, 19.3% comes from nuclear, 18.7% comes from natural gas, 6.5% from hydroelectricity, 3% from petroleum and the remaining 2.8% mostly coming from geothermal, solar and biomass. This Hydrogen Fuel Cell maybe much cleaner to be used in America as they have diversified their electricity sources with TRUE RENEWABLE ENERGY such as Hydroelectricity, Geothermal, Solar, Biomass and others from much more expensive fossil fuels like natural gas, petroleum, coal and nuclear….in America…

The cost of using Hydrogen fuel cell power vehicle in Singapore is too expensive as we have only few types of electrical power plants that requires imported fossil fuels. As per 2006, 80% of Singapore’s power generation is by Natural gas and the rest by bitumen from Venezuela and other oil based fossil fuel….hence it’s not much cleaner or CHEAPER to use hydrogen fuel cell in Singapore.

If we use Natural gas powered vehicles….maybe there is a higher EROEI ratio…instead of converting to electricity and use the electricity to get hydrogen from electrolysis of H2O. Let’s hope there will be more TRUE renewable energies being promoted as soon as possible!!!

According to Yahoo!News :

(Kyodo) _ China last year missed a voluntary target to improve energy efficiency, a key policy in the country’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle global warming, state media reported Wednesday.

China set itself the task of improving energy efficiency — the amount of energy required to produce one unit of gross domestic product — by 4 percent last year, but it managed an improvement of just 1.23 percent, according to Xinhua News Agency.

And figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics show that overall energy consumption rose sharply in 2006, with the consumption of coal — which supplies most of China’s energy needs — up by 9.6 percent last year to 2.37 billion tons, Xinhua said.

Crude oil consumption was up by 7.1 percent and natural gas use increased by 19.9 percent, statistics show.

Although China is not obliged by international agreements to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases it pumps into the atmosphere, it has pledged to improve energy efficiency by a total of 20 percent over the current five-year plan period, which runs until 2010.

Despite the failure to meet its target for last year, Yang Fuqiang, vice president of the U.S.-based Energy Foundation, said it is too early to say whether or not the overall target is achievable because the policy was introduced only in the middle of last year.

Because this kind of policy needs time to implement, he said, this year and next will be the key years. China must be on track to improve energy efficiency by then or the policy “definitely fails,” added Yang.

Earlier this month, China admitted the country is being affected by global warming — with higher air temperatures and more natural disasters — and promised to cut greenhouse gas emissions that cause the phenomenon.

- China is going to tackle the global warming effects….We should also DO THE SAME!

According to CNN Money :

A direct method of converting methane into useful chemical compounds could reduce the release of the potent greenhouse gas at isolated oil fields.

About 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas are burned off or simply vented at remote oil rigs and refineries that are not connected by pipelines. The practice wastes a precious fuel and pumps methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Technologies for compressing or liquefying natural gas in order to transport it are expensive and only make sense at large oil fields. So, researchers have been looking for viable technologies to convert the natural gas found at small, isolated oil fields into compounds that are easier to transport and distribute.

A new breakthrough by chemists at the Munich University of Technology, in Germany, and Dow Chemical, in Midland, MI, could lead to a technology for turning methane, the main component of natural gas, into easily transportable and valuable chemicals. Because of its simplicity, the new chemistry could be employed at natural-gas reserves that are in remote locations with no infrastructure to transfer the gas to markets. About half of the world’s known natural-gas reserves of 170 trillion cubic meters are in such deposits, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Specifically, the researchers found a simple way to convert methane into methyl chloride, which can easily be converted into petrochemicals such as ethylene or propylene, used to make plastics. Ethylene and propylene, says Johannes Lercher, a chemistry professor at the Munich University of Technology, are far easier to transport than methane is.

The current process for making methyl chloride takes a lot of energy and involves multiple steps, including first converting methane into a combination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. In an online paper in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the Munich and Dow researchers demonstrate a straightforward technique that uses much less energy. They show that mixing methane, hydrogen chloride, and oxygen in the presence of a lanthanum catalyst yields methyl chloride. “Capital and complexity frequently go hand in hand,” says Mark Jones, a plastics and hydrocarbons researcher at Dow. “The general trend is that reducing processing steps is good.”

The technique could have one drawback, though: it uses chlorine, a toxic gas. The researchers’ plan includes recycling the hydrogen chloride and repeatedly using it for the reaction. “In the vision we’re playing with, the chlorine would not ever get on a boat,” says Eric Strangland, a chemistry and catalysis researcher at Dow and a coauthor of the paper.

However, companies that are not used to handling chlorine might initially be intimidated by the technique, says Bert Weckhuysen, a chemistry professor at Utrecht University, in the Netherlands. “Dow has a long experience with chloride chemistry, so working with chloride streams is not a big deal [for them],” Weckhuysen says. “Others companies could, at least in the beginning, be scared off due to the requirement of being able to work with chloride compounds. It requires infrastructure.”

The process will also face competition. New gas-to-liquids technology, which converts natural gas into synthetic liquid fuels, is starting to become popular as an alternative to liquefied natural gas, and it’s garnering the attention of oil giants like Exxon and Shell. It has not yet been widely used, though, because it’s expensive to implement: it requires a lot of energy and large facilities. Weckhuysen says that if Dow could develop an affordable commercial process based on it new reaction, it could compete with gas-to-liquids technology.

Another competitor, Gas Reaction Technologies, based in Santa Barbara, CA, is commercializing a technology to directly convert natural gas into liquid fuels and chemicals. The process is very similar to the new Dow process, except it uses bromine instead of chlorine. Gas Reaction Technologies, which is working with several partners, including Cargill, expects to have facilities going within three to five years, says Eric McFarland, the company’s CEO.

- Great news?

According to TheStarOnline :

CHINA has set a target of increasing renewable energy use from the present 10% to 20% of the total energy consumption by 2020 to meet the increasing demand and reduce the greenhouse effect.  

“Wind power has the greatest potential in renewable energy, and biomass will help in fuel consumption,” said Wind Energy Association vice-chairman Shi Pengfei.  

But renewable energy had its problems such as high costs and poor research and development, he said.  

According to Li Junfeng, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission’s Energy Research Institute, by the end of October last year, the total installed capacity of wind and solar power in the country was 2.3 million kilowatts and 300 megawatts respectively, a rise of 85% and 100% over 2005.  

But shortage of funds hindered technological innovation in the bio-fuel sector, such that power generation grew by only 10% last year.  

Renewable energy is expected to help the country reduce environmental pollution and eco-damage. The future of sustainable economic development relies on the improvement of efficiency, a United Nations Environmental Programme official said. – China Daily / Asia News Network 

- China as one of the highest in population is doing their bid to use renewable energy! What ARE WE WAITING FOR?

According to CNN :

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) — Three French nationals, some of them Muslims, were shot dead in Saudi Arabia on Monday in what appeared to be a militant attack, the Interior Ministry said.

A ministry statement said a group of eight French nationals came under fire near the town of Tabuk and a nearby historical site, Madain Saleh, in the northwest of the vast desert country as they were heading to the holy city of Mecca for a pilgrimage.

Two of the group died at the scene and one of the two wounded died later in hospital, said the statement carried by the official news agency SPA. A state television report earlier said 4 had died.

The group included four men, three women and a child, the ministry said. It said two of the dead were men. A security source said the attackers had singled out the men when shooting.

“Three are dead and I am not sure about the state of the fourth one,” a Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman told Saudi television.

In Paris, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy confirmed the deaths.

“I have been informed that several of our compatriots residing in Riyadh were the victims of an armed attack today,” Douste-Blazy said.

“Three of them died in this attack. Another was wounded and taken to hospital in Medina,” he said in a statement.

Militants swearing allegiance to al Qaeda launched a violent campaign to topple the U.S.-allied Saudi monarchy in 2003, with suicide bomb attacks on foreigners and government installations including the oil industry.

There had been no major attacks targeting foreigners since 2004, when the campaign was at its height.

Frenchman Laurent Barbot was shot dead in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah by suspected al Qaeda militants in September 2004.

The last major attack was an attempt to storm an oil facility at Abqaiq in the east of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.

-OMG! Any attack in Saudi may spell higher oil prices!? Do hope these fanatics don’t try anything funny…otherwise their lives and our lives are all in jeopardy!

According to news-journalOnline.com :

“Every 24 hours,” journalist Paul Roberts writes, “we burn 81 million barrels of crude.”

For oil producers, it’s getting more difficult to locate the large fields where oil can be cheaply pumped. So high prices will likely continue, ultimately leading to change — be it the rise of alternative fuels or a scaling back of our consumptive practices, says Roberts, author of “The End of Oil,” a celebrated 2004 book on the subject.

In this edited interview he gave last week by telephone from his Washington state home, Roberts provided a glimpse into his views on oil, the subject of a lecture he’ll deliver Wednesday night at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.

The title of your book is “The End of Oil” What do you mean by that?

You can already see oil companies struggling to replace the oil they sell. We’re certainly running to the end of the cheap oil.

If you were to draw a map of the world of areas where we have extracted oil and where we haven’t explored, what would be left?

There’s the realists’ oil map and the optimists’ oil map. For the realists, the big oil has already been found. It’s in the Middle East, a bit in Russia. Otherwise, you need big investments to find little fields. The optimists say we’ve got improving technology. We haven’t looked at Greenland and the northern top of the planet. But if oil is to be found in east Greenland, that’s where the oil companies would be; they wouldn’t be getting their heads blown off in Iraq.

Why do we seem to lack the political will to do anything about rising oil consumption?

All politics is, at its roots, economic. For most of the last century, oil has been really cheap. There have been periods of high prices, such as in the 1970s, when you would hear we have to go to wind and solar power and other alternatives. But every time the price goes high . . . (oil producers) look and they find more oil, the price drops and consumers stop worrying about it. Then lawmakers aren’t going to worry about it. That’s the pattern.

Do you see leadership emerging on this issue?

At the state level, California — with its climate and energy initiatives — has always been a leader. At the national level, it’s gonna be really tough. We’re entering into a new election cycle in 2008, and you can’t trust (candidates) to do anything. Energy unfortunately is not yet a top-tier issue. They’d much rather go after gay marriage and whatever’s easier.

WHAT: “Depletion and Denial: Oil and the U.S. in the 21st Century,” an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Honors Program Distinguished Speakers Series lecture.WHO: Journalist Paul Roberts, author of “The End of Oil,” and other works.

- This article did only part of what peak oil theory really means…do check on the topic on the right side on “Peak Oil” to find out more similar articles!

According to FXStreet.com :

Mon, Feb 26 2007, 15:14 GMT

LONDON, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Oil resumed its climb away from $61 on Monday as world powers prepared to discuss tightening U.N. sanctions on Iran, the world’s fourth biggest oil exporter.

Commodities rallied across the board with gold at a nine-month high, nickel at a new record and copper also firm.

U.S. crude <CLc1> was up 52 cents at $61.66 a barrel by 1510 GMT. The market has recorded a higher closing level for the past three sessions and hit a 2007 high of $61.80 on Friday.

London Brent was up 61 cents at $61.49.

Some analysts see a growing upward momentum for oil and note the latest data from the New York Mercantile Exchange points to an increase in investment by large funds.

“It is the first time this year that the large speculative funds are showing a net long position in crude oil,” said Olivier Jakob, an analyst at Swiss-based Petromatrix.

Oil prices have swung between a high of $78.40 last July, when fighting flared in Lebanon, and a 20-month low of $49.90 in January when an expected influx of fund money failed to materialise, disappointing oil investors.

A steady recovery in prices since late January has been supported by gradually tightening supplies — OPEC has twice cut output since November — and by concerns over a possible disruption of Iran’s oil supplies.

IRAN

Officials from the U.N. Security Council plus Germany will meet in London later on Monday to consider possible further steps after the latest U.N. deadline for Tehran to halt its nuclear programme came and went unheeded.

“Iran is a key factor for oil prices recovering from just below $50. However, it is a psychological factor and many market players are sceptical at the same time,” said Tetsu Emori, the chief strategist at Mitsui Bussan Futures.

At the weekend, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran’s nuclear programme has “no brake and no reverse gear” and a deputy foreign minister said Iran was prepared even for war.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said it needed a “stop button.” Vice President Dick Cheney said all options were on the table following Iran’s refusal to heed the U.N. deadline.

Last Thursday’s unexpected drop in weekly U.S. gasoline stocks has also helped push prices higher.

The focus of oil traders and refiners has shifted from heating oil to gasoline as the market readies for peak summer motor fuel demand in top consumer the United States.

“The shift towards summer grade gasoline is the catalyst we believe will continue to underpin refining margins and, if followed by the funds as has been the trend, may provide the impetus for a seasonal push higher by oil,” Citigroup analysts said in a report.

OPEC, which pumps more than a third of the world’s oil, also has its sights on the second quarter when demand for its crude typically slows from a winter peak.

The group’s new Secretary-General told Reuters its existing supply cuts should balance the market if compliance were improved.

“If we are able to improve the percentage of the cut this will do the trick,” said Abdullah al-Badri. (Additional reporting by Ikuko Kao in Tokyo)

- Uh Oh…another round of roller coaster ride for all man kind! Get ready for your seat belt! If Iraq and Iran combined to have oil disruption…with Nigeria Unrest…and OPEC cuts….maybe this will be an interesting Peak Summer indeed! Higher temperature with peak driving season approaching might just see a warmer pricing in oil prices soon…unless Iran settle for a better negotiation with the UN…or spark an spike in oil prices with military conflict!! Roll the dice!!

According to Yahoo!Asia News :

NEW DELHI, Feb 26 (Reuters) – India’s fuel demand jumped 7.3 percent in January from a year ago, led by naphtha and diesel, extending a period of rapid demand growth in Asia’s third-largest consumer, official data showed on Monday.

Sale of refined oil products, a proxy for oil demand, rose to 10.46 million tonnes, the data showed.

The growth came a month after India’s first reduction in domestic fuel prices and just ahead of its second, pushed through two weeks ago to combat inflation at a two-year high. Pump prices of petrol have fallen by 4.5 percent and diesel by 3.2 percent.

Diesel sales, which account for nearly a third of consumption, rose 8.2 percent in January from a year earlier to 3.71 million tonnes (900,000 barrels per day).

But oil demand was also fuelled by growing industrial use of feedstock naphtha, as fertiliser firms and some power plants struggled to get enough cheaper natural gas. Domestic naphtha sales surged 28 percent, their third double-digit rise in a row.

“Higher consumption by petrochemical plants and the restarting of the Dabhol power plant have added to naphtha growth,” said a government source.

India has been importing naphtha to run the Dabhol project in the western state of Maharashtra, which was fired up in October after demand for its power picked up.

Despite the increase in consumption, however, the data showed an unexpected trebling in naphtha exports to 1.3 million tonnes for January, although this was partly offset by imports, which rose by nearly 154 percent to 476,900 tonnes.

“Higher naphtha imports resulted in more domestic surplus available for exports,” said the oil ministry official, who did not wish to be identified.

“(Gas) scarcity appears to have extended into January, since one of the main source of LNG imports, Qatar’s RasGas 2 plant, declared force majeure … and deferred two cargo loadings contracted by India’s Petronet,” said an International Energy Agency report.

Motor fuel sales also rose due to a court ruling banning the overloading of trucks, forcing more vehicles on to the roads.

“High GDP growth especially in manufacturing sector is also reflected in the petroleum product sales,” the official said.

EXPORT RISE

Oil product exports in January rose 173 percent to 6.1 million tonnes, driven by naphtha and jet fuel.

Fitch in its outlook for the Indian oil and gas sector for 2007 has said, “with the increase in refining capacity in 2006, domestic overcapacity will country, leading to higher exports.”

India forecast an increase in oil product exports to 93 million tonnes in 2012 from 21.5 million tonnes in 2005/06.

Oil product imports rose by 21.7 percent to 1.2 million tonnes, mainly due to diesel and naphtha imports.

Reliance Industries Ltd. , Indian Petrochemical Corp. Ltd. and Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. have imported over 1.2 million tonnes of naphtha this year.

Crude oil imports during January rose 0.7 percent to 9.08 million tonnes. India imports nearly 70 percent of its total crude oil requirement in a year.

- What can we say….India is one of the highest populated countries next to China…and soon will join the ranks of USA and China to be one of the highest user of fossil fuel!! Great! Higher demand will boost the price of oil and gas…considering the situation in Iran currently…the price might just get higher…?

According to peakoil -> scotsman.com :

HIGH taxes and falling prices will force the UK’s £9bn gas industry to cancel projects and scale back its operations in the North Sea, an industry leader has warned.

Mike Simpson, the UK business manager of Tullow Oil, said gas companies dealing with low prices were suffering because they had to pay the same 50% corporation tax rate as oil producers.

Simpson revealed that Tullow planned to cancel a production programme in one of its North Sea fields because it had become uneconomic.

He said: “There is going to be a crunch in the gas business soon. The door will shut quite dramatically. It has already started – companies are pulling rigs out of the market.”

He also warned that failure to ease the tax burden on gas could lead to hundreds of millions of pounds worth of the fuel being left below the North Sea.

“The Chancellor set his tax increase on the basis of oil at $50 a barrel,” he said. “The price of gas is nowhere near the equivalent of that.

“If this continues, the infrastructure will be gone. We think there is a case for gas to be made a special case and to develop indigenous resources for the good of the country.”

The UK’s gas industry produced £9bn of the fuel at wholesale prices last year and supports thousands of jobs. Simpson said demand from oil firms meant rigs were being hired out at £100,000 per day, a rate which gas producers were finding it increasingly difficult to meet.

“We are competing with oil companies for those rigs,” he said.

Simpson’s comments were backed by Jeff Corray, KPMG’s corporate finance partner in Aberdeen and a leading industry adviser.

He said: “This industry works on long-term planning. They can’t just switch the supply off and then on again. There is a danger that assets could be left unexploited and the industry needs to be in partnership with the government to encourage activity.”

Corray highlighted the fact that unseasonably warm weather in several regions of the world had reduced demand and depressed prices.

Industry rumours suggest Gordon Brown may impose another tax rise on the industry.

Corray warned against such a move. “If that turns to reality it will have an impact on the sector in general,” he said.

“We can’t afford another tax rise. This industry is about stability, and it needs confidence. Right now there is a lack of confidence.”

Malcolm Webb, the chief executive of the UK Offshore Operators Association, said that the 17p per therm rate which gas producers received was roughly equivalent to $17 per barrel of oil, not far above the level where the North Sea becomes uneconomic.

-Higher cost and lower oil prices may cause projects to be cancelled and oil fields to be abandoned totally.

According to PeakOil -> Trade Arabia :

Saudi Arabia has discovered an oil field in the east of the country near the giant Ghawar field.

‘Saudi Aramco has discovered a new oil field south east of Ghawar field,’ the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) quoted oil minister Ali Al Naimi as saying. ‘On February 11, oil from the Derwaza-1 well … flowed at a rate of 3,915 bpd associated with 11.9 million cubic feet of gas daily,’ he added.

The well, 70 km (43.5 miles) south of Ghawar, is expected to produce at higher levels, he said. He gave no further details on the size of the find or potential future production.

Saudi Arabia claims about 260 billion barrels of reserves, nearly a quarter of the world’s total, according to the BP Statistical Review.

Saudi oil officials say it also has gas reserves of 242 trillion cubic feet, making it the world’s fifth largest holder of proven gas reserves.

It faces increasing demand for natural gas from its rapidly growing population and new petrochemical and industrial projects.-Reuters

- Ahhhh….another claim after another…yet 3,915 bpd sounds too little to be excited….but helps the world calm down a bit…but the world daily consumption is about 85 million bpd of oil….shock?