Deja vu all over again :>)
News dump, today's TOD. You can link here theoildrum.com
to follow up, but ...
The dragon and the elephant in a contest for oil
The elephant appears to be trailing the dragon through the jungles of the oil world.
The state-owned Indian Oil Corporation is in talks to acquire Gulfsands Petroleum, a UK company active in Syria. It was only last August that Sinochem, China’s fourth-largest oil company, bought Emerald Energy, Gulfsands’s partner in Syria.
Is this a battle India can win? Is it a battle India should even be fighting?
Yemen's Big Concern
In 2002,Yemen’s oil production peaked at more than 450 000 barrels of oil per day. A few years later, in 2006, Yemen produced almost 390 000 barrels of oil per day (140 million barrels annually). Of this oil, 55 million barrels (40% of the production) were used by Yemen itself, and the rest – 85 million barrels – was exported.
Two years later, in 2008, Yemen produced only 305 000 barrels of oil per day (110 million barrels annually), and during the first 10 months of the year almost 40 million barrels were exported. If we assume that the country managed to export 50 million barrels in total throughout the year (which is doubtful, since oil production was declining), domestic consumption has risen from 55 million barrels to 60 million barrels (55% of the production) in two years. This is in line with figures indicating that domestic consumption rose by another 2.5 million barrels from 2008 to 2009.
Chavez battered by energy crisis
CARACAS, Venezuela (UPI) -- With no substantial rain in sight, the electricity crisis hitting Venezuela is creating an opening for political opposition to President Hugo Chavez.
El Niño in Venezuela: Hugo Chávez’s "Katrina" Moment?
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has been in power for more than ten years, during which time he has deflected numerous electoral challenges, a recall effort, a coup d’etat and even an oil lock out. A politically adroit statesman, he has demonstrated enormous staying power throughout all these political crises.
Yet, Chávez’s luck may have finally run out: a devastating El Niño-linked drought has recently ravaged Venezuela and the government has been forced to undertake conservation measures for water and electricity. Hardly amused, some are holding Chávez responsible for the energy crunch and the drought could exact a heavy toll on the Venezuelan president in September’s legislative elections.
What is causing Venezuela’s energy crisis?
Venezuela cuts power to 'heavy' electricity users
Dozens of hotels, restaurants, office buildings and other businesses went dark Monday after failing to meet a government target of reducing electricity usage by 20 percent amid a deepening energy crisis.
Caracas' state electrical utility announced that it shut off supply to 42 businesses for 24 hours to punish users that have not cut usage enough as required under government measures adopted last month.
Hotels warned guests to leave ahead of time, and restaurants were deserted and dark. Some business owners said they have done their best to conserve, and called the daylong blackout abusive.
Balochistan: Its Importance For The Iran-Pakistan-India Gas Pipeline
Balochistan, the size of Texas and that accounts for 44 per cent of Pakistan and 16 per cent of Iran’s landmass, is a strategically important area.
By virtue of its energy resources and its location, it is key to the energy supply to South Asia, including Pakistan. The country’s mounting energy crisis and the growing demand for energy security in the region have magnified Balochistan’s economic and strategic importance.
Pakistan: Energy crisis
With the summer fast approaching in many parts of the country, attention is once again turning to the country’s energy deficit and the need for more power in the years ahead. But the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan has expressed surprise that an offer to supply over 1,000 megawatts of electricity from Iran has not been fast-tracked. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in December 2008 between the two countries, however Ambassador Mash’allah Shakeri has complained that no one in Pakistan has tried to move the issue forward.
Tanzania: Power rationing spells doom or economy, analysts warn
The latest spate of rolling power blackouts in the country will have far-reaching consequences on the economy and reverse gains already made in boosting GDP growth and taming inflation to single-digit levels, a university don has warned.
Indonesia: Govt expects to remove electricity subsidy by 2014
The government expects to remove the electricity subsidy completely by as early as 2014 so that it will have more funds available to fight poverty and improve healthcare directly for the poor, a minister has said..
“We hope we can fully implement the economic tariffs for electricity by between 2014 and 2015,” Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh said in Jakarta on Monday.
Tajikistan looks to solve energy crisis with huge dam
It is the Tajik government's answer to decades of energy shortages.
Rogun hydropower plant sits 110km (68 miles) east of the capital, Dushanbe, on the river Vaksh. When it is finished, the planned 335m (1,100ft) dam will be the tallest in the world.
For a mountainous country with thousands of glaciers but no hydrocarbons, harnessing the power of water is the obvious solution. |
