Energy bill help for low income

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The conflict between Russia and Ukraine could spill into international energy markets. If Russia sent its troops into the heart of Ukraine, it could spell the end of Nord Stream 2 — an $11 billion natural gas pipeline. Germany, which is withholding approval of the line, warns of a “high price” if it invades Ukraine. This begs the question of who has the most power: the Russians feeding an energy-starved Europe or the western allies, which can “blacklist” President Putin and Russia. Because Russia got away with taking Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, it may reason that any aggression would be met with a feeble response — mainly because Nord Stream 2 would provide 15% of Europe’s natural gas. But a takeover would come with significant costs. The Europeans may depend on Russian natural gas, but they have other options. And the United States wants to be a more prominent supplier of liquefied natural gas or LNG, albeit at a higher … [Read more...] about A Russian Invasion Of Ukraine Would Have Profound Implications For International Energy Markets

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin As Russia’s war in Ukraine intensifies, the Biden administration banned Russian oil and natural gas purchases. This move represents a departure from initial Western sanctions against the Kremlin, designed specifically to avoid interference in Russian energy flows – particularly to import-dependent Europe. Oil prices have skyrocketed since Ukraine was invaded on February 24, with Brent and WTI oil futures trading at around $117 and $114, respectively (down from a 13-year high of $130 earlier this week ), Biden reportedly had deliberated for days before imposing the embargo as higher gasoline prices hurt him and the Democratic party politically. Although the Biden-led initiative to sanction Russian oil sales is rather symbolic, it is still important. The US could produce all oil it needs, and what it can’t, it could import from North America. America has flirted with net-oil exporter status over the past few years … [Read more...] about The US Bans Russian Energy Imports – Symbolically

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Biden administration has reinstated restrictive policies under the guise of environmental protections that impact the construction of major infrastructure projects in the United States, including pipelines and highways. The timing could not be worse. Federal government regulatory intervention is on the rise. The new rule will require federal agencies to examine the climate impact of infrastructure projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a 1970 law that requires the government to assess the environmental outcomes. Critics say that the Biden administration took these measures to reverse his predecessor’s policy liberalization, leading to an unprecedented increase in America’s hydrocarbon production. This move has come under scrutiny amid the skyrocketing prices for oil and natural gas domestically and internationally and the need for the US to ramp up liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports to … [Read more...] about How Biden’s New Energy Restrictions Defeat His Goals For Helping Ukraine

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The context is transitioning from fossil energy to renewables. One key aspect of this is transport via gasoline or diesel vehicles and its transition to electric motors driven by batteries or hydrogen. The fossil fuel industry should be concerned about the efficiency and cost of sustainable transport, because that will determine the speed of the transition which will likely affect the decline of oil production and perhaps the oil and gas industry itself. Elon Musk knows batteries. He builds them: to propel cars and trucks, at one bookend, to grid-scale behemoths that store and stabilize electrical power for hundreds of homes and commercial enterprises, at the other bookend. Last week, May 12, 2022, Musk said hydrogen “is the most dumb thing I could possibly imagine for energy storage.” This is not the first time, as Musk has made similar negative comments in past years. A few years ago, Musk told reporters that hydrogen … [Read more...] about Is Elon Musk Right Or Wrong To Dismiss Hydrogen Use For Low-Carbon Energy Storage?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline The World Health Organization has recommended Pfizer’s antiviral pill Paxlovid to treat high-risk Covid patients, the agency announced Friday, which it said is safer, easier to administer and better at preventing hospitalizations than other available treatments. Key Facts The WHO’s expert panel endorsed Paxlovid—a combination of nirmatrelvir, which inhibits coronavirus replication, and ritonavir, an HIV inhibitor which also slows the liver’s breakdown of nirmatrelvir—for Covid patients without severe disease who are at high risk of hospitalization. High risk groups include older patients, those with compromised immune systems or chronic illnesses and the unvaccinated, according to the guidelines. The panel cited new data from two clinical trials involving 3,100 patients, which found Paxlovid led to 84 fewer hospital admissions per 1,000 patients treated with little or no risk of severe side effects … [Read more...] about WHO Endorses Pfizer’s Antiviral Pill Paxlovid For High-Risk Covid Patients But Says Benefits ‘Trivial’ For Low-Risk Groups

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin HAMBURG, GERMANY - JULY 08: U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Canada's Prime Minister Justin ... [+] Trudeau talk ahead of panel discussion titled 'Launch Event Women's Entrepreneur Finance Initiative' on the second day of the G20 summit on July 8, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. Leaders of the G20 group of nations are meeting for the July 7-8 summit. Topics high on the agenda for the summit include climate policy and development programs for African economies. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images) U.S. crude oil output is now closing in on 9.5 million b/d, the highest levels in two years and almost double what we were producing a decade ago. But, while our demand has basically been flat , oil is a global commodity and imports have long been ingrained in our own market, so we still import about 35-50% of the oil that we use. Imports though have been falling, yet probably not as much as some energy security advocates … [Read more...] about The Good News About High U.S. Oil Imports

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Charif Souki, 2013 (Photo by Michael Thad Carter, for Forbes). There’s a new way for investors to bet on the miracle of American natural gas and the genius of Charif Souki. As of last week Souki’s Tellurian Investments completed a reverse takeover of publicly traded Magellan Petroleum. The company has been renamed Tellurian, has a new ticker symbol (TELL), and big plans to build a new liquefied natural gas export facility in Calcasieu Parish, La. The project, called Driftwood LNG, will cost around $12 billion, and have the capacity to export 26 million tons of LNG per year, the equivalent of about 3.6 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Construction hasn’t started yet, but Souki expects Driftwood to be operational in late 2022. To get through engineering and permitting, Souki has already raised about $200 million from French oil giant Total, and another $25 million from General Electric. He doesn’t expect any … [Read more...] about LNG Guru Charif Souki Is Back With Publicly Traded Tellurian

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin When President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared at the White House yesterday, they made clear that Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline will be left to die on the political battlefield — if Russia invades Ukraine. But what will that cost Russia, and where would Europe get its natural gas? Moscow relies on hydrocarbons for 60% of its national budget, while oil and gas make up nearly one-third of its gross national product. It already provides about 39% of Europe’s gas. Russia built Nord Stream 2 to bypass Ukraine — an $11 billion undertaking that stretches 745 miles before it filters into Germany’s Baltic coast. It can’t start delivering gas unless Germany’s regulators permit it. Is Europe more dependent on Russia’s gas, or is Russia more reliant on Europe’s money? “If Russia invades, that means tanks or troops crossing the border of Ukraine again, then there will be – there will be no longer a Nord Stream … [Read more...] about If Nord Stream 2 Dies, What Will It Cost Russia? Where Will Europe Get Its Natural Gas?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Naturally, the war in Ukraine and its impact on Russian oil flows is the dominant factor in today’s oil market, but few wars last forever. It is possible that Putin will declare victory and leave in the near future, but equally possible that the conflict will revert to pre-invasion status, that is, continuing but low-level fighting in eastern Ukraine. Aside from these unknowns (or at least, known only to Putin), there are a number of salient facts that need to be considered but are often overlooked. The most important thing, and a lesson that never seems to penetrate the public mind: wars and crises tend to be transient and temporary, and many — if not most — factors will soon revert to pre-crisis behavior. First, sanctions will ease: Russian oil and gas have not been put under sanctions by any major consuming nations; the biggest impact has come from companies that have voluntarily ceased purchases primarily of oil. … [Read more...] about The Oil Market After The War

After 13 grueling years of political debate, Congress passed a bill that enabled some of the largest infrastructure spending in U.S. history—an almost 20% increase over the annual federal public works budget. advertisement The spending created clean energy, jobs, addressed environmental issues (while creating others), and ultimately, while backstopped by Congress, paid for itself. If this sounds too good to be true—it isn’t—because this happened in 1928. The spending was for the Hoover Dam. And while there were other projects part of the “infrastructure stimulus” of that era, this iconic project is a great representation of the good and bad of a meaningful infrastructure spend. Over the past 10 years, infrastructure has become an outsized and unrequited topic—it has featured prominently in presidential campaigns, has been the subject of many (mostly unpassed) bills and hundreds of conferences, and marketed in at least a dozen “Infrastructure Weeks.” Will it be said … [Read more...] about Infrastructure 2021: Delivering more sustainable and equitable infrastructure