Libyan oil terminals reopen after rebel deal
Tripoli, Libya (UPI) Apr 7, 2013 -
Another 200,000 barrels of oil exports could come back on stream through the opening of oil ports under rebel control in eastern Libya, an official said.
Authorities last week started negotiations to reopen ports blocked by political groups operating under the authority of Ibrahim al-Jathran, who is seeking more autonomy for the eastern region of Cyrenaica.
Libyan Justice Ministe ...
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Malaysia Airlines has 'work to do' fixing image: CEO
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) April 07, 2014 -
Malaysia Airlines, which was already haemorrhaging cash in the face of intense competition, has "got a lot of work to do" recovering from the disappearance of MH370, its CEO said Monday.
The flag-carrier airline has reported hefty losses for three years running, and MH370 now raises the spectre of a potential drop in bookings over safety concerns and possible huge payouts to passengers' fami ...
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US Navy 'game-changer': converting seawater into fuel
Washington (AFP) April 07, 2014 -
The US Navy believes it has finally worked out the solution to a problem that has intrigued scientists for decades: how to take seawater and use it as fuel.
The development of a liquid hydrocarbon fuel is being hailed as "a game-changer" because it would signficantly shorten the supply chain, a weak link that makes any force easier to attack.
The US has a fleet of 15 military oil tanke ...
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North Sea coal seams eyed for natural gas
London (UPI) Apr 7, 2013 -
British energy company Five Quarter said it wants the government's approval to try to coax natural gas from coal deposits under the North Sea bed.
Five Quarter wants government support for its $2 billion plan to use oxygen and steam injection to produce gas from coal beds in the North Sea. So-called syngas would be processed onshore and fed to the chemical industry.
Five Quarter ...
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Kashagan oil field hits restart delays
Astana, Kazakhstan (UPI) Apr 7, 2013 -
It may cost as much as 15 times more to rebuild the pipelines needed to restart operations at the giant Kashagan field in the Caspian Sea, a metallurgist said.
Kashagan is one of the largest oil fields in the world, with an estimated 16 billion barrels of oil reserves. Production was halted in October, less than a month after it started, when a pipeline associated with the field cracked ...
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U.S. shale to curb imports for decades, EIA says
Washington (UPI) Apr 7, 2013 -
U.S. imports of petroleum and liquid fuel sources should dip to 25 percent by the mid 2010s before rising again by 2040, the Energy Department said Monday.
The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, started the first in a series of phased roll outs from its annual outlook for 2014. It said in its initial report Monday the import share of petrole ...
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Global renewable energy investments slumped 14% in 2013: UN
Paris (AFP) April 07, 2014 -
Global investments in renewable energy slumped 14 percent last year, with China pouring more money into the sector than Europe for the first time on record, the UN said Monday.
Investments in renewables apart from hydroelectricity dipped to $214.4 billion in 2013, down $35.1 billion from the previous year and 23 percent below the record set in 2011, according to a report from the UN Environ ...
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Statoil brings giant Gudrun field online
Stavanger, Norway (UPI) Apr 7, 2013 -
Norwegian energy company Statoil said Monday it started production at the Gudrun oil and gas field in the Norwegian waters of the North Sea.
Statoil, alongside its partners at French energy company GDF Suez and Austria's OMV, started production at a field the Norwegian company said should produce as much as 184 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent over its lifespan.
Gudrun i ...
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Scotland boasts of energy security
Edinburgh, Scotland (UPI) Apr 7, 2013 -
The Scottish government said Monday energy policies from its counterparts in London means the balance between energy supply and demand is getting narrower.
A paper from Edinburgh on British energy policy and Scotland's contribution to energy security finds the government in London hasn't done enough to reduce the margin between electricity supply and demand.
"The laws of supply a ...
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Baker Hughes: U.S. rig count increasing
Houston (UPI) Apr 7, 2013 -
The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States was up more than 2.5 percent in March year-on-year, Baker Hughes said Monday.
Oil services company Baker Hughes released its rig count for March. The average count for the United States was up 34 from the 1,769 counted in February and up 47 from March 2013.
In its latest assessment, the U.S. Energy ...
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Japan posts first current account surplus in five months
Tokyo (AFP) April 08, 2014 -
Japan posted its first current account surplus in five months in February, helped by a narrower trade deficit and higher returns on investment abroad, government data showed Tuesday.
Japan logged a surplus of 612.7 billion yen ($5.9 billion) in February, down 5.7 percent from the surplus the year before, but a reversal of a deficit of 1.59 trillion yen in January.
The monthly trade defic ...
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String Inverters Increasingly Used in Megawatt-Scale PV Projects
London, UK (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
In a sign of their growing acceptance, string inverters are increasingly being considered in megawatt (MW)-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems, with over 40 percent of inverter buyers regarding them as suitable for use in systems larger than 1 MW, according to a new report from IHS Technology (NYSE: IHS).
In an IHS survey, more than 300 solar installers, distributors and engineering, procureme ...
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Renewable energy market share climbs despite 2013 dip in investments
Frankfurt, Germany (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
Renewable energy's share of world electricity generation continued its steady climb last year despite a 14 per cent drop in investments to US$214.4 billion, according to a new report released this week.
According to Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2014 - produced by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance, the United Nations En ...
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Organic Solar Cells More Efficient With Molecules Face-to-Face
Chapel Hill NC (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
New research from North Carolina State University and UNC-Chapel Hill reveals that energy is transferred more efficiently inside of complex, three-dimensional organic solar cells when the donor molecules align face-on, rather than edge-on, relative to the acceptor. This finding may aid in the design and manufacture of more efficient and economically viable organic solar cell technology.
Or ...
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EPA Names TCP 2014 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year
Aurora OH (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has named Technical Consumer Products, Inc. (TCP), a leader in energy-efficient lighting innovations, as a 2014 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for its outstanding contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by manufacturing energy-efficient products and educating consumers about energy efficiency. TCP's accomplishments will be recognized in W ...
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Trees go high-tech: process turns cellulose into energy storage devices
Corvallis OR (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
Based on a fundamental chemical discovery by scientists at Oregon State University, it appears that trees may soon play a major role in making high-tech energy storage devices.
OSU chemists have found that cellulose - the most abundant organic polymer on Earth and a key component of trees - can be heated in a furnace in the presence of ammonia, and turned into the building blocks for super ...
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The Most Profitable Gas in the World
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
There is only one certainty in Ukraine: The energy sector must and will be transformed, and how long this takes will depend on who ends up in the driver's seat and how serious they are about becoming a part of Europe and reducing dependence on Russia. But by then, investors will have missed the boat.
The driving factor for any energy investor in Ukraine is the pricing environment. There is ...
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Groundbreaking optical device could enhance optical information processing, computers
St. Louis MO (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
At St. Paul's Cathedral in London, a section of the dome called the Whispering Gallery makes a whisper audible from the other side of the dome as a result of the way sound waves travel around the curved surface. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have used the same phenomenon to build an optical device that may lead to new and more powerful computers that run faster and cooler. ...
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Rebar technique strengthens case for graphene
Houston TX (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
Carbon nanotubes are reinforcing bars that make two-dimensional graphene much easier to handle in a new hybrid material grown by researchers at Rice University. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour set nanotubes into graphene in a way that not only mimics how steel rebar is used in concrete but also preserves and even improves the electrical and mechanical qualities of both.
The technique sh ...
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Australia's first solar electric hybrid sports car
Melbourne, Australia (SPX) Apr 08, 2014 -
A sports car designed to be the toughest on the road, while helping the environment and showcasing the benefits of solar power, is on its way to reality thanks to a group of Swinburne University of Technology engineering students and their industry partners.
Swinburne has teamed with Aurora Vehicle Association and SolarX Corporation to create Australia's first road legal solar-electric hyb ...
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