Schlumberger, Cameron tie knot
Houston (UPI) Apr 4, 2016 -
Joining forces gives both companies an edge in drilling and production systems, oil field services company Schlumberger said after acquiring a rival.
Schlumberger, the world's largest oil field services company said it closed on its merger with its smaller industry counterpart Cameron International Corp. Schlumberger CEO Paal Kibsgaard said the combination means improved efficiency acro ...
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Maersk may shutter North Sea gas fields
Copenhagen, Denmark (UPI) Apr 4, 2016 -
Danish company Maersk Oil said it was looking for a viable long-term economic model for its Tyra gas complex in the North Sea otherwise it will shut it down.
Maersk said the facilities installed at the Tyra production areas in the North Sea are at the end of their operational life after more than 30 years in service. Martin Rune Pedersen, managing director for Maersk Oil Denmark, said a ...
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Rethinking induced seismicity
Boulder CO (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
A survey of a major oil and natural gas-producing region in Western Canada suggests there may be a link between induced earthquakes and hydraulic fracturing, not just wastewater injection, according to a new report out this week in the journal Seismological Research Letters.
Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to f ...
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Airbus warns against Brexit in letter to UK workers
London (AFP) April 4, 2016 -
European aerospace giant Airbus on Monday wrote to its British workforce to warn against the nation's possible departure from the EU, less than three months before a key referendum.
Britons head to the polls on June 23 to decide whether the country remains in the European Union, with recent opinion polls edging in favour of a so-called Brexit - or British exit from the 28-member bloc.
" ...
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Four killed at anti-China power plant protest in Bangladesh
Chittagong, Bangladesh (AFP) April 4, 2016 -
Four people were killed after police opened fire on villagers as a protest against two China-backed power plants turned violent in southeastern Bangladesh Monday.
Around 500 villagers had gathered in Gandamara, a remote coastal town, to protest against the construction of two coal-fired power plants that they say will evict thousands from the area.
Local authorities had banned the demons ...
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Renewables use could save $750 bn in Mideast, Africa: official
Kuwait City (AFP) April 4, 2016 -
Middle Eastern and North African nations can make a "net benefit" of $750 billion if they achieve their set targets on the use of renewable energy, a senior official said Monday.
"Almost every country in the (MENA) region has a target for renewable energy from 5-15 percent," by 2030, Adnan Amin, director general of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) told reporters.
"If we ...
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Panama Papers: huge tax leak exposes Putin aides, world leaders
Paris (AFP) April 4, 2016 -
One of the biggest document leaks in history snared world leaders, celebrities and sports stars in a snowballing worldwide scandal Monday over their secretive offshore financial dealings.
A year-long worldwide media investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents, leaked from a Panama-based law firm with offices in 35 countries, exposed a tangle of confidential financial dealings by the ...
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Hydride-ion conduction makes its first appearance
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
Ionic transport has been studied extensively over the years for energy devices such as fuel cells and batteries using Li+, H+, Ag+, Cu+, F-, and O2-. Yet as Genki Kobayashi and Ryoji Kanno point out in a recent report, hydride ions (H-) may be particularly useful for high-energy-density storage and conversion devices. Using an oxyhydride solid state cell they have now demonstrated pure H- conduc ...
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Penn moves one step closer to sustainable hydrogen production
Philadelphia PA (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
Splitting water into its hydrogen and oxygen parts may sound like science fiction, but it's the end goal of chemists and chemical engineers like Christopher Murray of the University of Pennsylvania and Matteo Cargnello of Stanford University.
They work in a field called photocatalysis, which, at its most basic, uses light to speed up chemical reactions. They've come a step closer to such a ...
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Flat boron is a superconductor
Houston TX (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
Rice University scientists have determined that two-dimensional boron is a natural low-temperature superconductor. In fact, it may be the only 2-D material with such potential.
Rice theoretical physicist Boris Yakobson and his co-workers published their calculations that show atomically flat boron is metallic and will transmit electrons with no resistance. The work appears this month in th ...
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Hybrid pixel array detectors enter the low-noise regime
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
The detector group at the Swiss Light Source at PSI has been one of the pioneers in the development of custom-made hybrid pixel array detectors (HPADs) for synchrotron applications.
In a paper published recently, this group shows that it is now possible to develop HPADs with sufficient low noise to allow single-photon detection below 1 keV as well as to perform spectroscopic imaging. A com ...
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Electronic counterpart to ecological models revealed
New York NY (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
Predicting the future from the present - that's what logistic maps can do. For example, they can be used to predict the evolution of a population in the near future based on its present situation.
They are relevant when studing systems such as entire populations, where the behaviour of the separate units - which have the ability to self-organise - cannot explain the behaviour of the system ...
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Study shows best way to reduce energy consumption
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
We know adjusting the thermostat, using blinds, opening windows or using electronics such as a heater or air conditioning unit has an impact on the amount of energy consumed in homes. But a new study looks at which of these is the most efficient when it comes to saving power.
"I was interested to find the trends of energy use in typical households and to understand the consumer behavior an ...
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Argonne continues to pave way for improved battery performance testing
Argonne IL (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have demonstrated that the design and placement of a tiny measurement device called a reference electrode enhances the quantity and quality of information that can be extracted from lithium-ion battery cells during cycling.
Reference electrodes (REs) are used to measure the voltages of individual electrodes that make ...
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Nanocage surfaces get 'makeover' in room temperature
Kyoto, Japan (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
Kyoto University researchers have discovered a way of replacing surface ions of copper oxide nanocrystals at ambient conditions - a feat that will make nanocage production considerably simpler.
Ionic semiconductor nanocages can be used as photoelectric conversion materials like those used in solar panels. Like a cage in the literal sense, nanocages can also encapsulate drugs and enzymes, p ...
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Drexel rolls out method for making the invisible brushes that repel dirt
Philadelphia PA (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
You might not be aware of it, but invisible carpets of polymers are keeping things from being sticky right now. The lenses of your glasses might be coated with them to stave off smudges. They're keeping the underbellies of ships from corroding, artificial joints from locking up and medical devices from gathering germs. The name "polymer nanobrush" doesn't seem fitting because these bristly mater ...
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Community solar systems add savings to local energy coop projects
Corvallis OR (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
Part of the future of solar energy, especially for residential use, may be small "community-based" systems in which neighbors join together in the construction and use of solar systems to optimize the energy produced in their neighborhood - and share in the benefits.
New research by engineers at Oregon State University indicate that an optimal development of neighborhood solar energy might ...
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Transparent wood could one day help brighten homes and buildings
Washington DC (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
When it comes to indoor lighting, nothing beats the sun's rays streaming in through windows. Soon, that natural light could be shining through walls, too.
Scientists have developed transparent wood that could be used in building materials and could help home and building owners save money on their artificial lighting costs.
Their material, reported in ACS' journal Biomacromolecules, ...
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Second quantum revolution a reality with chip-based atomic physics
Norman OK (SPX) Apr 05, 2016 -
A University of Oklahoma-led team of physicists believes chip-based atomic physics holds promise to make the second quantum revolution--the engineering of quantum matter with arbitrary precision - a reality. With recent technological advances in fabrication and trapping, hybrid quantum systems are emerging as ideal platforms for a diverse range of studies in quantum control, quantum simulation a ...
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