Chief Scientist & Professor of Exploration Geoscience, Heriot-Watt University
Assistant Professor, Durham University
Chair of Urban & Regional Planning and Director of Canberra Urban & Regional Futures, University of Canberra, Visiting Professor, University of Warwick
Associate Professor in Biophysics, University of Pretoria
Production
Saudi export rise to prop up US Iran sanctions
Oil prices have hit a six-month peak as Opec apparently looks to raise output following Donald Trump’s decision not to extend waivers for buyers of Iranian fossil fuels. Output in Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, was due to rise next month, but that was unrelated to the Iranian sanctions, Riyadh sources said. The […]
Transmission
UK reports ‘green gas’ boom
The UK’s Green Gas Certification Scheme says that since 2017 there has been a 13-fold increase in customers being supplied with renewable gas, reaching 1 million homes. “Green gas” or biomethane is a type of gas created from biodegradable material, such as farm and food waste. It is injected into natural gas supplies and supplements […]
Storage
Project aims to sell hydrogen batteries by 2020
The University of New South Wales in Sydney and H2Store have received funding to test a new hydrogen battery which researchers say could outperform lithium-ion batteries. Professor Kondo-Francois Aguey-Zinsou of the School of Chemical Engineering said the design would offer cheap storage and transport of hydrogen within the next two years. Aguey-Zinsou said his invention […]
Consumption
Libya conflict boosts oil price
Fighting around the Libyan capital of Tripoli this week has forced the US to pull its troops out of the county as global oil prices rose. Libya produced about 1.1 million barrels of oil a day last month. Troops loyal to General Khalifa Haftar, who controls much of eastern and southern Libya, attacked Libya’s UN-recognised […]
Policy
Oil prices fall as Iran set to defy US sanctions
Oil prices fell today (Thursday) as record US output and rising crude oil stocks reduced the impact on markets of US sanctions on Iran and Opec’s restrictions on supply. Saudi Arabia is co-operating with the US to increase oil production if the removal of 1 million barrels of Iranian oil from the market caused a […]
Environment
Brussels backs Lithuanian renewable scheme
The European Commission has approved Lithuania’s auction scheme for renewable energy production as the Baltic state tries to weaken its power reliance on imports from Russia and Belarus. The €385-million budget will come into effect from next week and include solar, wind and hydropower, the European Union’s executive branch said. The EU funding directed to […]
Industry
Lavrov accuses US of open Nord Stream meddling
Russia’s veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has accused the US of “brazenly” meddling in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project to Germany. The 55 billion cubic metres capacity Baltic Sea pipeline project is led by Russia’s gas export monopoly Gazprom and opposed by the United States, Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states. “Interference in […]
Opinion
Yearning for Euro-Denominated Oil
Last September, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed a bold idea. “We must do more to allow our single currency to play its full role on the international scene,” he said. “It is absurd that Europe pays for 80 percent of its energy import bill – worth 300 billion euros a year – in U.S. […]
Energy Conjoins NATO, 70 Years Later
On April 4, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) celebrated its 70th birthday in Washington in rather ho-hum fashion. The attendance of only foreign ministers seemed to capture the mood. In different times, a decennial milestone for the world’s most successful military alliance no less would have involved the presence of heads of state. Yet […]