Better Fill up today

[frawin]

Jan-09 Crude is trading at $54.43, down$0.01, Jan-08 Natural Gas is trading at $6.51, down $0.368.
Crude trading is very thin with very few contracts showing.

 

[sixdogsmom]

I found this on renewable energy: interesting!------

Ocean currents can power the world, say scientists
A revolutionary device that can harness energy from slow-moving rivers and ocean currents could provide enough power for the entire world, scientists claim.

By Jasper Copping
Last Updated: 2:39PM GMT 29 Nov 2008

Existing technologies require an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are slower than three knots Photo: AP
The technology can generate electricity in water flowing at a rate of less than one knot - about one mile an hour - meaning it could operate on most waterways and sea beds around the globe.

Existing technologies which use water power, relying on the action of waves, tides or faster currents created by dams, are far more limited in where they can be used, and also cause greater obstructions when they are built in rivers or the sea. Turbines and water mills need an average current of five or six knots to operate efficiently, while most of the earth's currents are slower than three knots.

The new device, which has been inspired by the way fish swim, consists of a system of cylinders positioned horizontal to the water flow and attached to springs.

As water flows past, the cylinder creates vortices, which push and pull the cylinder up and down. The mechanical energy in the vibrations is then converted into electricity.

Cylinders arranged over a cubic metre of the sea or river bed in a flow of three knots can produce 51 watts. This is more efficient than similar-sized turbines or wave generators, and the amount of power produced can increase sharply if the flow is faster or if more cylinders are added.

A "field" of cylinders built on the sea bed over a 1km by 1.5km area, and the height of a two-storey house, with a flow of just three knots, could generate enough power for around 100,000 homes. Just a few of the cylinders, stacked in a short ladder, could power an anchored ship or a lighthouse.

Systems could be sited on river beds or suspended in the ocean. The scientists behind the technology, which has been developed in research funded by the US government, say that generating power in this way would potentially cost only around 3.5p per kilowatt hour, compared to about 4.5p for wind energy and between 10p and 31p for solar power. They say the technology would require up to 50 times less ocean acreage than wave power generation.

The system, conceived by scientists at the University of Michigan, is called Vivace, or "vortex-induced vibrations for aquatic clean energy".

Michael Bernitsas, a professor of naval architecture at the university, said it was based on the changes in water speed that are caused when a current flows past an obstruction. Eddies or vortices, formed in the water flow, can move objects up and down or left and right.

"This is a totally new method of extracting energy from water flow," said Mr Bernitsas. "Fish curve their bodies to glide between the vortices shed by the bodies of the fish in front of them. Their muscle power alone could not propel them through the water at the speed they go, so they ride in each other's wake."

Such vibrations, which were first observed 500 years ago by Leonardo DaVinci in the form of "Aeolian Tones", can cause damage to structures built in water, like docks and oil rigs. But Mr Bernitsas added: "We enhance the vibrations and harness this powerful and destructive force in nature.

"If we could harness 0.1 per cent of the energy in the ocean, we could support the energy needs of 15 billion people. In the English Channel, for example, there is a very strong current, so you produce a lot of power."

Because the parts only oscillate slowly, the technology is likely to be less harmful to aquatic wildlife than dams or water turbines. And as the installations can be positioned far below the surface of the sea, there would be less interference with shipping, recreational boat users, fishing and tourism.

The engineers are now deploying a prototype device in the Detroit River, which has a flow of less than two knots. Their work, funded by the US Department of Energy and the US Office of Naval Research, is published in the current issue of the quarterly Journal of Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering.

 

[indygal]

Hello, everyone, and a belated Happy Turkey Day! Hubby and I just returned home from a weeklong trip back to see family and friends in Indiana and Illinois. What a blessing the lower gas prices are .... the highest we paid was $1.79 a gallon and the lowest was $1.45 (in Missouri). It felt so strange to get a half a tank of gas for $10. I read a headline in a St. Louis newspaper that some stations were having price wars and charging just a few cents over cost. I also heard on NPR that people are starting to buy SUVs again. I'm sure car dealers are thrilled to get them off the lot, but I fear it means people are going to quickly revert to past driving and vehicle-purchasing habits and we'll be back in the same (leaking) boat before long. How quickly we forget! However, I do think that overall the lower gas prices will help boost the economy since people have a bit more money to spend at the stores instead of at the gas station.

[srkruzich]

Opec isn't cutting production this month. Their meeting again in december. probably will cut 1.5 million barrels then.

[frawin]

We spent most of the week in California enjoying Thanksgiving with our daughter. Gasoline was $1.80 range up to $2.00 range. When we got back into Bartlesville it was a $1.42.

[frawin]

Jan-09 Crude is trading at $52.075, down$2.355, Jan-08 Natural Gas is trading at $6.415, down $0.095.

[frawin]

OPEC Will Cut Oil Output This Month, El-Badri Says (Update2)



Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- OPEC, supplier of more than 40 percent of the world's oil, will reduce crude production further when the group meets this month in Algeria, the group's Secretary General Abdalla el-Badri said.

"For sure there will be action" at the OPEC meeting in Oran, Algeria, Dec. 17, el-Badri told reporters in Tehran today, declining to specify the amount of output that may be reduced. "Everybody is in favor of a cut in the Algeria meeting - we are all gearing towards a cut."

Ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries postponed debate on a second cut in output in as many months during meetings in Cairo on Nov. 29. OPEC members said they would wait to gauge the effect of a 1.5 million-barrel cut agreed to on Oct. 24.

Crude oil for January delivery fell as much as $2.03, or 3.7 percent, to $52.40 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $52.45 a barrel at 4:15 p.m. in Singapore. New York oil futures have tumbled 64 percent from their July 11 record of $147.27 a barrel as the U.S., Europe and Japan headed for their first simultaneous recession since World War II.

$75 a Barrel

OPEC is likely to lower output further as it seeks oil at $75 a barrel, a price el-Badri said was a "reasonable" level at this time. "There is a consensus among ministers. They want to defend a reasonable price," he added.

For the long-term, the group is looking at a price of $70 to $90 a barrel, from 1996 to 2030, he said.

"Oil prices are very low and it is obvious that they have to do something to stabilize prices," said Sintje Diek, an analyst at HSH Nordbank in Hamburg. "They have said they need prices in the range of $70-90 a barrel. They will cut oil production in December."

Slowing global growth means demand will be "much lower" than expected a month ago, OPEC said in a statement after the group's meeting in Cairo. Another cut on Dec. 17 may not be needed if member states complied with 80 percent of the 1.5 million barrel-a-day reduction agreed in October, Al Hayat reported, citing Saudi Arabia's Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi.

Forecasts from secondary sources suggest that OPEC members will meet 80 percent of the target output cut, el-Badri said today. The group didn't make a cut in Cairo because there was no clear data available yet, "so we didn't want to shoot in the dark."

'Cairo Downplayed'

"It feels as if Saudi Arabia is almost inviting market participants to push prices lower to pressure better OPEC compliance and some non-OPEC participation in the next round of cuts," said Olivier Jakob, managing director of Zug, Switzerland-based Petromatrix, in a research note today. "The Cairo meeting had been downplayed by OPEC but it did not even produce a common statement and provided no clear hint as to the next line of action."

The International Energy Agency, an adviser to 28 oil- consuming nations, and OPEC cut their demand forecasts for a third month in November. Crude-oil supplies in the U.S., which consumes a quarter of the world's oil, rose for a ninth week, the longest stretch since April 2005, the Energy Department said Nov. 26.

"The short-term outlook for oil is gloomy," el-Badri said. "It is more likely that oil demand will continue to decrease next year."

[frawin]

Jan-09 Crude settled at $49.28, down $5.15 on the day, Jan-08 Natural Gas settled at $6.604, up $0.094 on the day.   

[frawin]

Jan-09 Crude is trading at $48.52, down$0.76, Jan-08 Natural Gas is trading at $6.528, down $0.076.

[frawin]

Oil Falls to 3-Year Low on Signs U.S. in Longest Post-War Slump


Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil fell to the lowest in more than three years on signs the U.S., the world's largest energy consumer, may be in the longest slump since World War II.

The U.S. first entered a recession in December 2007, the panel of economists that dates American business cycles said yesterday. The country's manufacturing output in November contracted at the fastest pace in 26 years, a report showed. Crude pared losses as the dollar weakened against the euro, making commodities more attractive as a currency hedge.

"Demand is going down from week to week, hand-in-hand with the worldwide slowdown in economic growth," said Gerrit Zambo, an oil trader at BayernLB in Munich. "If sentiment gets worse and equities move lower we could see oil go to $40."

Crude oil for January delivery dropped as much as $1.92, or 3.9 percent, to $47.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That's the lowest since May 20, 2005. It was at $48.56 at 10:47 a.m. in London.

Oil prices have tumbled 68 percent since reaching a record $147.27 on July 11 as the U.S., Europe and Japan face their first simultaneous recession since World War II.

Crude is also under pressure after the United Arab Emirates' state-owned producer said it would provide full contractual volumes to Asian refiners, indicating members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may fail to fully comply with production cuts last month.

"All the poor economic news plus the lack of clear indication of full compliance on the part of OPEC, means a further downturn is possible," said Victor Shum, senior principal at consultants Purvin & Gertz Inc. in Singapore.

December Recession

Brent crude oil for January settlement fell as much as $1.95, or 4.1 percent, to $46.02 a barrel, on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange, the lowest intraday price since Feb. 18, 2005. It was at $47.71 a barrel at 10:38 a.m. London time.

The euro advanced to $1.2660 at 10:24 a.m. in London, from $1.2610 in New York yesterday.

The declaration on the U.S. recession was made by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a private, non-profit group of economists based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The last time the U.S. was in a recession was from March through November 2001, according to the agency.

The longest economic slumps since 1945 were the 16-month downturns that ended in March 1975 and November 1982. The Great Depression lasted 43 months, from August 1929 to March 1933.

The Institute for Supply Management's factory index dropped to 36.2, the lowest level since 1982, the Tempe, Arizona-based group reported. A reading of 50 is the dividing line between expansion and contraction.

Ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries put off debate on a second cut in output in as many months during the Nov. 29 meeting in Cairo.

Abu Dhabi Supplies

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co., the United Arab Emirates state- owned producer, will supply full crude shipments to its Asian customers in January, said four traders at refiners in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

Abu Dhabi National, known as Adnoc, will supply contracted volumes of its Murban, Upper Zakum, Lower Zakum and Umm Shaif grades next month, said the traders, who asked to remain unidentified because of company policy. The U.A.E. was OPEC's fourth-largest supplier in October.

OPEC will reduce crude production when it meets in Oran, Algeria, this month, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla el-Badri said. Oil demand is likely to drop further next year, he said.

"For sure there will be action" at the meeting, el-Badri told reporters in Tehran yesterday, declining to specify the amount of output that may be curbed.

Stockpiles May Rise

U.S. crude-oil inventories probably rose for a 10th week as imports rebounded, a Bloomberg News survey of analysts showed.

Crude-oil stockpiles probably climbed 850,000 barrels in the week ended Nov. 28 from 320.8 million the week before, according to the median of six analyst estimates before an Energy Department report this week.

Refineries probably operated at 86.5 percent of capacity, up 0.3 percentage point from the week before, the survey showed.

Gasoline stockpiles probably increased 1.5 million barrels from 200.5 million the week before, according to the survey. Seven analysts gave product-supply estimates.

Supplies of distillate fuel, a category that includes heating oil and diesel, rose 1 million barrels from 126.7 million barrels the week before, according to the survey.

The Energy Department is scheduled to release its weekly report tomorrow at 10:35 a.m. in Washington.


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