America's LargestPosts Tagged natural gas
Natural Gas Condensate Will Provide Major Boost to OPEC Oil Production
The National reported yesterday that OPEC countries are expected to add 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of liquids production capacity by the end of next year through projects to expand natural gas output. “Condensate,” as the article refers to liquids present in natural gas wells, “is almost identical to premium quality light crude oil, [...]
Read More »CT Heating Fuel Tax: Still a Bad Idea
A proposed Connecticut tax on home heating oil, propane, and natural gas has failed to make it out of the General Assembly for now. There’s no reason why the tax couldn’t be considered again next year—but many reasons why it shouldn’t be.
Industry expert Craig Snyder, a member of the board of directors of both the [...]
Editors at Richmond Times Dispatch Give Tough Analysis Obama’s Energy Speech
The Heat Zone took an cautiously optimistic position on President Obama’s Earth Day talk about energy initiatives, especially his promise that if we pull together, we can look forward to a cleaner country, a stronger economy and lower prices for petroleum products like gasoline and heating oil.
Obama’s plan, of course, hangs on reducing demand for [...]
UPDATE: Industry Fortifies Position Against Connecticut Heating Oil Tax
Following a public hearing last week, the bill that would place new taxes on home heating fuels in Connecticut is under consideration in the state legislature. The bill would place new taxes on heating oil, natural gas, and propane to raise money for a “fuel oil conservation account,” much like an existing tax on electricity [...]
Read More »Household Fuel Cells Ready to Hit Japanese Market
A new fuel cell for household use, created through a joint venture by Japanese oil and and natural gas companies, will be ready for the consumer market in May. The fuel cell, called “Ene Farm,” generates electricity by mixing hydrogen and oxygen, and redirects heat emitted during the process to heat the air and/or water [...]
Read More »Fuel of the Future: Used Tires
According to the Holland Sentinel of Holland, Michigan, an Illinois company has created a machine that can create crude oil and other fuels from used tires.
That’s right, Global Resource Corporation has built a device that uses microwaves to create useable crude oil, combustible gases, steel, and carbon ash from tires without emitting greenhouse gases. The [...]
Pickens Stays on Alternative Energy Message, Emphasizes LNG-Powered Big Rigs
T. Boone Pickens continues to tirelessly promote his “Pickens’ Plan” to drastically reduce US foreign oil imports through utilization of domestic wind and natural gas resources. Most recently, Pickens spoke at the ECO:nomics conference in Santa Barbara, covered by MarketWatch.com.
In his appearance, Pickens focused on converting 18-wheeler cargo trucks to natural gas power, saying that [...]
UPDATE: New Details on Bill to Unfairly Tax Heating Oil Consumers in Connecticut
On Wednesday, The HEAT Zone reported on a bill that had been introduced in the Connecticut Legislature that proposed a tax on heating fuels that would disproportionately tax heating oil users. The initial post incorrectly stated that the public hearing on the bill would take place next Monday, March 9th. In fact, the [...]
Read More »Connecticut Legislature Considers Heating Fuel Tax that Targets Heating Oil and Propane Users
The Connecticut State Legislature is the latest government body to consider a tax on heating oil, MSNBC reports. The bill, which will be open to public discussion at a meeting on Monday, seeks to raise funds for the state’s Fuel Oil Conservation Board, which will receive a funding cut under Governor Jodi Rell’s budget. The [...]
Read More »Putin Pushes Energy Sales as Pillar of Russia’s Future, Cheats in Grad School
A front page article in today’s New York Times describes the deep knowledge of and intense interest in the business of energy exhibited by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has unofficially designated the energy industry as the centerpiece of Russia’s return to Soviet-era standing as a world superpower.
Putin’s aggressive stance on Russia’s energy exports [...]
Learn How Much Conserving Heat can Save You with the New HEAT USA Savings Thermostat Widget!
HEAT USA has always been an advocate of conservation because using less heat is the best and easiest way for homeowners to save money on heating bills.
Posts here on The HEAT Zone and HEAT This Week newsletters have strongly encouraged residents to turn down thermostats just a few degrees to save hundreds of dollars a [...]
Oil Prices Continue Climb
Crude and heating oil prices kept climbing this morning, paring losses posted over the weekend and early today. The price of crude was up 3.4% to $48.07 a barrel at 10:10 am eastern time, and the price of heating oil had risen 0.4%.
The cause of rising prices is a bit unclear, as recent economic news [...]
Analysis: Pickens Leads by Example, Touts Business Potential in Green Energy Investment
T. Boone Pickens is a man on a mission. Having made his fortune in the oil business, Pickens is now investing heavily in a green energy future for America. As CNN reported yesterday, Pickens decided to build his own clean energy movement after receiving no support from the Bush administration: “I said, ‘Hell, [...]
Read More »FINAL UPDATE: Russia and Ukraine Sign Off on Gas Deal, Supplies to Europe to Resume
The nearly two week-old standoff between Russia and Ukraine that caused the cutoff of Russian gas to several areas of Europe was ended with an agreement on Sunday following intense late nigh negotiations over the weekend, the International Herald-Tribune reports. The Russian national energy company, Gazprom, and its Ukrainian counterpart, Naftogaz, signed a 10-year deal [...]
Read More »Oil Prices Down as World Political Conflicts Cool
The two geopolitical conflicts that have affected oil prices over the last two weeks both reached shaky resolutions over the weekend, driving down crude and heating oil prices. In Gaza, Israel and Hamas both announced unilateral cease fires on Sunday, laying the foundation for a long-term peace agreement. In Moscow, the Prime Ministers of Russia [...]
Read More »Natural Gas Fight Update: Still No Resolution Between Russia and Ukraine, European Nations Short on Gas for 10th Straight Day
18 nations in Europe are scrambling to find fuel to replace natural gas supplies from Russia that remain cut off due to a dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Finger pointing continued to be the message of choice in statements by the Russian and Ukrainian governments, both of which accused the other of unilaterally cutting [...]
Read More »Cold Weather, Gas Conflict Outweigh IEA Demand Forecast Cut, Oil prices Jump
The bitter standoff between Russia and Ukraine over the price of natural gas drags on, keeping gas supplies to Europe low while a major cold snap spreads across the Northern Hemisphere. The combination of below-average temperatures and the natural gas shortage in Europe caused oil prices to leap this morning after a flat opening [...]
Read More »Interruptible Gas Service and Its Effect on Heating Oil Prices
Most of the time, natural gas and heating oil are not related. Their market prices move up and down independently of one another, sometimes in opposite directions. The two fuels are linked, however, by a provision in many natural gas customers’ agreements with their local distribution companies (LDCs): interruptible service.
Interruptible service means that the gas [...]
Russia and Ukraine Playing Dangerous Political Hardball in Gas Conflict
Clockwise from top left: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko. (Images: The Independent/EPA, Ukraine Observer, Wikipedia.com, and ChinaDaily.com)
Although the current diplomatic conflict between Ukraine and Russia is ostensibly about the price Ukraine pays for Russia’s natural gas, it is really a manifestation [...]
Russia vs. Ukraine Natural Gas Fight Drags On, European Supply Still Disrupted
Yesterday, it appeared as that the leadership of Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement that would restore Russian gas supplies to Europe, which travel through Ukrainian pipelines. This morning’s planned re-opening of supply lines turned out to be nothing more than a “test run,” and 18 Europeans nations’ gas supplies are still falling short, [...]
Read More »
