The U.S. has been drilling for oil and gas for more than 160 years, and what to do with those wells once they are no longer productive has long been an issue, as they can also be significant emitters of methane, a major greenhouse gas. Today, we discuss a new approach that aims to address both issues.
The European Union (EU) appears poised to substantially increase its imports of U.S. LNG after reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration that includes a pledge to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy over three years. The trade agreement and the EU’s plans to phase out deliveries of Russian LNG and piped-in natural gas by 2027 may end up being a big positive for U.S. producers. But that doesn’t mean it’s all clear sailing, thanks to competition with Qatar and uncertainty around EU regulations. In today’s RBN blog, we look at how U.S. exporters could still get squeezed on price and volume between today and 2030.
Hydrogen has a well-established, if limited, role in the modern economy. It has been used in refining and ammonia production for decades, but its potential has long been touted in various areas, including decarbonizing hard-to-abate industrial processes such as steelmaking, as well as in larger roles in heavy-duty transportation and energy storage. The last few years have seen a significant push to expand hydrogen’s role — an attempt to capitalize on its versatility and lack of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions — but a number of formidable obstacles to wider adoption remain, including price, availability and infrastructure, in addition to its tenuous political support. In today’s RBN blog, we look at the challenges that make forecasting the industry’s growth difficult and the emerging consensus around the most practical end uses for hydrogen.
The U.S. is still years away from establishing a national carbon tax or cap-and-trade system — and it’s certainly possible it will never take either step. But there are state and regional cap-and-trade programs in place to incentivize refiners and others to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In today’s RBN blog, our fourth and final on carbon emissions and the refining sector, we look at state and international efforts to reduce GHG emissions and their prospective impact on the U.S. refining industry.
Increasing the production of low-carbon-intensity (LCI) hydrogen is viewed by many as a way to help the U.S. reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. But so far only minimal amounts of LCI hydrogen are being produced, raising the question of what it would take to significantly ramp up production without breaking the bank. In today’s RBN blog, we conclude a series on a National Petroleum Council (NPC) study on LCI hydrogen with a look at its recommendations for what the U.S. should do next.
Given the frothy targets to reduce U.S. carbon emissions set by the 2016 Paris Agreement and an anticipated expanding role in that process for low-carbon-intensity (LCI) hydrogen that is barely being produced in 2024, it’s hard to believe there’s a path forward. Yet one recent study from industry participants in the National Petroleum Council (NPC), commissioned by the Department of Energy (DOE), provides detailed projections of how and where LCI hydrogen will develop, including regional variations. In today’s RBN blog we review that analysis.
Two major pieces of early-2020s legislation — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA; 2022) — promise to provide billions of dollars in tax credits and other incentives for expanding the production of low-carbon-intensity (LCI) hydrogen. But the hype around clean hydrogen as a fuel of the future has lost some momentum of late, mostly due to spiraling costs. So we’re left with two questions: Can expanded production and use of LCI hydrogen significantly reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and, just as important, is LCI hydrogen production cost-effective?
The hype around low-carbon-intensity (LCI) hydrogen that captivated many energy transition fans over the past four years has lost some momentum of late as industry players recalibrate their investment plans in the face of spiraling costs. Still, the U.S. government is moving full speed ahead — the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021) and Inflation Reduction Act (2022) promise to flow billions of dollars into LCI hydrogen infrastructure via tax credits and other incentives. Which raises this question: Will LCI hydrogen make economic sense or not? In November 2021, the Department of Energy (DOE) asked the National Petroleum Council (NPC) to take a deep dive into the topic. In today’s RBN blog, we begin a review of the issues at hand.
Every year, the biggest wild card regarding Gulf of Mexico (GOM) crude oil production is the severity of the Atlantic hurricane season. A season generally free of major storms in offshore production areas will likely have only a minimal impact, but a summer and early fall with even just one or two powerful hurricanes along certain paths can cause output to plummet, sometimes for extended periods. In today’s RBN blog, we’ll look at GOM production gains over the years, the degree to which hurricanes and other issues have reduced output in the past, and the new production expected to come online later this decade.
