Oil Rules

At Summer NAPE at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston yesterday, I had a nice chat with Sunil Deshmukh. He has observed the rise of natural gas, particularly the explosion of natural gas vehicles (NGVs).

Deshmukh recalled a dinner with Carl Pope on Feb. 28 in which he announced that the Sierra Club was coming out in favor of natural gas. Pope made it clear that natural gas is much cleaner than gasoline, thus the Sierra Club’s support.

“Oil and gas are largely not being used to deliver the value they could,” Pope said in an interview with Oil and Gas Investor executive editor Nissa Darbonne. “When I turn on a heater and I’m mainly heating the street outside my house, that’s a waste. When I get into a car and most of the gas turns into exhaust, that’s a waste. We need to have high performance energy tools.”

Pope’s discussion on Feb. 28 was a spark — a spark that is igniting natural gas discussions throughout Congress and the energy industry.

–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com

Let’s take a look back at the last week to determine what companies, individuals and even animals, are hot.

Who’s hot?
China. Yes, they’re beating the U.S. in the Olympic gold medal count again. By the end of Friday, the U.S. team had won 31 gold medals, while the Chinese had 47.

Speaking of gold, the supermajors dominated the Western Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 207. Coming in with the gold was ExxonMobil with $127 million in total winning bids for 130 blocks. The silver went to Chevron, whose three bids alone totaled $105 million. And the bronze goes to Norway’s StatoilHydro with a total of $87 million in high bids.

Sperm whales. These whales in the Gulf of Mexico have made it into the news after a six-year study announced that the deep-diving mammals are not being disturbed by seismic testing by the ever-growing Gulf energy industry.

Obama’s mysterious running mate. Yes, just hours away from the next business week, which heralds the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Obama still hasn’t announced his running mate. So that possibilities are still endless until an announcement is made…

Happy weekend, everyone!

–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com

Enjoy this guest blog post from Claire Scoggin, Director of Wiess Energy Hall at the Houston Museum of Natural Science!

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is the first athlete to win 8 gold metals in one Olympics. He is the epitome of American drive and determination. Just tell him - it can’t be done – and he will work even harder to make sure it does. 8 gold metals – won through his physical energy being used to its maximum ability.

When faced with a challenge, we must step up and exert the effort needed to win, whether to win gold metals or to win at creating a better world for the future.

We have a challenge facing us now in another form of energy. We need to face the world energy situation, create solutions, and implement whatever it takes to approach sustainable living. As with many issues Americans have faced, the answer lies not in one extreme answer or the other, but in balance. We have to recognize that we will continue to use petrochemicals, but we must use other renewable, non-polluting sources as well.

One rising source of renewable energy is solar. The Earth receives more energy from the Sun in just one hour than the world uses in a whole year.

Solar energy is used mainly in 2 ways – we can use it to heat things such as water and our houses, and we can turn sunlight directly into electricity by using photovoltaics. (”Photo” means light and “voltaic” means electricity.)

Photovoltaic solar panels are made of silicon. Similar to sand, silicon is the second most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. The silicon has to be heated to super-high temperatures and formed into very thin wafers. When the sunlight hits the solar panel, it makes electrons in the silicon move around. The electrons flow through wires built into the solar panel and electricity is formed. Batteries in the panels store electricity for use when the sun is not shining.

Why isn’t photovoltaic energy used more frequently? It is very expensive to make the solar panels of thin wafers of silicon. It also would take a lot of solar panels to provide all of the electricity an average family would need in their house. However, many large businesses are shifting their power source to solar. The Denver International Airport just installed 7 ½ acres of solar panels to power the airport. This will reduce their carbon emissions by 6.3 million pounds each year.

This challenge requires Americans to invest in more energy, research and innovation. An excellent example of the possibilities is these solar powered air conditioners.

Solar energy is also being used in large spaces such as the new Discovery Green in Houston. BP has provided solar panels that are on top of the buildings in the park. It also created a SUV which has been equipped with solar panels to provide a clean, quiet alternative to get around the park.

Solar power plants are being built around the globe to catch the sun such as this one in Arizona due to open in 2011.

Another way that solar energy is used is by CSP - concentrating solar power. We’ll be shedding more light on CSP on the HMNS BEYONDbones blog soon.

As Director of Wiess Energy Hall Programming at the Houston Museum of Natural Science, ClaireBEYONDbones, the HMNS blog, for her perspective on all things energy – from the “Big Bang” to sustainability. coordinates energy education activities for schools, universities and business; promotes energy-related events, and generally works on spreading the word about the Wiess Energy Hall, the premiere energy resource worldwide. Check out her posts on BEYONDbones, the HMNS blog, for her perspective on all things energy – from the “Big Bang” to sustainability.

Plunging oil prices worldwide resulting in falling prices at the pump might just be the saving grace of back-to-school this year, at least that’s what retailers are hoping. A result Gallup poll reveals that the percentage of Americans saying economic conditions are “getting worse” has declined in early August compared to what it was in July.

This more positive outlook may be enough to re-balance the U.S. economy and keep back-to-school retailers from tripping.

–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com

 While religion and personal morals were the main topics at this weekend’s gentle “political discussion” at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California, Senator McCain did bring up the energy issue.

McCain stressed the importance of using nuclear power to reduce greenhouse emissions.

“And by the way, in case you hadn’t noticed it, the French — 80 percent — we love to imitate the French — 80 percent of their electricity is generated by nuclear power. If they can do it and reprocess, we can too, my friends. And by the way, if you hadn’t noticed, we now have a pro-American president of France, which shows if you live long enough, anything can happen in America,” McCain said.

Quoi? Voulez-vous d’etre comme moi? Quel surprise! (”What? You want to be like me? What a surprise!”) I can just hear Nicolas Sarkozy saying. While I stress again that McCain seems to be focusing too much on nuclear, which is going to be a slow, long-term transition if it comes to pass, at least he mentioned other forms of energy at the Saddleback Forum.

“We’ve got to do everything. We’ve got to do wind, tide, solar, natural gas, hydrogen cars, hybrid cars, electric cars,” McCain said.

Who’s in trouble?

Al Gore. John S. Herold Inc. analyst Nate Gagnon says T. Boone Pickens’ energy plan is better developed than Al Gore’s. Gore is counting on continuing advances in renewable energy technologies to drive down costs and increase generating capacity, while anticipating that fossil fuel prices will continue to rise, Gagnon says. This makes his ten-year timetable very ambitious.

Spain’s tennis team gets in trouble for a racist pose during a team shot.

Google is in trouble. Apple has now surpassed Google as the new king of Silicone Valley.

Who might be in trouble?

China’s women’s gymnastics team might be in trouble. To me, all of those Chinese gymnasts look like they’re under 16, but apparently one of the girls might really be breaking the new Olympic age rule. It seems she has skipped from 13 years old to 16 since December 2007. Maybe she found a time machine none of us know about…

Chesapeake is drilling in the Barnett, which probably means they are not in trouble financially. But they’re doing so in downtown Fort Worth, which could get them in trouble with business owners and environmentalists.

Who’s dancing in the sunshine while others look on in jealousy?

Michael Phelps is swimming victory laps in the sun. With only six out of his eight races completed, he already holds the record for the highest number of Olympic medals won by any athlete. But is he the greatest athlete of all time? To be debated.

XTO is stockpiling and basking in the glory. In case you haven’t heard yet, he company topped off a phenomenal 12-month flurry with its $4-billion-plus mega-deal announced acquisition of privately owned Hunt Petroleum Corp. in early June.

Happy weekend, everyone!

It’s out, folks — Facebook is officially the No. 1 social network in the world.

Why is this important to the oil industry? An industry that is so desperately seeking to fill the shoes of soon-to-retire baby boomers needs to do everything it can to make itself visible to Generation Y. Being a member of this generation, I will admit that I did both of the following when Hart Energy Publishing called me concerning my current position:

1) Looked up Hart on Google.
2) Checked Facebook to see if Hart had a Facebook page.

To many baby boomers, the idea of having a Facebook is ridiculous. It has been viewed as a place for teens to find a boyfriend or girlfriend. But Facebook is not only an incredible reconnection tool (it has helped me connect with people I literally haven’t seen since kindergarten), it is also fantastic for networking. For instance, universities or organizations can create their own groups on Facebook. In turn, individuals join the Facebook group and connect with people from work or school.

Now, you might ask, “Why would I want to join a Facebook group with all the people I work with? I don’t want them finding out where I live!” Well first off, you don’t have to put all your personal information on a Facebook. But my generation thrives on photos, videos, something tangible that gives us a look into the people’s lives around us. If we saw a Facebook page for the CEO of a company we are considering joining, we would realize that he is a real, down-to-earth person. If a company doesn’t have much of an online presence, however, we will probably end up assuming that the company is either too small to be able to develop an online presence (mind you, “online presence” can be developed through one person via social networking sites like Facebook), or we will think that company doesn’t care enough about technology to develop an online presence (which is a huge turn-off).

Hart’s Recruiting & Retention Conference in Houston Oct. 27-28 will cover everything from helping companies develop an online presence to attracting young faces to mentoring those new recruits. You don’t have to attend the conference to figure out how to set up a Facebook page, but I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt.

John McCain’s newest push in his energy campaign is nuclear — with a plan to build 45 more nuclear power plants.

That’s a lot — considering that the utility industry has not brought a new nuclear plant online since 1984. Forty-five new nuclear plants — each costing $6 billion to $8 billion — would turn the nation’s energy independence upside-down, but is a little lofty. While the cost to run a nuclear power point long-term is low due to the uranium’s availability, the utility industry would have to be given some serious incentives to take on this huge up front expense.

As I’ve discussed before, nuclear is a risk — a long term solution has yet to be discovered for the waste, which stays radioactive for thousands of years. In addition, the public at large, I believe, is still too apprehensive about nuclear power after Chernobyl and Three Mile Island to want to move ahead full-force with 45 new nuclear power plants. If nuclear does take deeper root in the U.S., it’s going to be a long process, not one huge growing spurt.

–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com

He shows up on the TV when I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym. He pops up in newspapers almost daily. And now, T. Boone Pickens is even sneaking into fiction books.

Last night as I was curled up with my most recent fiction find, The Shack by William P. Young, I laughed out loud when Pickens of all people was mentioned in the first chapter. The main character, Mack, turns on Bill Moyer’s show, and “the show tonight had something to do with oilman Boone Pickens, who was now starting to drill for water, of all things.”

By now, most of us have seen his statistics-rich TV commercial. Some folks even caught him on Larry King Live the other night, where a viewer suggested that Pickens pay for all Americans to receive tune-ups and tire inflations. USA Today. The New York Times. The Wall Street Journal. CNN. These news sources are now quoting Pickens on at least a weekly basis, making Pickens’ media spotlight almost as bright as Barack Obama’s.

Boone as a child Boone on Time in 1985

Pickens is praised by energy leaders for his legendary success matched with his ability to be so forward-thinking, as well as accepted by the public at large for his “green-friendly” attempts. But a recent opinion article in The Los Angeles Times by Gal Luft asserts that Pickens’ wind energy proposal will do little to reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil. Unless his plan is coupled with a large boom in the public buying electric cars instead of gasoline-powered cars, Luft says that the U.S. will end up being more dependent on Iraq than ever before. Luft also refutes Pickens’ proposal to shift from oil to natural gas, saying the U.S. is not yet rich enough in natural gas, and energy leaders should not depend on shale production to up the ante.

Leslie Haines, Oil and Gas Investor’s
Editor-in-Chief, interviews Pickens
the Energy Capital Forum.

A&D Watch Editor Steve Toon with Pickens at the Forum.

Whether all of Pickens’ proposals will work for the U.S. is still to be determined. He has certainly proved himself over the last 57 years of his career, and even if his advice isn’t perfect, Washington needs an energy advisor (and not Paris Hilton) for the 2008 election if it’s ever needed one. As he told the Oil And Gas Investor staff during our June Energy Capital Forum, our nation is in an energy crisis, and he is going to try to his best to give politicians some sound advice.

“I’m going to force this into this campaign. People will have to believe that I know what I’m talking about and that I have a message worth hearing. We’ll see if I have the credibility to force it into the debate,” Pickens said on June 10.

It looks like you do have the credility, Boone. And the message is certainly showing up everywhere.

Not many blog entry headlines are worth of the “?!” combination. But when Paris Hilton and the kind of energy that you don’t get from Rockstar Energy Drink are found in the same sentence, we have an intergalactic catastrophe on our hands.

McCain and Obama have energy policies. And now, so does poolside, leopard-print-swimsuit-clad-Paris Hilton. In a 2-minute video, she shares her political genius and also retaliates from John McCain’s ad that showed a picture of her, comparing Obama’s media superstardom to that of Paris.

So what is Paris’ prescription for a positive energy future for America? Well, first off, increase the tanning bed usage for all Americans. But in all seriousness, Paris suggests “a hybrid” of McCain and Obama’s energy campaigns. “We can do limited offshore drilling with strict environmental oversight. That way the offshore drilling carries us until new technologies kick in which will carry us to energy independence,” Hilton recommends in her video, and gleefully adds, “Energy crisis solved!”

Sadly, McCain and Obama have to be the only presidential candidates in all history that could allow room for Paris Hilton to be portrayed as the good guy, as someone who has more insight into the energy crisis than the future leader of our country. With two vastly opposite energy proposals, the politicians have inched too far from the political center on a campaign issue that is so important in the 2008 election.

So thank you for your insight, Paris. Not everyone can be good looking AND intelligent like you, but we’ll be sure to nominate you for presidency when you turn 35. Or we’ll just watch a reality TV show about you campaigning to be president instead.

–Lindsay Goodier, Online Editor, OilandGasInvestor.com; www.OilandGasInvestor.com; lgoodier@hartenergy.com