Power Plays: Oil ministry buys first tanker in 27 years

WORLD ENERGY WATCH

The World Energy Watch presents recent news and analysis highlighting the activities of the players involved in the power struggle for the world's remaining energy resources.

1//Azzaman in English, Iraq
OIL MINISTRY BUYS FIRST TANKER IN 27 YEARS

Iraq has purchased a Chinese oil tanker to transport its crude to international markets, the oil ministry said. Asem Jihad, the ministry's spokesman, said the tanker is the first of two more purchased by Iraq from China. "It is the first Iraqi tanker to ply the seas in 27 years," he said.

The 14,000-ton ship will also be used to import fuel to the country, Jihad said. "The two other tankers are expected to arrive at Iraqi territorial waters within a month," he added. Iraq used to have a fleet of 22 tankers but many of the ships were sunk during military operations in and around southern oil terminals. ... Jihad said the three Chinese tankers will form the nucleus of a new fleet for the country and the formation of a new maritime transport company.

2//The Independent, UK
MICROBES MAY HOLD SECRET TO CLEANER ENERGY FROM OIL DEPOSITS

A breakthrough in the understanding of how microbes break down underground deposits of oil could revolutionise the extraction of fossil fuels to make the process cleaner for the environment and more energy efficient, scientists have announced. Instead of using energy-intensive methods of extraction, it may soon be possible to use the natural microorganisms that feed on underground hydrocarbons to convert heavy oil to natural gas, which is easier to extract and a 'greener' source of fuel. Scientists believe that if the technique can be demonstrated to work on a large scale on underground deposits, it could lead to a massive increase in the availability of fossil fuel without a corresponding increase in greenhouse-gas emissions. They estimate, for instance, that by 'fertilising' the populations of subterranean microbes that already exist in oil fields it may be possible to speed up the conversion of heavy oil to natural gas by many thousands of times, and possibly double the exploitable reserves of fossil fuel. The oil industry expends a lot of energy extracting heavy oil deposits such as tar-like bitumen, which has to be melted with superheated steam injected down boreholes. If such deposits could be broken down by microbes into methane, or natural gas, the extraction would be cleaner and more efficient, said Professor Steve Larter, of the University of Calgary in Canada. "The main thing is you'd be recovering a much cleaner fuel. Methane is, per energy unit, a much lower carbon dioxide emitter than bitumen. Also, you wouldn't need all the upgrading facilities and piping on the surface," he said. Ultimately, it may even be possible to use microbes to convert heavy oil directly into hydrogen rather than methane. This would effectively mean that oil reserves could be exploited without the release of any carbon dioxide, the professor added.

3//Gulfnews.com, United Arab Emirates
"WE MUST HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE WHEN OIL RUNS OUT

The critical question that dominated the minds of more than 450 Arab scientists who met for the first conference of Arab expatriate scientists was how citizens in the Gulf region could maintain sustainable development when their natural wealth of oil and gas runs out. "It might take more than 100 years for oil revenue to stop pouring into national budgets in the Gulf, but it is justifiable for policymakers in the region to develop an existing system in order to meet the needs of sustainable development rather than waiting to face an unpleasant situation in the future," Dr Adel Sharif, Director of the Centre for Osmosis Research and Applications at the UK's University of Surrey told Gulf News. He said the recent increase in oil prices had made it even more urgent to discuss the future of the region in the absence of oil contributions. "The volatility of the market is worrying everyone in the world including oil-producing nations. It is fair to worry about the future because the price which has increased sharply in the past few months could drop again in the future," he said. Sharif, who is originally from Iraq, said Gulf governments had to address three major challenges in the fields of energy, environment and healthcare.

4//The Irrawaddy.org Burma (relocated to Thailand)
THE GOOD, BAD AND UGLY OF CHINA'S SHWE GAS DEAL

China's unsurprising victory in securing virtually sole purchase rights to the huge Shwe offshore gas deposits is both good and bad news for the Burma regime, analysts say. It's good because it secures the continued diplomatic support of China in the Burmese regime's confrontation with international opinion on its draconian reign. It's bad because less money will flow into the junta's coffers from the gas cash cow. "We will probably never know just how much China is going to pay for the Shwe gas, but you can be sure it is rather less than the Japanese or even the increasingly desperate Thais would have paid," said Sar Watana, a Bangkok-based energy commodities consultant. The bad is likely to outweigh the good because gas exports have become just about the only thing propping up Snr-Gen Than Shwe's economic policies which have resulted in inflation of 35 percent, said an International Monetary Fund report last week.

It is gas which has enabled the regime to build up its foreign exchange reserves to US $2 billion, said the IMF, when outside investment in other areas of the economy is shrinking. ... China will build a gas pipeline from the coast through Burma into landlocked Yunnan Province, desperate for energy to develop. That, say human rights activists, is the ugly part of the China-Shwe deal. Wherever pipelines are constructed in Burma there is land confiscation, people displacement and often coerced labor.

5//The Daily Star, Lebanon
MADRID COURTS GADHAFI FOR ENERGY, INFRASTRUCTURE DEALS

After a trip to Paris marked by rows over human rights, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi arrived in Madrid Monday, where political and business leaders are more concerned with signing lucrative deals. The visit has major economic importance for Spain, which aims to bolster the key position of its oil company Repsol in Libya and sign infrastructure contracts with a country that has been developing rapidly since UN sanctions were lifted in 2003. The Libyan leader was met in Madrid by Spanish Defense Minister Jose Antonio Alonso. "Several contracts are being negotiated" between Tripoli and Spanish companies, a Spanish diplomatic source said, but could not say if they would be signed during Gadhafi's visit. On Tuesday, the Libyan leader is to receive Spanish business leaders from the energy and infrastructure sectors, including Antoni Brufau, head of the Repsol YPF oil group, the Spanish company with the most investments in Libya. Major Spanish construction and infrastructure companies are also eyeing deals with Libya. Spanish construction group BTP Sacyr Vallehermoso said Sunday it had created a joint enterprise with the Libyan government to bid for infrastructure contracts worth more than $72 billion.

Copyright 2007, Gloria R. Lalumia

WORLD ENERGY WATCH