Oil traders are particularly anxious about a lack of refining capacity across the globe.

Oil-producing nations should follow Saudi Arabia’s lead by fostering new investment in crude production and refining ventures, helping stabilize lofty prices, a senior Saudi central banker said.
Muhammad Al-Jasser, vice governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, also said consuming nations should cut the ’exorbitant’ taxes they impose on oil in order to blunt the impact of soaring prices.
’It is high time that upstream investments are revived significantly in other producing countries to increase production capacity,’ Al-Jasser said on the sidelines of a meeting of central bankers at the Bank for International Settlements, according to Reuters.
’While Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in oil upstream development, even under severe pressures of prices and quantities sold, other producers refrained from such investments.’
Although the call for more investment would mean more competition for Saudi Arabia’s primary source of revenue, it reflects growing anxiety among many major producers that sustained high prices could undermine future oil demand.
To maintain its spare capacity and keep up with growing consumption, Saudi Arabia has embarked on a $50 billion drive to boost output capacity to 15 million barrels per day (bpd) from its current ceiling of about 11 million bpd.
Some other OPEC members have also sketched out plans to lift production, hoping to rein in runaway oil prices that hit a record high $70.85 a barrel two weeks ago, more than doubling in the past two years as growing demand strains supply capacity.
But the world’s major commercial oil companies have come under fire for failing to reinvest more of their windfall profits into new projects to produce and refine oil, opting instead to return cash to shareholders due to a lack of opportunities.
In Manchester on Saturday, European finance ministers urged oil-producing countries to boost supplies rapidly and told oil companies to reinvest more of their vast profits.
Oil traders are particularly anxious about a lack of refining capacity across the globe, highlighted two weeks ago when Hurricane Katrina swept the Gulf of Mexico, knocking out a tenth of US refining capacity and sending gasoline prices soaring.
’Downstream investments, which have been neglected for a long time, need to be revived, particularly in the refining industry. Investment in developing the technology for refining heavy crude is of the essence,’ Al-Jasser said.
’Without more refineries the world’s demand for refined products will not be satisfied fully,’ he added.
Saudi Arabia is upgrading one of its refineries and also plans to build a new 400,000 bpd export-oriented plant.
Al-Jasser also reminded consuming nations that government taxes made up a substantial portion of fuel prices. For example, in parts of Europe, taxes can be up to three-quarters of the cost.
’To reduce the impact of high oil prices on the industries and consumers would require reducing exorbitant taxes imposed previously on oil products in some countries,’ he said.
Some nations such as Poland have suspended part of their fuel tariffs to help ease the burden of fuel costs.
Al-Jasser also reiterated that Saudi Arabia, which pumps more than one in ever 10 barrels of the world’s crude, took its role in the oil market very seriously.
’Saudi Arabia takes its systemic responsibilities very seriously in the oil market. Our role in the oil market is akin to that of the Federal Reserve in the financial market,’ he said.
’Therefore, we try our utmost to generate the necessary equilibrium in the demand and supply market. However, the global market for oil is not only fungible but also integrated.
’Hence all potential oil producers have to chip in in order to stabilise the oil market.’

Researchers at the University of Manchester are developing a new wave energy device known as the ’Manchester Bobber’. The device will be showcased at the New & Renewable Energy Centre (NaREC) in Blyth, Northumberland, on September 19th.
The Manchester Bobber uses the rise and fall (or ’bobbing’) of the water surface. This movement transmits energy, which is then extracted by the mechanics to drive a generator and produce electricity.
The researchers’ vision is to have a series of Bobbers working together to generate electricity. One concept which is currently being explored is the use of decommissioned offshore rigs as platforms for the devices, e4engineering.com said.
“Energy from the sea may be extracted in many ways and harnessing the energy from the bobbing motion of the sea is not a new idea. It is the hydrodynamics of the float employed by the Manchester Bobber that provides the vital connection to generating electricity,“ said Professor Peter Stansby, co-inventor of the Manchester Bobber and Professor of Hydrodynamics at The University of Manchester.
The Manchester Bobber has a number of unique features. The vulnerable mechanical and electrical components, for example, are housed in a protected environment well above sea level, which makes for ease of accessibility.
All mechanical and electrical components are readily available, resulting in high reliability compared to other devices with a large number of more sophisticated components.
What is more, the Manchester Bobber will respond to waves from any direction without requiring adjustment.
And the ability to maintain and repair specific ’Bobber’ generators (independent of others in a linked group) means that generation supply to the network can continue uninterrupted.
The initial concept for the Manchester Bobber was conceived back in in January 2004 via a 12 month Carbon Trust award. The design, development and testing of the device has been carried out at the University of Manchester led by Professor Peter Stansby and Dr. Alan Williamson.
Phase One of the project (testing of 1/100th scale working model) was successfully completed in January 2005. Phase Two, which is commencing now, involves a 1/10th scale device that has been constructed and will be tested at NaREC over a two week period.
Industrial partners Mowlem and Royal Haskoning are also developing and costing conceptual designs for a full scale platform. Phase Three will involve a full scale prototype being constructed and tested in parallel with detailed costings and engineering design for the optimum full scale concept from Phase Two.
Lots of technical information about the Bobber can be found here.

FuelCell Energy, Inc., a leading manufacturer of ultra-clean electric power generation plants for commercial and industrial customers, today announced that two of its Direct FuelCell(R) (DFC(R)) units will provide electricity for a 650-bed hospital and a wastewater treatment facility in South Korea as part of the government’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
One DFC300A power plant will be installed at Chosun University Hospital in Kwangju, a city of 1.4 million, while the second unit will go to the Tancheon Sewage Treatment Plant, serving South Korea’s capital, Seoul. The 250 kilowatt (kW) power plants were sold last year by POSCO (NYSE: PKX), a major South Korean industrial concern. The power plant sales were announced in November 2004 as part the agreement among FuelCell Energy, Marubeni Corp. (TSE:8002) and POSCO to distribute and package DFC power plants in Korea. Both power plants are expected to be operational in the fall of 2005.
The Korean Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) has targeted more than 20 percent of the country’s power generation to be from fuel cells. As part of MOCIE’s long-range plans to foster Korean energy independence and combat global warming, the ministry also is providing 250 billion won (approximately $218 million) through 2008 to develop new and regenerative energy technologies--including fuel cells, solar and wind power, fuelcelltoday.com said.
The fuel cell for Chosun University Hospital, an institution with 24 medical departments staffed by 800 personnel, will provide quiet, on-site and reliable power to meet the significant energy demands of a healthcare facility. This power plant, fueled by natural gas, is expected to provide a portion of the facility’s base load power. Waste heat from the fuel cell will be used to heat hot water for the hospital.
At the Tancheon plant, which processes 19 percent of the Seoul’s daily sewage output, the DFC unit will operate on methane gas generated by the facility’s anaerobic gas digestion process. One of only four sewage treatment plants in the national capital area, Tancheon is a critical link in efforts to clean the Han River, a major waterway running through the region. The treatment plant has a capacity to treat 1.1 million cubic meters (291 million gallons) per day on a 97-acre site in downtown Seoul.
“These two new sitings support our continued focus on developing repeatable business for firm, 24/7 power generation in two of our ten key vertical market segments - hospitals and wastewater treatment facilities,“ said Dan Brdar, FuelCell Energy’s Chief Operating Officer. “Furthermore, this demonstrates how our ultra-clean DFC power plants are an ideal energy solution for a region with high energy costs and the drive to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, a key contributor to global warming.“
This summer, MOCIE established a Renewable Portfolio Agreement (RPA) with Korea’s nine largest energy suppliers to support new forms of energy and energy renewal projects in a bid to cope with rising price of crude oil bill. The RPA will lead to the reduction of some 170,000 tons of emissions of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas in global warming, or 0.12 percent of Korea’s total emissions in 2004. The ministry plans to support the participating companies financially and administratively to help them carry out projects.

The assembled solar panels are simple heat collectors with openings to allow cool air to be drawn in, warmed and circulated out in a continual convection current.

Mixing a passion for recycling and environmentally friendly technology, Duane Sanborn is putting solar heat in a portable window space heater.
It’s an idea he has been kicking around for 30 years, said Sanborn, who runs a recycling business, Material Management, from an old factory building where renovations are being interwoven with solar-powered designs.
Sanborn believes rising energy prices are ripening consumer interest in a low-cost alternative to heating with gas and oil. Solar panels that can be set in a window on winter days and put away in the evenings can conserve energy and save money, he said.
“This is not going to heat your home by itself,“ he said. But it will turn free solar energy into warm air to help lighten the load on the furnace, AP reported.
Sanborn teamed up with a small manufacturer in Union City to build the solar panels out of materials he recycles from businesses in southeastern Michigan, Chicago and as far away as Texas.
“Just about everything in this is recycled material,“ said Sanborn.
Aluminum panels, tempered glass and insulation material are all left over from other businesses’ manufacturing processes, he said.
The assembled solar panels are simple heat collectors with openings to allow cool air to be drawn in, warmed and circulated out in a continual convection current, mlive.com said.
While the panel is exposed to the sun, he said, the temperature of the air entering it can be raised 30 degrees before it flows back out into the room, Sanborn said.
“Once you put it out, you don’t need any more energy to make it work,“ he said.
The amount of heat it will generate will depend on factors that include how well the panel is exposed to sunlight, he noted. But Sanborn said he believes the portable panels can easily pay back their cost in energy savings. The price of the solar space heaters begin at less than $80 for the smaller models.
Production started last week at Earth Energy Options in Union City, Sanborn said, to fill orders being taken through Sanborn’s Material Management retail store on Mechanic Street and through the manufacturer.
Solar space heaters are just one of the creative ideas Sanborn is pursuing at the building on Mechanic Street where he revived a recycling business he and his wife, Cindy Sanborn, started from a building on Treat Highway in Adrian. After closing the business in Adrian 10 years ago, they began renovating the building in Hudson in January 2002 to continue pursuing a goal of moving society toward a sustainable economy in balance with the environment.
“I’m anxious for the next step,“ Duane Sanborn said. Design work is still being done on what he hopes to do with the building to create a facility that supplies its own energy for heat and light. The plan includes a self-contained biosphere unit, he said, with a restaurant serving foods grown within it.

Why are we so obsessed with oil in this country? All we have been hearing about for months has been the steady increase of the price of a barrel of oil, and in turn, the increase of gas prices.
Since Hurricane Katrina caused prices at the pump to get over $5 a gallon in some places, there have been calls for a new energy bill to be introduced in the House of Representatives. With the damage the hurricane caused to refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, there is now a bigger push to undo legislation from the 1970s that protect Alaska and other coastal areas from drilling.
I think it is time to end the frantic hunt for the next best place to drill for oil. It is time for everyone to come to terms with and remember the fact that oil is a nonrenewable resource.
This means there is only a given amount on the Earth. The oil supply doesn’t magically regenerate today what was drilled and used up yesterday, the supply is limited, dawgnetnews.com said.
However, I think most people choose not to think about this simple fact.
After all, if people were worried that one day there may not be any gasoline when they go to fill up at the pump, maybe they would try and carpool more often or buy more fuel efficient vehicles, rather than huge gas-guzzling luxury SUVs. Better yet, if people truly realized how limited the oil supply is, maybe there would be more pressure on lawmakers to invest government money in developing renewable energy resources or alternative fuel sources.
That’s right; there are energy sources on this planet that will never run out. Such sources include harnessing the power of the wind, collecting solar energy, and geothermal power. These sources can be harnessed and used for heating and cooling purposes and they can be converted into electricity.
There is the technology to convert to renewable energy sources, or green power, but the fact that we possess this technology is not advertised very well.
However, as of now, it is not financially feasible to convert to green power. Since this technology is not touted by our government as a suitable solution for our energy crisis, because apparently they would rather use dirty, nonrenewable fuels as power sources, there is little demand from the public for their electric companies to switch to green power.
However, if word spreads, and the general public will place calls to their electric companies and request that their electricity be fueled by green power, if more people ask for solar panels to be put on their house, or, best of all, if the government would subsidize some of the costs, renewable energy resources and green power could be accessible to everyone.
If the conversion to green power really starts to take off, it will reduce our dependence on oil.
Cars can be made to run by solar powered electricity, or by hydrogen power, which can be produced in unlimited amounts by using renewable resources. The few places that have been untouched by drilling and industrialization can remain that way.
The Greenhouse Effect, which is caused by burning fossil fuels, will stop accelerating global warming (yes, contrary to the popular belief of the Bush Administration, global warming is occurring and it is a problem) and stop dissolving the ozone layer.
The key here is to spread the word about the all the positive possibilities renewable energy sources hold.
If the public creates demand, sometime in the near future the headlines of the nightly news will not be about rising gasoline prices.
So, channel your frustration about the limited supply of oil that is causing gas prices to sky rocket.
Write your senators and representatives, contact your electric companies, and ask for renewable energy resources.
Maire Gurevitz is a sophomore studying urban affairs.
By Maire Gurevitz